Now that 2017 is finished and behind us, I can reflect on what was a very poor year for Shustoke Reservoir. I finished with 96 species for the year and I don’t think there was very much else recorded that I am aware of. It wasn’t through want of trying – I made in excess of 100 site visits. Its difficult to put my finger on what the problem is, although the sites popularity with dog walkers has no doubt contributed to the dearth of waders in particular.
The removal of the pond weed during July/August from the main pool probably doesn’t help as it must remove a lot of cover for small fry and the like. I will however, continue to visit again this year to see if there is an upturn in fortunes it surely cannot be any worse.
The only good bird that I saw in 2017 was a fly over Whimbrel! Tern passage was very poor and the numbers of the only regular passage wader Common Sandpiper was very disappointing. Even the wintering bird of the previous two years didn’t return.
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