Recently our team carried out the monthly WeBS (Wetland Bird Survey) which monitors the UK's internationally important non-breeding waterbird population, and following a tradition which started in 1947, volunteers and surveyors count wetland sites once a month on set dates, providing data for population and trends in abundance and distribution.
The Lower Derwent Valley has been counted since the early 1960s, and as such we have a fantastic data set on the changing fortunes of the ducks, geese, swans, wading birds and gulls over that period of time. Due to the recent return of the flood water, accompanied by the return of the wintering birds, the team spent last Saturday working their way around the whole site counting the wintering birds. Despite the challenges of getting around the reserve during such conditions, the team logged an impressive 44,497 wetland birds, including 22,328 wildfowl (ducks, geese and swans) and 8,239 waders. The most numerous species, as is often the case, was Wigeon with 9,870 recorded, followed by good counts of 7,624 Lapwing and 7,418 Teal. A total of 2,240 Greylag Geese was also notable (including a gathering of over 1,400 at Melbourne Ings), whilst 160 Whooper Swans were also recorded across the site (mainly concentrated around Ellerton). The churchyards at both Ellerton and Aughton provided good viewing of large numbers of birds, so it's definitely worth visiting at the moment if you’re in the area. Many thanks to our team for their efforts in helping to build up this valuable data set.
