The Phantom of the Ospreya

Dan here.

After eight fruitless sessions... a good one.

1215-1315

Osprey 1
Merlin 1
Redpoll 1
Swallow 4
Linnet 2
Goldfinch 6
Sand Martin 6 (more later on-- see below)
Meadow Pipit 323

This was the only hour for which I kept a count. MPs and hirundines kept moving all afternoon, with c60 more Sand Martins in twos and threes.

A second Merlin which momentarily perched in a tree also continued N!

Willow Warblers and Blackcaps in Freeman's Wood AM.... also noted a Green Sandpiper, 2 LRPs, 4 Goldcrests and an influx of Chiffchaffs- 17 seen.

DH.

Wheatear 'ere

Male wheatear

A post-work trundle around the estuary environs this evening finally had me connecting with wheatear.
Two smart males were on the tide-line at Aldcliffe Marsh - as far as I'm aware, these are the first of the year on the patch.

The single little ringed plover was still on The Flood and at least 2 chiffchaff were in the hedgerow along the upper cinder path, along with a goldcrest.
There were no geese on the marsh and mute swan numbers had dwindled significantly leaving only younger birds on the saltmarsh. The ringed whooper was nowhere to be seen - hardly surprising given the good conditions for departure.

There was nothing to shout about at Freeman's Pools; I was hoping for a dusk sand martin or two to drop in but alas I left the area hirundine-free.
I'd received message that the barn owl was seen again around 6.45pm yesterday but I couldn't track it down this evening.
Jon

Going For Gold

I enjoyed a couple of hours bumbling around the patch in glorious sunshine this morning. Many of the common resident songbirds were in good voice, and the lapwings were displaying like billy-o over the stubble fields.

Goldeneye at Freeman's Pools

On Freeman's Pools it was business as usual with snoozing wigeon and gadwall on the still mostly submerged island, and at least 6 little grebes present. A coot pair have got a nest on the go, with one of the birds already sat on it.
A group of 18 goldeneye was a pleasant sight - we rarely get such large numbers on these pools.

The light-bellied brent goose was still consorting with the single barnacle goose on Colloway Marsh. There were approximately 1,000 pinkfeet scattered around the estuary. 
The ringed whooper swan was still hanging with the mutes on Aldcliffe Marsh. This bird, a male, was ringed in the summer of 2011 in Iceland.

The little ringed plover was still on the Flood, though there was little else to be seen. 
The only other 'summer' migrant was a singing chiffchaff along the cycle track.
There was a scattering of off-passage meadow pipits here and there plus a handful of north-bound skylark. There were also singing skylarks over the marsh and maize fields.
49 black-tailed godwit were roosting on the Lune, off Marsh Point, prior to the tide coming in.


Jon

Ringing The Changes

Little ringed plover by Ian Nieduszynski

The first returning little ringed plover was back on The Flood yesterday (Thursday) via Sue & Ian Nieduszynski.

Fact fans may be delighted to learn that last year's first LRP at Aldcliffe was also on the The Flood on the exact same date (19th March).

Jon
 

Docked Whooper & The Darvics

Pale-bellied brent goose

I got a text from Guy McClelland this morning saying there was a brent goose, along with a lone barnacle goose among the pinkfeet on Aldcliffe Marsh.
I managed to squeeze in a quick pre-work visit and found the two interlopers in with around 500 pink-footed geese on the saltmarsh, viewed directly out from the parking area. The brent was pretty active, disappearing into the gullies occasionally and even making a short flight within the flock of grazing geese.
It was a pale-bellied brent, presumably from the Svalbard population.
Having got a good goosie eyeful, I had a brief check of the tide rack beyond Walled Meadow; traditionally the best spot to find the first patch wheatears and stonechats. - two species already turning up at other likely sites nearby.

Whooper swan

Unfortunately the area was migrant passerine-free but I did come across a single whooper swan with the mutes. Better still, this bird was ringed.
If memory serves, and it rarely does if I'm honest, this may well be the first ringed whooper I've ever seen at Aldcliffe - exciting stuff! It took a bit of doing but eventually I managed to read the numbers on the red darvic on its right leg. It'll be interesting to learn of this bird's movements.
Reading birds' rings in the field can often be a major challenge, especially when they're the metal BTO-style ones. But the increased use of coloured plastic leg rings, and in some cases collars, has enabled even pretty incompetent oafs like to me to be able to decipher the odd one here and there, thus adding to the expanding knowledge of bird migration.
It's always a real thrill to confirm a sequence of numbers and / or letters and then later receive details of an individual's movements. Just one more element of birding that makes it all so fascinating!
Jon