The end of march had given plenty of signs of spring, and in april they really started appearing in earnest. Invertebrates and wildflowers were appearing everywhere, trees were coming into leaf and most importantly, the spring migrants were appearing. As i write, i have seen most of the common spring migrants now, and most of the trees are now in full leaf, bar a small proportion.
At the end of march the year list stood at 84, not bad for 3 months, but thanks to the influx of migrants, and a lot of visits, the list now stands at 105 - thats 21 new birds this month!
Here are the april newcomers, spring migrants marked with and M, lifer marked with an L-
- Muscovy Duck (escape), White Wagtail (L), Swallow (M) and Sand Martin at colwick park on the 1st
- Oystercatchers (L) and ruddy ducks at Attenborough on the 4th
- Willow Warbler at Sherwood on the 11th (M) - these have been noted at most locations now, probably my most frequently heard warbler, apart from perhaps chiffchaff
- Blackcaps at Brackenhurst on the 16th (M)
- Osprey (M L) and Shelduck x Ruddy Shelduck at Rutland on the 21st
- Warblers galore at Attenborough on the 22nd - Whithroat (M L), Reed Warbler (M), Sedge Warbler (M), Grasshopper Warbler (M L), as well as Ross's Goose (Escape L), Little Ringed Plover, Swift (M) Common Tern (M) and Common Sandpiper (L)
- Lesser Whitethroat (M L) and Wheatear (M) at Clifton on the 26th and 24th respectively
So not bad at all then! Especially as it includes 8 Lifers!!! it helps being a novice really! The highlight was certainly attenborough on the 22nd but there have been loads of other great days, especially
- Buzzards displaying at Brack
- Migrants galore
- Multiple wader sightings
May will be a good one, hopefully with plenty of visible migration, but the influx of migrants onto my list has probably finished now, so they'll probably just start dribbling back on again!
No comments:
Post a Comment