Clifton, May 3rd

Had a bikeride to clifton today - i've been meaning to for a while as i've wanted to photograph the wild garlic once it had come into flower. I wasn't disappointed, as it was literally in flower everywhere. The smell was lovely and it was quite a sight to behold too. I'll post some pics tomorrow.

The birding around clifton has been great by the looks of things, according to Rob Hoare's website www.cliftongrovebirds.co.uk. All sorts has been seen over the last few weeks, although when i go down i always seem to miss most of what i go to find. Over the last few weeks there has been Brambling and Ring Ouzel (which i failed to locate a couple of weeks back), hordes of wheatear (which have eluded me this year), and recently, continental races of Yellow wagtail, white fronted goose, a CRANE and loads more. Keep an eye on his site it really is an excellent resource.

I had a short walk around the grove today to see if i could pick up on anything. My main aim was to see what was around at the weir, as yesterday 2 dunlin, a common sandpiper and a green sandpiper were seen. On the way i saw a peregrine flying high over the trent, gliding on the thermals as well as quite a few Common Terns, feeding with a small group of black headed gulls.

Down at the weir, I sat by the river for a while scanning the banks, but all i saw were swans mallards and a grey heron. I was about to give up when somehow i managed to spot a Common Sandpiper sitting motionless on a concrete pillar which was half submerged in the water. It was difficult to identify at a distance, but i managed to get a little closer and peek at it through some bushes. It eventually clocked me and flew off, clinching its ID. first of the year!

I was also rather hoping to pick up on some swifts today as a few had moved through over the weekend but was left disappointed, although there were a few swallows about at the weir, and as i was walking down a path 2 sand martins passed me within a metre away which was cool. I ventured over the 'weir field' towards the yellow gate pond, where on the way i counted around 25 Lapwing in a cow field. They weren't displaying and seemed quite stationary, leading me to believe that they may be guarding some eggs, as i also didnt see any chicks about. Around the group of cows and calves i also saw 3 Yellow Wagtails, a first for the year for me, and 2 more passed overhead. Also in the field were around 100 Starling and several Linnet.

Warblers were everywhere today. In the wooded areas blackcaps were noted everywhere, but the real stars of the day were the Whitethroats. I probably noted around 20 birds today, more often heard than seen, but a few were being particularly showy - especially when there were more than one bird in a tree, chasing each other around and being very vocal. At Holme pit there were reed warblers singing and i even managed to see a couple pretty well, as well as hearing the more scratchy song of the sedge warblers. A couple of reed bunting were noted too.