Voles, Terns and a Shrew

Sedge Warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

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On Monday afternoon I visited Arundel WWT and was delighted to witness several interesting wildlife behaviours. I observed the first one from the footbridge over the pond outside the entrance. The Moorhens have produced a second brood just a few days old. A first brood chick fed two of the second brood chicks.

I saw two Water Voles in the reserve. The first swam from the far end of a pond, under the footbridge I was standing on (when it was too close for my lens to focus), then exited from the opposite end of the pond. The second was out of the water before I could take a photo. I spotted a Common Shrew enjoying the spoils underneath a bird feeder. A Wren boldly flew onto a fence post and preened itself for a few minutes. A Sedge Warbler sang his heart out from the top of a tree, then flew up and around and came back to the same tree top. It repeated this feat, then flew off and sang from a nearby tree. The Black-necked Swans have a family of fluffy white cygnets.

The Sand Martin hide had two Common Tern chicks on the nesting platform and Black-headed Gull chicks provided more entertainment nearby. A pair of Canada Geese had 11 grown-up goslings grazing nearby.

Black-headed Gull chick, Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Black-headed Gull chicks, Chroicocephalus ridibundus

Canada Geese, Branta canadensis

Common Shrew, Sorex araneus

Black-necked Swans and cygnets, Cygnus melancoryphus

Common Spotted-orchid, Dactylorhiza fuchsii 

Common Tern, Sterna hirundo

Common Tern chick, Sterna hirundo

Common Tern with two chicks

Moorhen chick, Gallinula chloropus

First brood Moorhen chick feeding second brood chicks

Sedge Warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

time to sing from another tree

Water Vole, Arvicola amphibius

I saw the second water vole here

Wren, Troglodytes troglodytes