Reserve Bird List

Arctic Skua (Stercorarius parasiticus)

An adult dark phase bird was watched from the South hide, to come from the direction of Brough, swoop over the Main Lake, do the same twice over the Reed-bed & then fly off over the ridge in the direction of Sancton on the early afternoon of 13^th August 2006.

Arctic tern (Sterna paradisaea)

More often seen in the spring than the autumn (due to easier identification?), they are classically usually seen flying straight through the reserve, especially in spring. Generally they are also associated with squally weather, arriving before a rain shower & departing pretty soon afterwards. The Main Lake being the usual venue. The only exception to this was in 2011, when 2 adults and a juvenile separately spent an exceptionally long time at the Main Lake during September. This spell included a Black tern as well

Numbers are usually low, with only a few annual records. This is a bird that requires luck to be seen on the reserve.

Year

April

May

July

August

September

2002

Single, Village Lake 5^th

2004

One briefly Main lake 24th

2005

2 Village Lake on the 26th

2006

2 adults on the Reed-bed on the 1^st, single on the 18th

2007

Briefly on the 4th

2008

1 on the 19^th & 21st

2 on the Main Lake after a rain storm on the 12th

2009

1 on the Reed-bed, afternoon of the 17th

2 Main Lake on the evening of the 16^th, one on the 17th

2 on the Reed-bed on the evening of the 21st

2010

1 on the Main Lake 7th

Main Lake on the 4th

2011

3 on the 5^th, 1 on the 21^st & 22nd

Adult present on the Main Lake 9^th to 14^th, different adult on the 16^th to 26^th, joined by juvenile from 19^th to 26th

2012

5 through on the 5^th, single on the 7th

2013

2 seen from the Turret hide on the 13th

Earliest

Latest

Adult on the 17^th April 2009

Juvenile, last seen on the 26^th September 2011

Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

This is the bird that really defines the reserve & we were one of the first cases of inland breeding in the UK when they first came. Seen on all lakes bar the Far & Carp Lakes

Our first record concerned an individual that was on the Central Scrape on the 26^th March 1998

There were no other records, until 4 birds were seen on a partially completed Reed-bed Lake on the 13^th April 2003, which built up to a maximum of 10 birds on the 16^th of that month. The result was 3 pairs breeding & rearing 10 young on the lake. The birds have bred in subsequent years as below. Our birds are obviously an off shoot of the Reed’s Island population.

On first arrival, the birds will only spend a few hours at the reserve before departing back to the Humber. Maximum numbers are seen in March

Year	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013
Pairs breeding	3	6	6	7	28	11	12	14	28	32
Young reared	10	6	14	2	0	1	4	4	11	0
Maximum seen	10	12	17	17	51	39	34	31	77	84	40
Earliest date	13^th April	17^th March	10^th March	10^th March	2^nd March	2^nd March	14^th March	19^th March	12^th March	1st March	6th March
Latest date	29^th June	30^th July	23^rd July	1st September	8^th July	4^th July	31^st July	8^th August	11^th August	2^nd July

Our maximum capacity seems to be between 6 to 8 pairs, although this has been greatly exceeded in the last few years. But the result has been poor chick productivity with many dying in their first week.

Nesting usually starts in the middle of April on islands on either the Island or Village Lakes, but has happened on the Reed-bed (Far island on the first year & then the island near the path subsequently, it has also happened on the New Workings when they were under construction). Hatching is usually between the third & four weeks of May, although if the eggs fail to hatch or the chicks quickly die, they will re-nest, which is what happen in 2006 with 5 pairs. This second clutch is rarely successful and adults will sit on eggs long after the chance of them hatching as past

Upon hatching, we will try to lower water levels on the lakes to give the chicks fresh mud to feed on, as at first their bills are straight, so they can only probe & not sweep like their parents. We have had cases were excessive rain in July has meant that we have been unable to control the water levels on the reserve, which have been flooded out, resulting in the starvation of well grown chicks After a week or so the families will start to wander & then can be found on the 2 scrapes & Main Lake. Although when nesting & on early hatching, the adults can be very aggressive even to those walking to the Turret hide, after a week so, they tend to be ‘dozy’ parents & so it is not unusual to see the parents a 100 metres or so away from the chicks, which accounts for our loses in 2006 due to Kestrel predation. When it is raining, it is quite endearing to see up to 4 chicks sheltering underneath their parents wings.

