Despite the cold, drizzly and dark weather yesterday morning, there were a few signs that spring is finally getting underway...
On arrival at Chevington the rain had forced 8
Sand Martins low over the pool. The
Slavonian Grebe was still present on the pool along with 8
Scaup, but it seemed the Pacific Diver had finally moved off. A female
Goosander had joined the 7
Red-breasted Mergansers and was my first of the year on the patch.
Whooper Swans were around in good numbers with 128 in the south pool and another 70 in a field just to the south-west. A walk down to the burn mouth produced 4
Shore Larks and a flyover
Twite and
Snow Bunting, while 3
Velvet Scoters were showing pretty well quite close offshore.
Other birds seen recently include 5
Avocets at Cresswell, several
Chiffchaffs, 3
Scaup at Bothal Pond and a
Short-eared Owl and 61
Whooper Swans at Longhirst Flash last weekend. My dad had a male
Wheatear here this afternoon.
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| Shore Lark |
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| Goosander with 3 Red-breasted Mergansers |
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| Goosander |
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| Velvet Scoter record shot! |
