Birding at the Mecca today from 9am till 6.15pm
Spent the first 5 hours at the
Moors, where we had heavy rain at 1pm for a good few minutes. The wind was cold and mostly northerly.
Loads of chiffs(8) and blackcaps (7) all over the site. Sedge warbler was heard (not by me)and 1 Willow warbler.
Duck numbers apart from Tufted are dropping.
Vis Mig today involved 40 hirundines mostly sand martin and swallow with a couple of house martin. A meadow pipit called whilst flying north and that was it.
Species count
Moors:GCG 8, shoveler male, teal pr, gadwall male, shelduck pr, LRP, lapwing 1 male holding territory, plus 1 over. Oystercatcher 4 (2 prs), Snipe 4,
kingfisher performed well most of the morning. Stock dove 4 (this species is becoming more commoner at the Moors, than it used to be). Buzzard 10, sparrowhawk, Raven, rook (only my 2nd of the year).
Water rail's still vocal around the causeway.
The
Flashes from 2pm onwards. Spent a bit of time around the bridge where at least 3 blackcaps were singing with others foraging in the Education pollarded hedge. One of the blackcap has a strange 'whistling' phrase at the beginning of its song. Sometimes it only used this phrase, was very confusing at first. A garden warbler was listed in the log book.
Many of the waders on site, performed well to the watching crowds in the channel in front of the hide (the 'hide channel'), these included common sand, green sand, LRP 5, lapwing 8, avocet - only 3. A single snipe fed in the grass to the right of the hide. Other bits and pieces included: shelduck pr (from moors), gadwall pr, peregrine, buzzards 6, raven, rook, stock doves, skylark,
swallow and sand martin 2.
Gavo and Hayley discovered a pair of ground nesting pied wagtails in front of the hide on the peninsula.
Today I had
60 species.
B
John
