Saturday 7 April 2012

One Swallow doesn't make a summer.........

.........and neither do 6 or 7! I thought we'd slipped up this morning when I arrived at the 'obs' at 6.30 a.m. as it was virtually flat calm, just a hint of a whisper from the northeast, and it was mild. I started to wonder about all the birds we could have ringed until fairly quickly it was clear that there wasn't a great deal on the move.

As usual the pair of Sparrowhawks kept me entertained with their early morning air display, but other than that the skies weren't exactly full of migrants winging north on 'vis'. There was some vis but this was limited to Goldfinch, 3 Linnets, 2 Alba Wags, 29 Meadow Pipits, 7 Swallows and Lesser Redpoll.

There was nothing grounded at all other than a Snipe that I put up from the dry reedbed in the dunes. Focusing my attention on the sea it was quiet here too. Eighteen hundred Knot headed south and the main point of interest were the 27 Sandwich Terns on the beach. They were a delight to watch as pairs displayed to each other within the group.

I then met up with Ian and we headed to the reedbed to give some of the willows along our net rides a 'hair cut'. It was great to be back in the reedbed and we look forward, hopefully, to some Acros in a few weeks time. Coming soon to a reedbed near you:

Sedge and Reed Warbler

5 comments:

Scyrene said...

Hello. I've been following your blog for a while. I was wondering, is dawn the best time to observe birds? I've been going to Marton Mere and the coast (North Pier down to St Annes) a lot recently, and haven't seen all that many things - whereas the local council's website listing interesting sightings has all sorts of things. I hope you don't mind me asking.

theconstantwalker said...

It's wonderful to see the warblers arriving...
Sand Martins a plenty over the lake in my header and reports of an Osprey..I missed that one.

The Hairy Birder said...

Hello Scyrene, Dawn is the best time to observe birds as they are the most active then after roosting over night. Also during migration times birds soon move off at first light after they have fed. Dusk is also a good time as birds are actively feeding before roosting for the night, or if night migrants they are feeding before moving on. I much prefer dawn as on the whole there are more birds around and also less people and if there are less people there is less chance of teh birds being disturbed and more chance of you seeing them! Marton Mere is a very good place to see birds and if you make a visit at dawn you will be amazed at the difference. I hope taht helps.

The Hairy Birder said...

Andrew, Your blog header looks great. What a beautiful shot!

Scyrene said...

Thanks very much!