Other predators have included the Lesser Black backs on the Island Lake & foxes on the Village Lake. To discourage the foxes, an electric fence was installed in 2008.

Should a family party wish to go from the Island Lake to The Village Lake, they will not go around the Turret hide, but will take the direct route & walk straight across the path, there have been times when bewildered youngsters has had to be picked up from the side of the path, put in a hat & placed back on the lake.

After about 5 weeks the chicks will fledge & the adults will immediately leave. The chicks may stay on for a further week, but we will then be deserted until the next year.

A recent habit has been the use of the New Workings first as a feeding ground for adults, then in 2009 a family of 4 chicks went over & only failed in the third week of fledging. In 2010 3 pairs nested on small islands in the ‘Settlement’ lake.

Lastly in 2009 well rotted manure was put down on the edges of the Village & Island lakes in late March as an experiment to see if the chicks could be encouraged to stay on the Village Lake (where most of our birds now nest), rather than going to the Island lake with it’s attendant danger from gulls & foxes. This seemed to work very well with more chicks being raised than for the last few years. This was repeated in 2010 & 2011.

In 2012, although no manure was put down, nesting initially occurred in the normal place on the island near to the Turret hide. Rising water levels then made the pairs switch to the main vegetated island on this lake. For some reason no pairs were successful here and then the effort switched to Reed-bed on the island near to the path & the island on the opposite side. Although these places were never flooded with the persistent rain of this summer, they became very damp and so no young were hatched.

The same could be said for the pairs that nested on the New Workings that were under construction at that time & also the Island Lake. The result of all of this was that there was only one hatching of 2 chicks and these did not last more than a day.

As to the future, it is likely that our number of pairs will go up, with nesting on the new areas, but the productivity will remain low. Also, with the increase in habitats on the reserve (Village Lake, Island Lake, Reed-bed & now Dryham Ings), it is becoming increasingly difficult to count the number of birds on the reserve. In 2013, some of the nesting attempts in the recently constructed part of Dryham Ings have been frustrated by nocturnal visits from foxes. This has resulted in pairs abandoning their scrapes & moving nearer Crosslands Lane. Obviously when the work on here is complete, there will be the need to build an electric fence around the area similar to that of the Village Lake to stop these happening.

There has been one colour ringed bird recovery so far;

Bird EG 25447 (Red/Blue. Red/White), was ringed as one of two chicks on the Saline Lagoon, Seal Sands, Teesmouth on the 13/06/2011

It was then subsequently seen on Alkborough Flats, over the river in July of 2012 & spent the winter of 2012/13 at Titchwell, Norfolk

It was then seen on the 14^th April & then bred on the reserve as a female on the Reed-bed.

Barn owl (Tyto alba)

Although, until recently, it does not breed on the reserve, there are two pairs (one on the North side and one on the South side) that did breed near by.

It could be expected to be seen mainlnter either early morning y in wior late evening, especially as the weather becomes harsher. The other time in which they may be seen is late evening in July when they are feeding young. The very harsh winter of 2010 (only 3 records) was the reason why there have been very few sightings during 2010 & 2011 (just 5 sightings).

Although it has been often suggested, plans to put up an owl box have always been put off due to the small wader chicks that are around in spring. However with the reserve expansion, the opportunity to situate one in the North West corner has been taken & is now situated on a tree along side Black Dyke (the entrance can be viewed from the reserve).

Sightings increased in the spring of 2012, including those of birds in the entrance of the nest box. But the presence & entering in of a pair of Stock doves to this nest box, made it look as if the Barn owls had found somewhere else. But the sightings kept coming in, especially in the general area of the nest box and the entrance. Then came information and a photograph, that a pair had nested in the nest box & there were 2 chicks in it. Although there is no positive evidence that these chicks did fledge, this does constitute our first breeding record. Subsequently the bird has become a regular sighting either in the evening or early morning, with Dryham Ings now being the favoured spot.

