Saturday, 27 May 2017

SLIMBRIDGE BABIES

After a week of gorgeous weather, a thunderstorm overnight brought a bit of a change; overcast skies, lower temperatures and a steady breeze.

I made for Slimbridge WWT centre to see what young birds were around; to start with I found a family of oyster catchers only a few metres away from the Rushy Hide, there were also several different aged broods of avocets. 

Young moorhens and coots were around the centre, and at the Hogarth hide I spent a while watching a parent avocet watching out for danger while her two growing chicks searched for food  in the shallow water, already using the side to side motion, characteristic of avocets. 
In front of that hide a pair of cranes are incubating two eggs, which hopefully should provide great views for those watching, in a couple of weeks when they are due to hatch. 

Other families included canada geese, greylag geese, black headed gull, mallard and shelduck. 

A few other birds seen included little ringed plover, black tailed godwit and a couple of cattle egrets in a field viewed from the Kingfisher hide .


avocet parent guarding...

...her chick


black head gull and chick

canada goose family

moorhen feeding chick

incubating crane

turning the eggs

two eggs

house martin nest seen on a house by the swing bridge

greylag family

oyster catcher and chick




oyster catcher and chick





moorhen chick


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