Recent sightings

What to look for in February

Previous Years

February 16th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Mandarin 22
• Tufted Duck 2
• Teal 23
• Cormorant 12
• Little Egret 1
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 23 (some display)
• Buzzard 1
• Pheasant 1
• Herring Gull 130
• Lesser Black-backed Gull 2

Kevin Harris: Mandarins

February 6th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Mandarin 16
• Tufted Duck 1
• Cormorant 14 inc. red ring 111
• Little Egret 1
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 25
• Sparrowhawk 1

February 5th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Mandarin 27
• Tufted Duck 3
• Cormorant 11 inc. red ring 111
• Little Egret 2
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 26
• Buzzard 1 very wet in fisherman's car park
• Water Rail 1 heard SE corner
• Kingfisher 2
• Herring Gull 62
• Lesser Black-backed Gull 1 adult
• Grey Wagtail 1 in Jim's field

February 4th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Greylag Goose 1
• Mandarin 1 pair
• Mallard 76+
• Tufted Duck 2
• Cormorant 8 inc. red ring 111
• Little Egret 1
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 23 inc. display
• Buzzard 1
• Coot 5
• Black-headed Gull 1
• Herring Gull 120+
• Kingfisher 2
• Green Woodpecker heard
• Great Spotted Woodpecker drumming heard
• Jackdaw c.70
• Nuthatch heard

Kevin Harris: Greylag

Hide usable again now after severe flooding. The Snowdrops are starting to properly open up now

February 3rd 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Shelduck 2
• Wigeon 1 pair
• Tufted Duck 3
• Cormorant 8
• Little Egret 1
• Great Crested Grebe 20

February 2nd 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Shoveler 2 1
• Tufted Duck 4
• Cormorant 6 inc. red ring 111
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 20

February 1st 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Mandarin 1
• Tufted Duck 4
• Cormorant 5 inc. red ring 111
• Little Egret 1
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 20
• Sparrowhawk 1

January 31st 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Mandarin 5
• Tufted Duck 7
• Cormorant 2
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 17
• Kingfisher 1

Still all flooded including the hide for over a week now

January 30th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Gadwall 1
• Tufted Duck 8
• Cormorant 5
• Little Egret 3
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 15
• Kingfisher 1
• Woodpigeon c.100 flew in at dusk

January 29th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Mandarin c.15
• Tufted Duck 5
• Cormorant 6
• Little Egret 1
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 17
• Kingfisher 1
• Woodpigeon c.100 flew in (to roost?)

January 28th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 4
• Tufted Duck 9
• Cormorant 3
• Little Egret 1
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 17

January 27th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Tufted Duck 7
• Cormorant 3
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 17
• Redwing 10 in willows in flooded woods

January 26th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Tufted Duck 5
• Cormorant 6
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 16

January 25th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Tufted Duck 5
• Cormorant 3
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 20

Still all flooded

January 24th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Tufted Duck 7
• Cormorant 7 inc. red ring 111
• Little Egret 3
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 23

January 23rd 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Tufted Duck 6
• Cormorant 1
• Little Egret 1
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 27

Storm Ingrid

January 22nd 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Tufted Duck 6
• Cormorant 9
• Little Egret 1
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 26
• Sparrowhawk 1
• Kingfisher 1

Flooding including the hide

January 21st 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Tufted Duck 8
• Cormorant 11 inc. red ring 111
• Little Egret 11
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 21
• Sparrowhawk 1 flew across reservoir
• Kingfisher 1

January 20th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Mallard 80+
• Tufted Duck 9
• Cormorant 25
• Little Egret 2
• Great Crested Grebe 21

Stormy weather

January 19th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 2
• Teal 1
• Wigeon 2 3
• Shoveler 5
• Tufted Duck 9
• Goldeneye 1
• Cormorant 21
• Little Egret 4
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 27
• Kingfisher 1

Dave Helliar: Goldeneye, Wigeon and Shoveler

January 18th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Tufted Duck 5
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 23+

Terrible weather, wind and rain

January 17th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Mandarin 9
• Tufted Duck 5
• Cormorant 17
• Little Egret 1
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 25
• Kingfisher 1

January 16th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Teal 6
• Tufted Duck 8
• Cormorant 21
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 22
• Peregrine 1 male flew south over meadows at 16:40
• Water Rail 2 calling at south end
• Kingfisher 1
• Stock Dove 1 in Jims field
• Song Thrush heard singing
• Chiffchaff 1 calling by the hide
• Marsh Tit 1 heard SE side

