Winter migrants are making their way back to Snipe Haven and Goldfinch Meadows, with the first Redwings observed at Goldfinch Meadows at the end of October, no doubt the Fieldfares will be close behind.
Recently there have been at least 4 Cattle Egrets in the area, mixed in with the Little Egrets, so it’s worth looking more closely at ‘congregations’ of egrets when they’re on Snipe Haven and the surrounding fields, especially as a Great White Egret occasionally turns up too!
Wildfowl numbers are slowly beginning to build for the with c.100 Teal and c.60 Gadwall observed on some of the ponds on Snipe Haven during the first winter bird survey of the season, with c.750 Pink-footed Geese flying over on their migration from their breeding grounds in Greenland and Iceland. A small number of waders have been observed so far over the Autumn, including Common Sandpiper, Black-tailed Godwit, and Curlew, and it is expected this will continue through the winter.