I’ve now heard my first chiffchaff and seen a common tern too (both on Friday). This weekend should deliver lots of migrants – I hope!
The cuckoos are coming with Scottish Chance on the right side of the Sahara, English Chris is keen as mustard near Dijon although the Welsh David and Lloyd are still in Ivory Coast and Sierra Leone. But I’ll be hoping to pick up a few sand martins and swallows, and maybe a yellow wagtail. We’ll see!
Good luck with your hunting for signs of spring.
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Looks like a skua week with sw winds promised for the Solway. Wednesday being the best day bringing good numbers of divers, Kittiwakes and terns. First Ring Ouzel in the valley on 12th.
Over the last week here in the Yorkshire Dales, Wheatear arrived first on 7th April. Since then I’ve had Ring Ouzel, Chiffchaff and Sand Martin (these 4 species around a fortnight or so late). Yesterday, Willow Warbler, Swallow and a flyover Osprey joined us. The most striking thing about this late Spring to me, is the number of Redwings still around my area. Until this year, I’d never seen an April Redwing.
So far I have seen Chiffchaff, Blackcaps and Swallows returning, but then at the same time I am still seeing Fieldfare and Redwing!
Briefly heard a chiffchaff this week (near Thirsk, North Yorkshire). The toads have been on the move this weekend, much later than last year. The wind changed direction at the end of the week and we had some fresh rain for the first time in a while (its actually been a bit dry here recently and of course very cold) and the barometer was reading 1020 (does atmospheric pressure act as a trigger as well?) The field at the back of us was full of toads last night. I counted 73 just on the paths round the field so there would likely have been hundreds crossing the field to the lake on the other side. Amazing sight really. There were a couple of females with males “on board” earlier on and when I went out later there were a lot more females on the move. They were moving quickly, no doubt to try and get to the water before a male hitches a ride. I did wonder whether the females deliberately move later to avoid the males. My 9 year old son came out with me and hopefully its something that he will never forget. With a bit of luck just the sort of event to get him really interested in the world around him.
Looking forward to going out again tonight
Nick
1 – Water fell from the sky in the liquid phase yesterday
2 – Tickets for a Vivaldi concert at Grim’s Ditch village hall have been recalled after complaints to Trading Standards about the inclusion of Concerto No. 1 in E major, Op. 8.
3 – Sales of Quattro Stagioni pizzas have collapsed
No Cuckoos on Hampstead Heath Mark but a trickle of Swallows this morning and once the sun gained strength the hedges seemed to be spawning Brimstones. Also my first Coltsfoot of the year under a hazel (still with catkins)
Swallow flew over the garden today, brimstone butterfly in garden, bumble bee looking for nest place, birds singing like they actually mean it, at last…..
Oh, and it was warm enough not to need a coat whilst planting veg. The first time this year. Hurrah!
Here in West Wales it rained most of the day and then after watching footy on TV went out to look for a Swallow. They were everywhere and in particular 60 at Llangadog Common feeding voraciously with 30 Sand Martins and 4 House Martins. It did not feel like Spring yet but then even 60 Swallows do not make a summer.
A Blackcap in the bushes by the kitchen window this morning made me wonder how the ones have fared that stayed over winter and came with blackbirds in the snow in January to see the apples. I have not seen one again till today.
On the Suffolk coast what was unusual was how many snipe we put up walking round a couple of days ago. There were fieldfares about and the odd brambling on the feeders and siskins. All gone today.
First swallow of the year and a blackbird singing so loudly from the chimney of an older terraced house that I thought someone must have given it a loudhaler. Also saw a chaffinch with nesting material in it’s mouth. Very little green in the landscape, which is quite striking – just the odd hawthorne and elder. Blackthorn blossom only just out! (Biggleswade, Beds)
This leads to a sort of related aside … the BBC Parliament channel was showing coverage of the 1979 election from the Beeb’s archive yesterday. Occasionally the footage would cut from David Dimbelby et al in the studio to shots of Mr Callaghan and Mrs Thatcher being whizzed to and from the palace in those built like a brick sh*t house government Rovers (like the one Mrs T turns up at number 10 in before quoting St Francis of Assisi). It was noticeable that for early May it didn’t look very green in Central London, the London Planes were barely coming into leaf. So that was perhaps another late spring of the sort we’re having now. Anyone remember?
By a wierd coincidence a spring I remember being completely insane in its earliness was 1990, which of course was the year which ended with Mrs Thatcher being forced to leave office. I think the silver birches near where we then lived in Berkshire were in full leaf before the middle of April, and a scorching summer followed. People have described 2012 was the year global warming got serious, I say it was 1990…
Three swallows on 9 April, Chiffchaffs a plenty on Tuesday of last week, a male blackcap has been at the fat feeders in the garden for the last three days so all I need now is a Brimstone!
I know this is not an ideal placing for this reply but I regret to say that a long-standing supporter of conservation died on Saturday night. Ann Chaplin is not a name that will be known to most people but her contributions to research and conservation of birds, particularly in south-east Asia were immense (thanks Mark Wilkie).
Ann was a good old northern lass, born in Penrith, lived in Sheffield, Manchester and for a good length of time, in Penwortham near Preston. Ann fulfilled an ambition to visit Taiwan and Singapore on her retirement in 2008 (I like to think I had a hand in persuading her to go). Incredibly, Ann had no biology qualifications and never worked for a living in conservation but her enthusiasm rubbed off on everyone she met. I have a lovely memory of a trip to RSPB Marshside and introducing her to invertebrate stalwart, Mike Bird. They hit it off straight away and Mike sometimes shy of strangers, was delighted to tell her all about what he was doing. Ann was like that, despite living quite a lonely life from day to day.
Why am I posting this here? Well, Ann had a big thing about ospreys (even had the nickname Osprey Godmother to those who shared her passion) and I know she was eagerly awaiting their return again this spring. It is difficult to think that Sunday evenings will not be filled with me trying to put flesh on behaviour Ann had seen on the various osprey webcams and wanted to understand. For many, there are accolades galore in conservation, for Ann there will be virtually nothing but one more huge void exists today where yesterday, there was none.
RIP Ann, hopefully with EJ at last.