same again

Still cold, but bright this morning around 06:10 when I arrived.

Cuckoo, probably 2 about, LFGP : 3 Common Sandpiper, 2 LRP, 3 Lapwing, a few House Martin over, 2-3 Teal, 2 Common Tern.

BSL : More or less nothing.

The upside is that I forgot to count Shelduck for April and we arrived at 106, making a new third best total for all Aprils'.

Not unusual but we are missing Coal Tit, which I think goes quiet and stays further West of the park, but I still suspect is never far away and perhaps should go down as 'Assumed Present'.

With the rainier weather heading in I am hopeful some of the those waders might come through from tonight thru to the bank holiday...fingers crossed.

A lunchtime visit today I spent most of the time looking up and was rewarded with 4 Hobby hunting to the immediate North East of the car park field and landfill. I last saw 4 in spring on 21st April & 24th 2013. There were 5 on 10th May 2006, but I have to go all the way back to 2002 to find bigger number - 5/6th May, 6/10th, 9/22nd, 11/23rd, 14/27th and these numbers have never been beaten.

Cold and quiet again

It was marginally less cool this morning, but there was little about over BSL, a few hirundines, 2 Oycs as usual.

A late lunchtime visit was a smidgen better, 4 Swift, 4-6 of Sand House Martin, 2-3 Swallow and a Hobby drifted thru North. Plenty of Buzzard up and a lone Linnet over.

Lesser Whitethroat

The wind was darn right chilly this morning, conditions didn't feel great for migration and they weren't, 4 Common Tern on BSL, 2 Oycs, 2 possible Common Sandpiper flying around distantly. I decided to go around the car park field to see if the Lesser Whitethroat was still about, it was singing but not visible. I had contemplated year ticking it on the call I heard on Saturday, but no I don't have to. 112 from 116.

Ideally another wader like a Greenshank and another tern like a Black Tern will show up, to keep me on track with last year's total so far.

I am checking every hirundine ever hopeful one will be a Red-rumped Swallow...and why not, who checks them all the time.

I forgot to mention that a Mistle Thrush was calling at the same time as the Lesser Whitethroat was on Saturday.

So what else can we hope for between now and 31st May?

Garganey - 8 May records
Marsh Harrier - 2 April, 2 May records
Ringed Plover - 8 late April and 17 May records
Black Tern - 4 late April and 20 May records
Grey Plover - 2 April, 4 May records
Sanderling - 4 May records, possibly the most overdue wader
Temminck's Stint -  2 May records
Curlew Sandpiper - No spring records, also long overdue
Bar-tailed Godwit - 2 April, 3 May records
Curlew - 4 late April and 2 May records
Turnstone - 4 May records
Little Gull - 6 late April records
Whinchat - 7 May records

Not much else on the radar, unless we want to include wild cards like Sandwich Tern, or that we get something very unexpected...I'm up for an early Red-footed Falcon at the end of May.

Not bad for a work party day

I don't often go out before a work party, but I was awake at 06:30 anyway and felt a bit of tern or wader passage was possible. I only managed time to wait and see at BSL and nothing happened, but I did think I heard Lesser Whitethroat call twice near the beach.

By the time the work party was about to start, Richard had texted saying 1 Dunlin on the shingle island at LFGP. As I drove the pickup along the track it had become 2, but my attention fell on the birds coming up in front of me...2 Yellow Wagtails and what looked like White too.

I Tweeted the news and it transpired to be 3 Yellow, 2 White, plus the 2 Dunlin, 3 Common Sandpiper, 1 Snipe, 3 Oystercatcher, 2 Redshank, 3 LRP, not sure I saw any Lapwing, but darn good wader count by our standards.

During the work party we saw 2 Cuckoo, a Hobby and a good few hirundines, mostly Swallow, but Sand and House Martin too. Later on Marek phoned to say a Lesser Whitethroat was in the central compound f the car park field, so I guess I was right earlier.

Offsite yesterday afternoon and I took the family to see the Hudsonian Godwit and very nice it was, along with the Great White Egret, Bearded Tits, Water Rail and Greenshank.

All change

I looked out of my window and saw the rain and thought "hmmm, might be some tern or wader passage".

I had a quick cuppa and dashed out to BSL, but found nothing, so I waited and waited with nothing happening but an ever damp hat and coat, I wondered off to the car park field. As often happens I am not sure what made me look back, but with the naked eye I noticed a large group of birds, lifting my bins I could see they were terns.

Quickly up with the scope and I could instantly see long streamers of Arctic Terns...now how many I thought. Back to bins and two stab at counting in 5's, both were 65+, they were moving in tight circles and drifting quickly East with the wind, phoning Brian who was at LFGP, it was already too late, they continues on East.

This is by far the largest flock thru DP, nearly double the May 5th 2005 flock, that also didn't stop.

Fog again

Just when you think it is over fog appears again, so I waited at BSL even deciding to sit on the picnic table for a change and see what happened. Little in fact, an Oystercatcher, a Grey Wagtail, a Kingfisher suitably quiet as they always are in April.

Marek arrived and we discussed what might happen, but rarely does...and didn't. He was off to LFGP so I joined him, 4 LRP's double figures of Teal, then 2 terns came in, one stayed, the other left South, the latter appeared to have quite good streamers, but it was all too brief and I had to go home.

Later Alan texted to say our second Shelduck this year dropped in at LFGP, staying just 10 mins, before departing North.

One more day of okay weather then it all goes down hill and maybe it will make things more ideal for some more tern passage?

I told you so

Out at 06:10 I decided that with the cloud a wader might have dropped in on LFGP, so went there first. On arrival not much really, 2 LRP, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Oystercatcher over, 9 Lapwing and forgot to continue my search for Snipe. 10+ Teal, 2 Gadwall and I was getting a little bored when I picked up something dropping in quickly, landing on the East shore behind the shingle island, it was a Whimbrel 06:37.

It looked nervous, but for about 3 minutes then proceeded to have a wash and a drink, while I called Marek, who was at the green bridge, he arrived just in time as it flew off North about 6 seconds after he got to Ron's hide.

I managed to get 6 photos, 3 were reasonable.

Whimbrel are tricky things to see at DP, better since we had LFGP, but generally speaking they are flying over and mostly early morning only. I have had 9 records and 7 are spring and are as follows;

May 2nd 1986 - Over 07:57
May 5th 2000 - Over 07:00
May 14th 2004 - On BSL main island
April 30th 2007 - Over 06:45
May 3rd 2008 - On LFGP
April 23rd 2009 - 2 Over 08:15
April 23rd 2015 - Briefly LFGP 06:37

I'll detail the whole history another time.

Late afternoon I went back and did BSL and the car park field, little of note except a distant Hobby over the far landfill, oh and 1 Sand Martin thru.