BIRD NEWS:343 and the whitethroat

Starting today's post, here are the Bewick swans again, hanging out around their 2017 nest with a few ducks in attendance. I walked along the pathway - only to encounter another bunch of geese and goslings.

They were sitting right in the middle of the path and it was difficult to get past without being hissed at - as though they thought they owned the right of way rather than shared it equally.

Here is a map of the entire reserve. I thought it might be of interest to regular readers who are unable to attend in person seeing as I post quite a few pictures from Arundel WWT. I generally start at the visitors center, turn left and do a clockwise circuit - sometimes stopping for coffee first and sometimes taking the left leg as well as the circle track. I generally skip Sussex screen and go around the reedbeds.

Here are the Trumpeter swans - they are also nesting. Last year they hatched a whole bunch of young ones - which mysteriously vanished a month or two ago. Swans take 2 years to loose their gray plumage and become white adults, but these youths vanished at 1 year of age - so I am assuming it is part of a breeding program and there is a call for another batch to be born already.

In the reedbed hide last year's swallow appears to have returned to its old nesting haunt.

Almost ending today's post, I caught sight of a group of shelducks - 5-6 young with a parent - floating about at one hide.

Finally, HERE is a link to some info on a bird we do not seem to have in our area...