Linacre- 8th May 2023

 I had my first walk of May, around Linacre on Monday morning before the rain set in. It was a great walk with some very nice sightings.

The highlight of the morning was the sight of my first Great-crested Grebe chick of the year, riding on the back of a parent bird. In addition, there were another 6 adults around the site, so hopefully some more chicks should be appearing soon!!

Great-crested Grebe family

Other birds seen were: Chiffchaff (4 singing), Blackcap (2 singing), Willow Warbler (1singing), Song Thrush (2 singing and 1 seen), Common Buzzard (1), Canada Goose (1), Cormorant (1), Tufted Duck (40), Mallard (70; 46 adults and 4 broods of 3, 10, 5, 2 and 4 ducklings), Grey Heron (2), Mandarin (3 males), Moorhen (just 4!!), Coot (12 adults), Little Grebe (1 heard), Swallow (5), Grey Wagtail (3), Lesser Black-backed Gull ( 4 adults) and, best of all, a fly-over Oystercatcher (the first Linacre record since 2020).