April 20th. Increasing north-easterly wind yet again.
A very productive hour from 0730 from the Visitor Centre: 2 Peregrine, 2 Merlin, 2 Marsh Harrier, 2 Kestrel, a Sparrowhawk, a Barn Owl, a Short-eared Owl, a Greenshank, 7 Red-breasted Merganser, 4 Mediterranean Gull, 8 Sandwich Tern, 14,000 Knot, a Rock Pipit and 15 Swallow. The Wheatear and Black Redstart showed very well too. A further 2 Wheatear arrived there later and 2 Brambling were around the North Car Park.
In an interesting week for Mediterranean Gull along the Lincolnshire coast, today witnessed at least 13, with 7 moving north and 6 spending much of the day on Tennyson's Sands.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes produced a new Linnet; and a retrap Dunnock.
April 19th. Increasing north-easterly wind again.
A Short-eared Owl and a Barn Owl were seen early morning. A Black Redstart was around the Visitor Centre. Other birds around were a Pink-footed Goose, 5 Whimbrel, 7 Sandwich Tern, a Merlin, a Sand Martin, 2 Swallow, a Willow Warbler, 9 Chiffchaff, 6 Blackcap and a House Sparrow. On Croftmarsh were a Barnacle Goose and 2 Egyptian Goose; on Jackson's Marsh 2 Greenshank; and on Tennyson's Sands a Sedge Warbler. Flying north were 5 Fulmar and a Manx Shearwater; and east a Marsh Harrier.
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| Short-eared Owl, 19 April 2023. Photo - Tom Baker |
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| Black Redstart, 19 April 2023. Photo - Tom Baker  Wheatear, 19th April 2023. Photo - Tom Baker  Black-tailed Godwits, 19th April 2023. Photo - Tom Baker  Blackcap, 19th April 2023. Photo - Tom Baker |
April 18th. Increasing north-easterly wind, quite cold to start with, then warming up with sunshine.
After yesterday's movement of Arctic Tern, the main focus was on the sea early morning but there were no more Arctic Tern. A flock of 9 Mediterranean Gull (7 adults), heading north was the largest flock to be recorded here, surprising given the large numbers now occurring in Norfolk and Yorkshire. A smart male Velvet Scoter went south and a flock of 10 Ruff went north along the shoreline (a good spring count for this species), but otherwise records were more routine: a scattering of Sandwich Tern, Red-breasted Merganser, Gannet and Common Scoter. New migrants around the dunes included 4 Brambling, 4 Whimbrel, 3 Yellow Wagtail, a Black Redstart at the Visitor Centre, a Coal Tit and the first Tree Pipit of the spring. Highlights of a short evening sea-watch were single Fulmar and Little Tern north. Also around in the evening were a ringtail Hen Harrier and 3 Marsh Harrier.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in a new Reed Bunting; and 3 retraps: a Wren, a Dunnock and a Reed Bunting.
April 17th. A stiff south-easterly breeze became north-easterly during the course of the day, keeping temperatures down. Predictably the conditions yielded the first Arctic Tern of the year with a group of 5 moving north early morning, and a further 5 Commic Tern with 15 Sandwich Tern, 2 Gannet and 2 Fulmar prior to 0830hrs, then no sea coverage until 1730hrs when it became apparent that tern passage was ongoing. A further 54 pristine Arctic Tern moved north out of the Wash, quite close inshore, including a flock of 28. Its possible that these birds had arrived at the Wash from an overland route, given the wide spread of earlier reports. A further 23 Commic Tern moved north more distantly, evading positive identification and a pair of Mediterranean Gull arrived over the sea late on.
The early morning period saw the male Ring Ouzel performing south of Mill Hill, 101 Dark-bellied Brent Goose and 3 Wheatear around, a light passage of Linnet, Goldfinch and Siskin, (with a static flock of 11 Siskin), a Brambling, a Yellow Wagtail and a Marsh Harrier heading south, while a Great White Egret headed out to sea. A Hen Harrier, 2 Marsh Harrier and a Short-eared Owl were around the marshes.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Mike Polling, Robyn Dalton and Bethany McGuire provided 4 new birds: 2 Chiffchaff, a Robin and a Linnet; and 2 retraps: a Goldcrest and a Chiffchaff.
April 16th. The male Ring Ouzel remained in the East Dunes where a male Pied Flycatcher, 6 Goldcrest and a Whitethroat were new arrivals but little evidence of other new migrants. Another morning of light southerly passage saw an increase in the proportion of Goldfinches to Linnets. On the lagoons, single Marsh Harrier, Ruff, 3 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Med Gulls and a Spoonbill were the highlights. 85 Dark-bellied Brent Goose remained. Other birds around were a Sparrowhawk, a Water Rail, 5 Sedge Warbler, a Fieldfare, a Corn Bunting and a Siskin. Heading south were 2 Swallow.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Kyle Campbell, produced 10 new birds: 4 Goldcrest, a Chiffchaff, a Robin, a Blackcap, a Chaffinch, a Reed Bunting and a Blackbird; and 3 retraps: a Dunnock, a Chiffchaff and a Chaffinch.