January 15th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 26
• Mandarin 14
• Tufted Duck 11
• Cormorant 18
• Little Egret 2
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 25
• Sparrowhawk 1 flew across reservoir
• Kingfisher 1

January 14th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 26
• Mandarin 22
• Tufted Duck 7
• Teal 68 visible when counted, but probably c.100 present
• Cormorant 17
• Little Egret 2
• Great White Egret 1 (DWH)
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 32
• Sparrowhawk 1 flew across reservoir
• Water Rail call heard
• Black-headed Gull c.470
• Common Gull c.50
• Mediterranean Gull 2 adult winter (KGH)
• Herring Gull 377
• Lesser Black-backed Gull 1
• Kingfisher 1
• Great Spotted Woodpecker call heard south end
• Starling c.200 flew by before dusk, but didn't settle

January 13th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 2
• Mandarin 1
• Tufted Duck 8
• Cormorant 16
• Little Egret 3
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 23
• Buzzard 1
• Black-headed Gull 1
• Kingfisher 1
• Mistle Thrush 1 singing

Also a single Daubentons Bat seen at 16:00, being mobbed by the one Black-headed Gull. No other gull species seen between 15:40 and 16:40 unlike the following day

January 12th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 2
• Mandarin 4
• Wigeon 7
• Tufted Duck 8
• Cormorant 15
• Little Egret 4
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 25
• Common Gull 1

January 11th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 19
• Tufted Duck 12
• Cormorant 19
• Little Egret 2
• Great White Egret 1
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 28
• Kingfisher 1

Driving rain and southerly gales

January 10th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 9
• Mandarin 6
• Tufted Duck 10
• Cormorant 24
• Little Egret 1
• Great Crested Grebe 24

January 9th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Mandarin 16
• Tufted Duck 9
• Cormorant 24 inc. red ring 111
• Little Egret 1
• Great Crested Grebe 23
• Black-headed Gull 242
• Common Gull 2
• Kingrfisher 1
• Starling c.100

January 8th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose c.37
• Mandarin 30+
• Tufted Duck 15
• Cormorant 17
• Little Egret 2
• Great White Egret 1
• Grey Heron 3
• Great Crested Grebe 5
• Mediterranean Gull 1 adult winter
• Black-headed Gull 115
• Marsh Tit heard near dam at north end

January 7th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose c.44
• Mandarin 8
• Mallard 102+
• Tufted Duck 10
• Cormorant 2
• Little Egret 5
• Great White Egret 1
• Grey Heron 2
• Common Gull 4
• Kingfisher heard

Reservoir 10% frozen

January 6th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose c.50
• Mandarin 16
• Tufted Duck 11
• Cormorant 10
• Little Egret 2
• Great White Egret 1 (DWH)
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 5
• Black-headed Gull 200+

Reservoir 75% frozen

January 5th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 31
• Mandarin 10
• Shoveler 1 pair
• Teal 100+
• Tufted Duck 12
• Cormorant 23
• Little Egret 14 pre roost north and south
• Grey Heron 4
• Great Crested Grebe 10 (1 out of the water unusually, but looked well)
• Buzzard 1
• Water Rail heard SE corner
• Snipe 1 SW corner
• Common Gull 2
• Lesser Black-backed Gull 2
• Kingfisher 2
• Jay 2 SW corner
• Marsh Tit 2 SE side

Kevin Harris: Marsh Tit

Reservoir partly frozen

January 4th 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 20
• Mandarin c.30
• Teal 75
• Tufted Duck 12
• Cormorant 28
• Little Egret 11
• Great White Egret 1 in SW corner
• Grey Heron 1
• Great Crested Grebe 20
• Black-headed Gull 126+

Reservoir partly frozen

January 3rd 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose c.20
• Mandarin 8
• Tufted Duck 11
• Cormorant 16
• Little Egret 3
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 39
• Coot 3
• Starling c.400 to roost

January 2nd 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 50
• Mandarin 4
• Tufted Duck 13
• Cormorant 19
• Little Egret 1
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 26+
• Starling c.200 to roost

January 1st 2026

• Mute Swan 1 pair
• Canada Goose 42+
• Mandarin 24
• Teal 60+
• Gadwall 2
• Tufted Duck 7
• Cormorant 8 inc. red ring 111
• Little Egret 5 pre roost
• Grey Heron 2
• Great Crested Grebe 31
• Black-headed Gull 44
• Common Gull 3
• Herring Gull 228
• Lesser Black-backed Gull 2
• Starling only c.200 to roost