So, that was April.

Mark 4 Comments

By Vogelartinfo (Own work) [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
By Vogelartinfo (Own work) [GFDL 1.2 (http://www.gnu.org/licenses/old-licenses/fdl-1.2.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
I always think that I like May more than I like April – but I have liked this April a lot! I can’t wait until the next one.

For a birdwatcher April is a month of arrivals (though, at the same time, there are departures too).  I have a few mental ‘targets’ (not quite the same type as Maltese hunters); hear a singing Chiffchaff before the end of the Cheltenham Festival (achieved in 2014), see a Sand Martin before the end of March (achieved in 2014), see a Willow Warbler before the end of March (fail), hear Cuckoo and Nightingale before St George’s Day (achieved for Cuckoo, failed for Nightingale but probably because I forgot to try!), see a Swift in April (fail).

Here’s a list of spring migrants and where and when I saw them (which shows I don’t get out much).  For those recorded at Stanwick Lakes I give you my median ‘first sighting’ for the past 9 years for comparison.

Chiffchaff, Stanwick Lakes, 14 March – wintering birds confuse my records!

Sand Martin, Stanwick Lakes, 21 March – median 31 March

Blackcap, Stanwick Lakes, 31 March – median 12 April

Willow Warbler, Stanwick Lakes, 2 April – median 4 April

Little Ringed Plover, Stanwick Lakes, 2 April – median 21 April

Swallow, Stanwick Lakes, 5 April – median 17 April

Common Tern, Stanwick Lakes 9 April – median 17 April

Sedge Warbler, Stanwick Lakes, 9 April – median 12 April

Ring Ousel, Northants, 10 April

Garganey, Cambs, 10 April

Cuckoo, Stanwick Lakes, 13 April – median 25 April

Wheatear, Beds, 14 April

House Martin, Northants, 15 April

Reed Warbler, Stanwick Lakes, 19 April – median 24 April

Garden Warbler, Cambs, 21 April

Whitethroat, Stanwick Lakes, 23 April – median 25 April

Nightingale, Northants, 26 April

Lesser Whitethroat, Oxon, 30 April

Hobby, Oxon, 30 April

Grasshopper Warbler, Oxon, 30 April

Semprempe [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
Semprempe [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons
So, does this tell us anything? Not much, because it is one observer from one site.  But it looks as though this year, at Stanwick Lakes, migrants arrived earlier than usual – all of them!  This isn’t a completely secure conclusion because the first date on which you record something is dependent on your effort (I know that).  Maybe I just visited Stanwick Lakes more often this year and therefore I was almost certain to see species first, earlier.  I think that is part of the explanation but looking at the data I don’t think it is all of it.

Rather more importantly, if you look at the excellent Birdtrack data, then this year does look like an ‘early’ year (cf 2012 and 2013) for many species.  My data are in the Birdtrack dataset.  My anecdotes from Stanwick Lakes are part of the national picture. I’m pleased about that.

But I didn’t see a Swift in April this year, despite a visit to Otmoor yesterday and an evening sit in the garden looking at the sky.  I’m pretty sure though, that unless the Earth stops turning, I will see  a Swift in May.  Roll on May with Swifts, Spotted Flycatchers and Nightjars.

 

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4 Replies to “So, that was April.”

  1. Mark, no yellow wagtail, can I assume that they are gone from the Nene Valley now? Barnwell CP used to because reliable site ( a long time ago).

    (and thanks for your hen harrier/ swallow comment I enjoyed that. I haven’t seen a hen harrier this year – perhaps I should stare at swallows….)

  2. Pleased to see that you visited Otmoor yesterday, Mark. Hope you had a good time and met some friendly visitors. Did you see any lapwing chicks? I understand that 35 nests have already fledged. It’s my wardening duty there tomorrow and I’m hoping for the return of the turtle doves. Last year there were possibly three pairs and five fledged young. Interesting blog by Martin Harper yesterday about trichomonosis in doves. Yet another gauntlet for them to run!

    Also good to see Martin giving “A Message from Martha” some publicity!

    1. Richard – see my blog at 6pm for a bit of an account of my visit to Otmoor yesterday (which was very very enjoyable). And thanks for the nudge about Martin’s blog – I hadn’t yet read that (but I have now). The last chapter of A Message from Martha deals with Turtle Doves and farmland bird declines back here.

  3. I think you also ought to be cautious about over-wintering Blackcaps giving you funny dates – they can be very good at hiding until it gets a bit warmer. Only way I ever knew about them was putting up a mist net (in the days when I had a ringing licence) in the back garden in December and January and catching the odd one instead of the local greenfinches.

    Otherwise, you’ve beaten me by a week for swallows. My first ones were off Rame Head on a misty afternoon, so they were coming in low. Otherwise, the Great Northern Divers left Looe area for the North at about the end of March.

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