WWT Slimbridge 25th April 2014
In the morning we checked out early from the hotel and headed off to Slimbridge for early doors. The official opening time is 9.30am but if you are a member you are allowed to access the hides along the right hand side of the reserve (all the way down to the Holdern Tower) by going through the little gate by the cottages to the right of the reserve. You are allowed to do this from 8 am onwards but they frequently check people for their membership cards to stop any avoidance on the part of non-members of paying their entry fee.
We dropped in again at the same two hides as the previous day but it was much colder and there wasn’t a lot to see at the Martin Smith hide except the one Crane still sitting on its nest. The partner bird was not to be seen. This was the same over at the Discovery hide where the single sitting bird was the only Crane to be see. The Little Gull was again showing well but after a couple of hours on the site we decided to grab a cup of tea before heading south and east over to RSPB Ham Wall and NE Shapwick Heath.
Bird Sightings : WWT Slimbridge
| Species | Count |
|---|---|
| Greylag Goose | 40 |
| Canada Goose | 20 |
| Mute Swan | 4 |
| Common Shelduck | 12 |
| Gadwall | 6 |
| Mallard | 20 |
| Tufted Duck | 20 |
| Great Crested Grebe | 1 |
| Great Cormorant | 2 |
| Eurasian Common Moorhen | 6 |
| Common Coot | 2 |
| Common Crane | 2 |
| Northern Lapwing | 1 |
| Eurasian Oystercatcher | 2 |
| Black-headed Gull | 30 |
| Little Gull | 1 |
| Lesser Black-backed Gull | 1 |
| Common Wood Pigeon | 20 |
| Eurasian Jackdaw | 20 |
| Collared Sand Martin | 4 |
| Barn Swallow | 10 |
| Northern House Martin | 10 |
| Eurasian Blackbird | 2 |
| Pied Wagtail | 1 |