8th - 14th March

In a week that saw everything from perfectly still, sunny days to snow blizzards and horizontal hailstorms, the diversity of birds unfortunately failed to match that of the weather conditions. The anticipated first Pied Wagtail of the year arrived on the 8th, soon followed by further single sightings on the 10th, 11th and 12th. A Goldfinch on the 9th and a Woodpigeon on the 10th were also new species for the year. The three lingering European White-fronted Geese were joined by two more on the 9th, while the numbers of Greylags began to drop. Some Skylark passage was in evidence during the calm spells, peaking at 153 birds on the 12th; and a Lapland Bunting was feeding with the lark flock at Kirbest on the 10th.

The finch flock increased further this week, containing up to 112 Twites, 15 Linnets and this adult male Common Redpoll.

A small number of Snow Buntings have been present throughout the winter.