It was a warm day at Sculthorpe Moor, with some light rain in the afternoon.
There continued to be signs of spring across the reserve, with the Tawny Owls continuing to raise only the one chick now. Unfortunately, despite the two adults incubating the five eggs initially, only one egg managed to hatch successfully.
It appears that the adult Tawny Owls have been feeding the chick quite a varied diet, including a Mallard
duckling, a Mole and what looked like a Moorhen chick.
Also, a pair of Treecreepers were building a nest, behind some tree bark, on the approach to the Volunteers' Hide. A photo of which was taken by Robert Grenfell and can be seen on his Twitter page (https://twitter.com/Grenfy).
Finally, there are reports of a pair of Barn Owls in the box near the Jarvis Hide, which will hopefully breed soon, and the Mute Swans are continuing to incubate 6-7 eggs near the Johnson Hide.
The following was seen since 12.30pm:
Swallow x 2
Bullfinch x 5
Willow Warbler x 1 - Appeared in the trees, alongside the track from the Visitor Centre.
Greenfinch x 1
Canada Goose x 3
Lapwing x 2
Sedge Warbler x 1 - Several heard throughout the afternoon.
Nuthatch x 1
Reed Bunting x 4
Marsh Tit x 1
Grey Wagtail x 1 - Walking up and down the mud, immediately in front of the Johnson hide.
Mistle Thrush x 1 - Seen from a distance, in front of the shelter, near Victor's Hide. Possibly the same bird that was only seen on the 25th March.
Jay x 1
Cuckoo x 2 - At least two birds were heard during the afternoon, with one sighting near the Johnson Hide.
Great Spotted Woodpecker x 1
Grey Heron x 2
Reed Warbler x 1 - One very good sighting, but several more were heard throughout the day.
At least one Marsh Harrier was seen by the public, as the pair obviously continue with their nest building. Also, one visitor managed to get an excellent photo of a Weasel, as it was seen near Old Gits Corner.
