2019
female Goosander - 16th March (last date)
Adult winter Little Gull - 20th March
Red-legged Partridge - 22nd March
Common Scoter - 23rd March
male Wheatear - 23rd March
Jack Snipe - 30th March
2 Mediterranean Gull - 5th & 6th April
female Goldeneye - 8th to 10th April
Curlew - 9th April
2 Wheatear - 9th April
2 male Yellow Wagtail - 9th April
3 White Wagtail - 9th April
Rock Pipit (Scandinavian) - 9th April
Whimbrel - 9th April
Tree Pipit - 11th April
female Wheatear 12th April LFL
Avocet - 13th April
Whinchat - 21st April
2 Great White Egret - Over BSL 23rd April
Curlew - 25th April
Whimbrel - 26th to 28th April
Adult Kittiwake - 28th April
1st winter Little Gull - 28th
male Garganey Sandford - 30th April to 8th May
2 female Wheatear Mortimer's Meadow - 30th April
Wood Warbler - 1st May
Black Tern - 8th May
Ringed Plover - 8th May
The only other spring that comes close to this was all the way back to 2003, but in my opinion this year was better, although I confess due to poor data recording on my part I am missing data on a Dunlin and a Whimbrel record which may have been in May.
2003
Spotted Redshank - 15th March (BTB et al)
2 Garganey - BSL 8th to 11th April
Male Redstart - Lavell's 12th
4 Little Egret - Over 12th April
Little Tern - BSL 15th April (Adam Bassett et al)
Pair Red Crested Pochard - WSL 16th April
2 Arctic Tern - over 16th
Oystercatcher - 17th April (rare then)
12 Little Gull 17th April, 4/18th
Caspian Gull 21st April (FJC only)
Eider 21st April ((K Tubb et al)
Wood Warbler - 25th April (Kev Creed, but not believed by me)
Spotted Flycatcher - 29th April (D Rimes)
Turnstone - Tern Scrape 20th May
I'd like to add that a good number of uncommon waders have occurred in mid and late May, so we can still at least hope more good stuff could happen.
And to close today's post here are some record shots of the three rarest birds this spring
Life is good!
