28/03/2026  9.00 - 13.00  Dockens Water path and North side.  Usual path and hide checks. Branch in the Dockens water near the entrance to the overflow 'bay' at the Western end.

Report from Jeremy McClements re. early morning visit to Lapwing Hide. 

• Person in a red jacket seen near the Osprey Platform who then retreated back into the north eastern bay of Ibsley Water - ? fisherman.

• Kittiwake feeding in front of Lapwing Hide
• Osprey flying south over Ibsley and across into the Avon Valley  

Other sightings:

• 2/3 Lapwings seen on the spit between Lapwing and Goosander, 'playing hide and seek with a couple of crows!!
• 2 Lapwings seen in the scrape from the Hanson screen
• ?1/2 Little Gulls seen on the western shore line of Spit Island from Tern Hide

Issue reported: 

• A Brambling seen by the feeder at Woodland Hide appeared to have a problem/swelling at and around it's beak. ?cause.

 21/03/2026  9.00 - 13.00  Dockens Water Path and North side. Usual path and hide check. Paths and hides OK; far fewer small branches and twigs on the paths than last week!!!

Issues needing attention:

• at the west end of Dockens path, on the way sign at the access point to the footbridge, the tape is falling off that covers the currently false direction sign to Lapwing hide.
• brambles immediately outside the northern side window in the Lapwing hide, require trimming to clear the view north.

Issue of note:

Dog walker seen by a visitor on the north side in the early part of the morning. 

Sightings:

• Birds well spread out across the lake. Usual mix except for...........
• Large flock of Black-tailed Godwit on Spit Island. 
• Sightings of Ruffs ?x2 and Little Gulls ?x4/5 reported on the west side of the island

 14/03/2026  9.00 - 13.00  Dockens Water path and North side.  Twigs and small branches ++ 'deposited' by recent winds, cleared from the Dockens Water path and the north side paths. Bike tyre marks seen on northern paths - ?yours Pete when checking the north side, or inappropriate visitors? 

Ibsley Water level dropping gradually. Rail in front of Goosander can now be seen at the lake surface.

Sightings:

Brimstone and peacock butterflies seen.      2 adders seen [off piste]. 

Birds well spread about the lake and on Gull island, along the western shore and on Spit island.  Nothing out of the usual reported.

07/03/2026  9.00 - 13.00  Dockens Water Path and North Side.  Usual path and hide check.

Issues of note:

A couple of broken branches in or balanced on other branches over the Dockens before the Rockford path.

Pete - The tree mentioned last week with 'fragile' branches is the one, beyond the Rockford path, immediately before the straining wire with a yellow covering, attached to the new pole/pylon on the right/south side of the path. There are 2, possibly 3, branches that with the lightest tap drop sections over the path. Will require a pole saw to cut.

A visitor, whilst visiting Goosander hide late afternoon/early evening, reported that on occasions he has seen people wandering around in the scrape. Hopefully the electric fence will be a deterrent.

Interesting sightings:

• Would it be possible to trim the brambles immediately outside the side window on the north side of Lapwing hide to improve the visibility of the shore going north. There were a number of different small birds on the grass on that side this morning, ?stonechat etc.
• Numbers of Lapwings increasing
• Two Oystercatchers seen on Spit Island