Barnacle goose (Branta leucopsis)

The fact that these birds have been seen either a singletons or in a family party with hybrid young, rather than in flocks points to a feral origin for our birds, as well as their ready association with our Greylags.

Year

Records

Comments

Year

Records

Comments

2005

One from 28^th July onwards to the end of August

Same? From the 20^th to the 22^nd October

Consorting with the Greylags

2010

Single on the 19^th November, was the only ‘pure bird’ reported, but several hybrids including Barnacle Goose x Canada Goose, Barnacle x Greylag Goose were reported as well

With the Greylags

2006

From the 26^th August to the month end

Single on the 16^th December

Consorting with the Greylags

2011

5 on the 8^th October

With the Greylags

2007

Up to 3 seen together during October

Consorting with the Greylags

2012

Single on the Main Lake on the 22^nd April.

Single from the 8^th to the 30^th September

Alone

With the Greylags

2008

Single seen during September

2 during October

Up to 8 during November

The November birds included 5 young of mixed ‘Greylag & Barnacle’ race

2013

4 flew south on the 27^th April

2009

Single on the 17^th, 20^th, 22^nd & 27^th January

Single from the 28^th to the 29^th June

Single from 29^th to the 31st August

This became 2 adults with 7 hybrid young from the 2^nd September (seen again on the 26^th onwards into October 8th), a single bird being seen between the 12^thto the 18^th of the same month

Adult with 4 hybrids from 4^th to 22nd November, second adult on the 12^th to the 19^th (when it was not present was it the bird at Tophill Low?

Adult seen again on the 6^th, 19^th & 31^st December

Often alone by itself

With the Greylags

Bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica)

What used to be a very rare visitor (probably due to the main concentration of birds being lower down in the Humber) has become a regular spring visitor, especially in April and early May for the last 8 years (bar 2010). Looking at the Reed-bed seems to be the best place to see this bird

There is an unusual record of a bird spending 3 days on the reserve in November. A winter plumaged bird spent two weeks appearing every night to join the Reed-bed wader roost that started in May 2013, where it would normally be seen flying in at about 20:45 to spend the night there, departing very early in the morning. On one occasion, it was seen earlier at 17:00 with some Whimbrel (it’s feeding companions?)

The rise in records is probably due to the extra increase in observers, rather than any change in status.

1996	One on the 17^th March 1996	2009	One on the Village Lake on the 3^rd, One over the Reed-bed on the 12^th & one on the 28^th April. Another over the Reed-bed on the 20^th September
2005	Winter plumaged bird with 4 Black-tailed godwits on the Snipe pool on the 26^th April 3 On the Reed-bed on the morning of the 9^th May	2010	6 flew east over the reserve on the 4^th September
2006	One on the 28^th March	2011	1 on the 29^th April 2 on the 1^st to 4^th May, mainly on the Reed-bed & Village Lake (Neither was the same bird as earlier)
2007	2 on the 28^th, going to 4 on the 29^th to the 30^th April 5 on the 1^st, 4 on the 2^nd, 2 on the 3^rd May Single on the 18^th & 20^th November	2012	Summer plumaged individual from the 1^st to the 5^th May, seen first at Dryham Ings, thereafter on the Top scrape & Reed-bed
2008	Single on the 26^th April	2013	Winter plumaged bird on the Village Lake, morning of the 3^rd April Bird with 3 Black-tails on the Reed-bed on the 17^th & 18th April One in the wader roost on the evening of the 12^thto 22nd May

Obviously the 2005 & 2006 records refer to the same bird, & maybe subsequent records point to it’s successful hybridisation with a Greylag. It is felt that the feral population across the river at Whitton Sands is the source of our birds. Especially as the two other species that have been part of the hybrids seen also breed there.

Autumn is the time to view this bird on the reserve, with the earliest record being the 28^th June. They usually have disappeared by December, with their only being 4 records in January and 1 in April that are outside this period. They are obviously attracted by the large numbers of Greylags that frequent the reserve in autumn, & then leave when these disperse.