Whisp of snipe

 

The reserve has been closed since last Sunday, so it was a pleasure to be back on duty when the reserve re-opened. The water levels had gone down on the path leading to 1st, Townend and Singleton hides. Ousefleet was accessible via the grass path near the flood bank. The path to Reedling and Marshland was still under water, so wellingtons were required, but by the end of the day, the water level on the path had gone down slightly.

Marsh harriers were quite active, with at least four different ones hunting near Singleton hide. This kept the ducks moving from lagoon to lagoon.

Ousefleet hide had 2 lapwing but at least 100 snipe!

I don't know how many snipe make up a whisp.

The snipe were fairly active and often interacted with each other, I could not however find any jack snipe.

The trees on the edge of the wildflower meadow, the car park and the bushes along the path to Ousefleet held large numbers of fieldfare and redwing.

Near reception a woodpigeon was having a rest in one of the trees,

this dragonfly was enjoying the sun as it rested on the roof of the building

As I arrived at the reserve there were several hundred geese, including about 150 pink footed geese. They flew of mid morning and then returned at dusk.