2003 Sightings Click on Underlined Birds for Pictures
| Little Grebe | 3 pairs bred raising broods of 4, 2 & 2 respectively; maximum count was 41 on 21st September. |
| Black-Necked Grebe | 1 adult on 31st May to 1st June. |
| Great Crested Grebe | 3 pairs bred raising 7 young in total. |
| Cormorant | Highest count was 6 on 29th September. |
| Little Egret | 1 on 29th August roosted overnight and departed following day. (1st reserve record) |
| Grey Heron | 7 on 26th July was a site record count. |
| Whooper Swan | 2 Adults on 7th January.6 adults on 8th October, departed to North-West.4 birds, 2 adults + 2 juveniles on 1st to 4th November.2 adults flew South on 18th November. |
| Pink-Footed Goose | 1 on 19th January, 1 on 27th May.6 birds, 5 adults 1 juvenile on 22nd September. c300 flew North-West on 18th October2 birds with the feral Graylag flock on 20th October.c250 flew South on 24th October.1 with feral Graylag flock from 24th to 27th December. |
| Canada Goose | Highest count was 6 throughout December. |
| Brent Goose | Dark-bellied bird on 16th April. |
| Egyptian Goose | Unringed fully winged adult from 13th to 15th August. (1st reserve record). |
| Mandarin | Drake on 16th November, and again on & off from 1st to 15th December. (1st reserve record). |
| Widgeon | Maximum count was 9 on 2nd November. |
| Goldeneye | 1 on 1st January, 3 on 5th January, 1 on 1st February, 1 on 3rd April, 1 on 14th April, 1 on 3rd April, 2 on 23rdApril, 1 on 5th May,1 on 27th May, 2 on 8th November, 1 on 6th December. |
| Shelduck | Maximum count was 158 on 14th April, 1 pair bred raising 3 young. |
| Pintail | Drake on 14th April, female present from 24th November to 7th December with 2 females on 28th November. Pair from 16th to 21st December with female remaining to 25th December. |
| Garganey | Eclipse drake on 26th and 27th August. |
| Shoveler | A pair bred for the first time with a female being seen with 9 young on 22nd June. |
| Ring-Necked Duck | Female present from 2002 stayed until 13th January. |
| Goosander | Female on 28th December. |
| Ruddy Duck | Highest count was 3 pairs on 29th June. |
| Red Kite | 2 on 24th March, 2 on 28th April, 2 birds flew south-west on 23rd June. |
| Marsh Harrier | Male on 9th July, immature flew west on 27th July, juvenile south on 17th August, 1 over on25th August; female flew north-east on 27th September. |
| Hen Harrier | Female flew South on 16th November. |
| Buzzard | Regularly seen from reserve along ridge to North-East of site with a maximum count of 7 birds in the air together on 25th September. |
| Peregrine | Male on 4thand 11th May and 1 on 28th November, 1 on 27th December. |
| Osprey | 1 south on 7th May. |
| Merlin | 1 on 27th December. |
| Hobby | Adults;1 on 6th May, 1 on 18th June, 1 on 25th June, 1 on 1st July, 1 on 2nd July, 1 on 19th July, 2 17th July, 1 on 18th June,2 on 19th July, 1 on 25th July. Juvenile on 30th August and 5th September, indicating probable breeding nearby. |
| Red-legged Partridge | Seen throughout the year with flocks of up to 15 strong seen in autumn/winter. |
| Grey Partridge | 3 on 1st February, pair on 22nd March, 5th April and 4th May, 13 on 18th August, 5 on 25thSeptember, 11 on 12th October, 3 on 25th October, 8 on 1st November A pleasing increase in records compared to recent years. |
| Water Rail | 1 on 22nd March (1st reserve record). |
| Spotted Crake | 1 was seen well on an unknown date in September. (1st reserve record). |
| Oystercatcher | 2 on 22nd February were the first of the year. Maximum count was 45 on 10thMarch, with 2 pairs breeding with 1 pair raising 2 young. Last sighting was of 3 on 21st November. |
| Avocet | Highlight of the year was the successful breeding of 3 pairs raising a total of 10 young in broods of 4, 4 and 2.This is believed to be the first totally freshwater breeding site in the north of England and one of only a few in the whole of Britain. The first 4 birds arrived on 13th April with a maximum of 10 adults on 16th April before settling down at 3 pairs from 19th April onwards, with the first chicks hatching on the 19th May. Last sighting was of a pair and 4 juveniles on 29th June. |
| Little Ringed Plover | First of year was on 9thMarch. 5 breeding pairs present with at least 1 pair breeding successfully. Last sighting was on 9th August. |
| Ringed Plover | First of year were 3 on 26th February. 6breeding pairs present at least 1 pair raising young. Last sighting on 12th August. |
| Golden Plover | A flock of c700 roosted on the reserve on March 3rd with the flock then feeding in varying numbers in the field immediately to North of site, with 700 still present in the area on 6th April before numbers began to dwindle as birds began to head back to their breeding grounds. |
| Lapwing | At least 5 pairs bred raising several young between them. |
| Curlew Sandpiper | 1 on 13th September. |
| Little Stint | 3 on 9th April were the first of the spring, Adult in winter plumage from 12th April to 20th April |
| Wood Sandpiper | 1 on 4th May, 1 on 22ndMay, 1 on 9th July, 1 on 12th July. |
| Common Sandpiper | 1 on 17thApril was the first, 8 on 12th August was the highest count. Last sighting on 31st August. |
