Mid April 2016

April 20th. Around were 2 Brambling, a Short-eared Owl, 2 Whimbrel and 3 Yellow Wagtail. In the Plantation were 5 Blackcap. On Tennyson's Sands were a Spotted Redshank and 15 Avocet.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 10 new birds: a Robin, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Blackcap, 2 Reed Bunting, 3 Linnet, a Meadow Pipit and a Song Thrush; and 7 retraps: a Whitethroat, 2 Great Tit, a Sedge Warbler, a WillowWarbler, a Robin and a Chaffinch.

April 19th. Birds around included 2 Short-eared Owl, 3 Whimbrel, a Wheatear, a Cuckoo, 2 Yellow Wagtail, a Firecrest (singing by the feeders), 4 Siskin and 2 Brambling.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 8 new birds: 2 Blackcap, 2 Linnet, a Reed Bunting, 2 Goldfinch and a Great Tit; and 5 retraps: a Great Tit, 2 Dunnock and 2 Linnet.

April 18th. Around were 2 Little Tern (first of year), 3 Red-breasted Merganser, 8 Siskin, a Yellow Wagtail, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Great Crested Grebe. Flying south were 2 Common Redpoll.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 14 new birds: a Wren, a Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warbler, 5 Linnet, a Reed Bunting, a Whitethroat, a Chaffinch and a Dunnock; and 4 retraps: a Reed Bunting, a Blue Tit and 2 Dunnock.

April 17th. Birds around included a Brambling, 6 Fieldfare, a House Martin, 16 Willow Warbler, 5 Goldcrest, a Yellow Wagtail and a Cuckoo. Flying north were 2 Fieldfare, south a Yellow Wagtail and northeast 35 Curlew.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 4 new birds: 2 Chiffchaff and 2 Blackbird; and 5 retraps: a Wren, 3 Dunnock and a Goldfinch.

April 16th. On Croftmarsh were 15 Pink-footed Goose, 25 Teal and a Spotted Redshank. Around were 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Willow Warbler, a Short-eared Owl, a Hen Harrier and 3 Brambling.

April 15th. The first Cuckoo of the year was recorded. An adult Little Gull was seen briefly over the Mere and it then flew out to sea.

April 14th. Around were a Short-eared Owl, 2 Marsh Harrier (including an adult male), 2 Ruff, a Woodlark, a Firecrest, 9 Goldcrest, 3 Song Thrush, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Whitethroat, 11 Blackcap, 19 Chiffchaff, 9 Willow Warbler, 2 Brambling, a Grey Wagtail, 2 Fieldfare, 3 Sedge Warbler and a House Sparrow. A Spotted Redshank was on Tennyson's Sands and a pair of Garganey were on Jackson's Marsh.

Garganey, 14th April 2016.
Photo - Nige Lound

April 13th. An Osprey and a Red Kite flew through the reserve in the afternoon, as did several Common Buzzard throughout the day. At the feeding station were 4 Brambling. Birds around included a Short-eared Owl, 2 Mediterranean Gull, 3 Corn Bunting, a Song Thrush, 15 Pink-footed Goose, 2 Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat (first of the year), a Peregrine, 3 Blackcap, a White Wagtail, 8 Fieldfare, 6 Wheatear, 2 Spotted Redshank and 10 Chiffchaff. Flying south were 15 Rook, 4 Swallow, 5 Sand Martin and 6 Yellow Wagtail. A Pied Flycatcher was discovered near the Betty Alan Hide in the evening.

Pied Flycatcher, 13the April 2016.
Photo - Richard Doan

April 12th. A walk through the East Dunes early morning produced a Ring Ouzel, 2 Song Thrush and 10 Redwing. Around were 9 Brambling (feeding station), a Short-eared Owl, a Firecrest (Sykes Farm track), a Spotted Redshank, 2 Whimbrel (first of the year), a Grey Partridge, 5 Chiffchaff, 26 Corn Bunting, a Green Sandpiper and a Sandwich Tern. A dark Common Buzzard flew high south-west. Other birds on the move included a House Martin, 10 Sand Martin, 3 Swallow and a Yellow Wagtail. A male Black Redstart was in the Visitor Centre Car Park in the evening.
 An early morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by Mike Polling yielded 16 new birds: 5 Goldfinch, 3 Brambling, 6 Great Tit, 5 Chaffinch and 2 Greenfinch (including a bird with a well developed brood patch); and 22 retraps: 6 Great Tit, 6 Blue Tit, 4 Goldfinch, 5 Greenfinch and a Chaffinch.

April 11th. In the Plantation were 4 Chiffchaff, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Brambling and a Firecrest. Singles of Short-eared Owl, Marsh Harrier, Whitethroat (first of the year) and Common Buzzard were around. The 15 Pink-footed Goose were still on Croftmarsh. Offshore were 2 Red-breasted Merganser, 1+ Fulmar, 2 Common Scoter and an ider. A Manx Shearwater flew north offshore.

Brambling, 11th April 2016.

Red-breasted Merganser, 11th April 2016.