30/08/11
As aformented, i had planned to visit Chelmarsh again, and the following tuesday, there we were.
We didnt know if the bird was presant or not, as we only had 'it was there yesterda' news, so how relieved we were when after a couple of mins of scanning, i picked up the ARCTIC SKUA again, sitting on the water, quite close into the bank, we then walked back so we could walk up the public Bridleway on the west side of the Res', from here we were treated to much better views of the Skua, and plumage detail could be seen, A dark morph Juv Arctic Skua, what a bird, Many times today it took to the air and harassed the LBBG that flew in after they fed on nearby fields,
The Skua would chase the birds, occasionally even pecking at the birds tails to get the Gull to disgorge its meal, lets just say the tactic worked quite well, and the Skua got lots of Food, and unusually for seabirds, it looked in extremly good health, oftern taking short flights (but often returning to the same spot), I spent some time studying the bird, and taking a few notes (both mental and written) to aid future occurences with the species, or even the whole skua group, as i have only seen one skua species, and 1 bird!
This is how the Res' looked from the public Bridleway, showing lots of potential, however i notcied a sign saying that the water is kept at high levels so there is no wader shore, other than the dam.
Which was why this was Created!
A small, shallow marsh, which although small, has amazing potential, having had Ruff, Spotted Redshank and currently holding a Grey Phalarope, it looks like with more coverage, this place could do some great birds!
So my first few visits to the Res made a huge impression, hopefully this is only 2 of many future visits (and its not that far away!)
Also noted:
120 Greylag Goose (actual count)
1 Snow Goose
63+ Goosander!!!!
1 Yellow wagtail (again on dam)
1 Peregrine flew over
10c Teal on marsh
MB
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