| Spotted Redshank | 1 on 11th April, 1 on 17th April, 1 on 22nd April, and 1 on 30th April. Redshank |
| Greenshank | 1 on 14th April, 1 on 31st May to 1st June, 2 on 12th August, 2 on 19th August,1 on 24th to 27th August, 3 on 31st August, 2 on 5th to 13th September. |
| Green Sandpiper | 1 on 8th January, 1 on 7th February, 1 on 1st March, 1 on 17th March, 1 on 5th April was probable the first spring migrant with a high count of 3 in late July, 1 on 8th November. The last sighting was of 2 on 30th December. |
| Black-Tailed Godwit | 1 on 29th April, 4 on 9th June with 2 still on 11th June. |
| Whimbrel | 1 on 5th and 6th May, 10 on 7th May, 1 on 24th August. |
| Curlew | 50 south on 14th April was the highest count. |
| Snipe | Max count was 65 on 5th January. |
| Jack Snipe | 1 on 5th January, 1 on 15thFebruary, 4 on 23rd March, 1 on 12th October, 2 on 16th November,6 on 28th November, 3 on 14th December. |
| Ruff | 1 on 25th March, 6 on 28th March with 8 on 29th March, 2 on 3rd April, 10 on 12th April, 25 on 15th April, 1 on 19th July, 2 on 5th August, 1 on 9th December. |
| Turnstone | 4 on 20th May. |
| Yellow-Legged Gull | 1 Adult on 24th September. |
| Mediterranean Gull | Adult winter plumaged birds on 9th March, 20th April and 2nd December. |
| Little Gull | 1 Adult winter on 1st November. |
| Common Tern | 2 on 22nd April, 2 on 16th June, 3 on 17th June, 2 pairs on 23rd June to 12th July with 1 pair nesting successfully raising a single chick despite unavoidable disturbance from contactors planting a new reedbed. Last sighting was of pair and juvenile on 25th August. |
| Stock Dove | 50 on 21st December was the highest count. |
| Turtle Dove | 1 on 17th May, 3 birds on 22nd May, 2 on 17th June, 2 on 22nd June, 1 on 26th July,1 on 31st July, 2 on24th August, 1 on 31st August,1 on September, 1 on 11th September. |
| Cuckoo | 1 on 22nd April, 1 on 5th May, 1 on 26th August. |
| Barn Owl | Pair on 11th April hunting over fields just south of reserve, 1 flushed from inside reserve on 25th October. |
| Little Owl | Pair in tree just west of reserve on 28th April, then seen on and off until 14th May. |
| Kingfisher | 1 on 20th July was first of the year, then seen regularly to years end, with a high count of 3 together on 5th October. |
| Swift | First of year was on 22nd April with the last sighting on 31st August. |
| Swallow | First of year was 1 on 6th April with the last sighting of 2 on the 5th October. |
| House Martin | First of year was 3 on 13th April with the last sighting on 7th September. |
| Green Woodpecker | 1 on 1st January. Pair together on 2nd May and then 1 or 2 birds seen regularly throughout the rest of the year. |
| Great Spotted Woodpecker | Pair on 25th April, then intermittent sightings of single birds throughout the rest of the year. |
| Lesser Spotted Woodpecker | Female present for half an hour on 30th December (1st reserve record) |
| Skylark | 45 on 1st February was the highest count, with several pairs breeding on the reserve. |
| Sand Martin | First of year on 22ndMarch.188 nest holes in newly created cliff face, being occupied by 151 pairs. Last sighting on 5th October. |
| Rock Pipit | 1 on 19th October (1st reserve record) |
| Yellow Wagtail | 1 on 13th April was first of year, 2 on 6th May, 1 on 13th May, 1 on 19th May, 1 on 26th June, 1 on 12th July, 2 on 11th September. |
| Grey Wagtail | Singles seen on the following dates, 18th January,2nd & 9th February, 22nd & 23rd March, 6th & 27th April. Adult watched feeding juvenile on 27th May (probably breed along beck in village) Singles again seen on 20th September, 18th November and 21st December. |
| Wheatear | First of year was 1 on 14thApril, with 2 the following day. |
| Stonechat | 1 on 15th to 22nd February and 1 on 6th November. |
| Whinchat | 1 female on 26th April. |
| Sedge Warbler | 1 on 20th July, 1 on 17th August, 1 on 24th August, 1 on 22nd September. |
| Lesser Whitethroat | First of year was on 27th April. Breed for the first time on the reserve with adults seen taking food to nest on 16th July. |
| Whitethroat | First of year was on 22nd April, last seen on 3rd August, with several breeding pairs in perimeter hedgerows. |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 1 on 30th July (1st reserve record) |
| Willow Tit | 1 on 18th November, 1 from 17th and 24th December. |
| Nuthatch | 1 on 26th July (1st reserve record) |
| Tree Sparrow | Present throughout the year with a maximum count of80+ on 28th November. |
| Brambling | 1 flew south on 29th September with 6 on 28th November. |
| Linnet | Maximum count was 150+ on 19th August. |
| Lesser Redpoll | 2 on 1st February, 4 on 6th November with 10+ on 2nd December being a site record count. |
| Bullfinch | Pair on 1st February, 1 on 3rd February. |
| Siskin | 10+ on 2nd December was highest count. |
| Yellowhammer | 50+ on 1st February and 28th November were the highest counts of the year. |
| Reed Bunting | 60 on 1st February was the highest count. |
| Corn Bunting | 10+ on 1st February, with up to 3 birds singing around the site in spring and early summer.20+ on 31st December was the highest count of the year. |