A dead bird -and where have they all gone?

A significant sighting this week at rattlechain lagoon- a dead seagull on the causeway path. There isn’t too much one can draw from this, but it has been noted nonetheless.

H3090007

black headed possibly?

Bird numbers, as we have commented on this blog before are now miniscule compared to the pre works of last year. There remains no explanation as to why those birds which we are supposed to believe left the site of their own free will have not returned, and equally why they have not been noted to have arrived anywhere else in the numbers that departed.

60+ coot pre February 2103 -now lucky to see 3.

Moorhen in the dozens pre February 2013, ditto for coot.

Swans always came and went (if they were not lifted off there before or died from p4 poisoning which the company tried to cover up) in sporadic numbers.

Canada geese- always usually roosting at the site at night and flying out each morning. This is still occurring- but again in far less numbers than before. 50+ were typically present on the site pre 2013 works.

Mallard numbers are also well down on previous spring counts. I have seen a maximum of 12 this year, though this is usually less during the bulk of the day.

Other visitors such as tufted duck occasionally appear.

There are a pair of little grebe on the site currently.

The only real survivors appear to be the crows on the North embankment, and assorted species of seagull which occupy the causeway path.

It is good news that less birds are visting this hazardous waste site- amen to that, don’t get me wrong- but where did they all go- on that I am a little more suspicious. And more importantly no conclusions can be drawn about the “success” of the capping works regarding fewer observed dead birds at the site- which no doubt the site owners and their backers (with the silent F) would like people to believe is the case.

H3090011

The rather deserted Rattlechain lagoon this week-a place where nothing wants to live

This entry was posted in Uncategorized. Bookmark the permalink.