15th and 16th April
A dreadful morning on the 15th with a
blasting, cold NW wind bringing wintery showers every few minutes, it did
brighten up in the afternoon but we were full into sheep punding mode by then
so coverage was slightly reduced – the Northern Harrier was
still floating around though and the 3 Lapland Buntings were showing well, with
the males beginning to look especially special!
Other
little bits included a White Wagtail, 2 Robins, 16 Wheatears, a Chiffchaff, 11
Redwings, a Rook and a Brambling.
Lapland Bunting, photo Simon Davies
A
much nicer day on the 16th saw plenty of unbroken sunshine
throughout the day but it was slightly marred by the very cold, northerly wind
cutting through the gloriousness; the Northern Harrier and the 3 Lapland Buntings were
again amongst the highlights along with a/the pair of Garganey on Ancum.
There
were still plenty of lingering winter wildfowl including 2 Whooper Swans, 17
Pink-footed Geese, 4 Long-tailed Ducks and 20 Red-breasted Mergansers while
waders were also still present in numbers with 346 Golden Plover, 117 Purple
Sandpipers, 11 Bar-tailed Godwits, 247 Turnstone and a Black-tailed Godwit
waiting, like us for the spring to progress a bit further.
At
least 8 Lesser Black-backed Gulls constituted a notable influx and a little
male Sparrowhawk was also new in while landbird migrants largely remained the
same with a Robin, 17 Wheatears, 15 Redwings, a Chiffchaff, 2 Goldcrests, a
Rook and a Brambling creating a sense of Deja vu.
Brambling, photo Simon Davies
Displaying Red-breasted Mergansers, photo Simon Davies
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