April 15th. Rain until early morning with south-westerly wind, becoming sunny.
A male Ring Ouzel was the first of spring, singing from the top of Hawthorns near Mill Hill early morning. Possibly another flew off high inland. Other migrant thrushes were a Redwing and 2 Song Thrush in East Dunes, whilst a new Black Redstart turned up at the Visitor Centre and a Common Redstart near Shovelers Pool was another first of spring. On Croftmarsh were a Mediterranean Gull, a Buzzard and a Barn Owl. A Firecrest was in the East Dunes with 2 Goldcrest but there was no marked increase in warbler numbers. Also around were147 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, a Short-eared Owl, a Wheatear and a Coal Tit. Flying south were a Marsh Harrier and a Brambling.
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| Wheatear, 15 April 2023. Photo - Tom Baker |
Linnet, 15th April 2023. 
April 14th. A coldish start, with a cool southerly wind, gradually warming up.
No sign of yesterday's Firecrests, but Chiffchaff remained in reasonable numbers, a few more Willow Warbler were in evidence, and 10 Wheatear were new in along with the first Whinchat and Grasshopper Warbler of the year. A light overland passage involved mostly Linnet and Goldfinch with a few Siskin, 4 Yellow Wagtail and a Redpoll. Short-eared and Barn Owl were hunting the Old Saltmarsh early morning and 101 Dark-bellied Brent Goose commuted between the Haven and Tennyson's Sands. It was not particularly busy offshore but there was variety: single Fulmar, Red-throated Diver, 4 Great Crested Grebe, 6 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Common Scoter and 8 Sandwich Tern. On Tennyson's Sands were 2 Mediterranean Gull, a Marsh Harrier and 3 Ruff. Other birds around included 3 Sparrowhawk, a Peregrine, 2 Stonechat, 3 Sedge Warbler and 5 Blackcap.
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       Short-eared Owl, Wren, Oystercatchers, Ruff with Greylag Goose, Shelduck, Pink-footed Geese, Brent Geese and Gadwall, 14th April 2023. Photos - Tom Baker |
April 13th. A strong and cold wind from the west kept activity down except in a few sunny, sheltered spots in the dunes where a small number of new Chiffchaff were found, and three new Firecrest, included two together in the East Dunes, with a Willow Warbler nearby. At sea, 20 Sandwich Tern were fishing and a further 15 moved into the Wash. Around were 35 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 12 Pink-footed Goose, a Wheatear, 4 Blackcap and a White Wagtail. Overland migration involved low numbers of Rook, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Siskin, Woodpigeon and Swallow. A Short-eared Owl was hunting over the Old Saltmarsh. On Fenland Lagoon was a Little Ringed Plover; and over Tennyson's Sands a Marsh Harrier.
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April 12th. A strong southerly wind limited the temperatures as well as overland migration. Thus more attention was paid to the sea between 0700 and 0900hrs. In addition to 32 Sandwich Tern feeding/moving south, the first Common Tern and Little Tern were recorded.
A nice flock of Hirundines was feeding over Jackson's Marsh in the afternoon when a series of rain showers passed over: 12 Swallow, 8 Sand Martin and a House Martin. 2 White Wagtail were grounded here briefly.
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| Mediterranean Gulls, 12 April 2023. Photo - Rob Watson |
April 11th. A dry morning after yesterday's rain but cold with an increasing south-westerly wind. A lively morning session with overland migration of Finches, Pipits, Corvids and Hirundines, a small number of Raptors arriving and some new migrants grounded, leaving no time for a check out to sea.
Vis mig highlights 0700-0900hrs included a Yellow Wagtail, a White Wagtail, 3 Red Kite, 2 Buzzard, 3 Sparrowhawk, a Marsh Harrier, a Bullfinch, 14 Sand Martin, 5 Swallow and 5 House Martin, with over 180 Linnet, 130 Chaffinch, 49 Goldfinch and 18 Siskin heading south.
An arrival of Chiffchaff was evident in the East Dunes with 10 in a relatively small area, accompanied by Blackcap, Goldcrest and Firecrest, whilst 5 Sedge Warbler were back on territory along Mill Pond Road and 4 Wheatear were in the adjacent Freshwater Marsh. On Croftmarsh was a White Wagtail. Other birds around included a Whimbrel a Yellow Wagtail, a Willow Warbler, a Snipe, a Jack Snipe, a Merlin and a Barn Owl.
Light passage of Sand Martin and Swallow was still underway early afternoon and three skeins of Pink-footed Goose totaling 159 headed off north-west.
Butterflies on the wing today were Comma and Peacock.
