Wednesday, 23 April 2025

Back to Patch

We got back early Sunday morning (a Cuckoo was calling in the lane along with three singing Whitethroats) and I did the usual birding walk in the evening from here to Mill Lane Marsh via Ferry and back HERE. Highlights included 8 Whimbrel around Ferry and the Channel, a Greenshank, a Green Sandpiper, good numbers of Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps, Sedge and Reed Warbler and a light passage of Swallow with a single Sand Martin. Certainly a lot more warblers have arrived since I've been away. In the evening a couple of Green Sandpipers flew over the garden calling too.

Yesterday I was in London but it was a late start as I had to drop Holly off to pick up her car so I put the light trap on and had a few new for year moths. In the evening I got back at about 10pm and could hear an Avocet calling (probably from Ferry) and a Barn Owl was calling too.

This morning I joined the Selsey Bill seawatch but the predicted southeasterlies did not materialise (there was a tight low pressure that produced easterlies further east of us and there was good drift migration up the Thames, with Arctic Skua and Wood Sand at Beddington, Barwits inland, 120+ Arctic Tern at Staines and Farmoor, Poms at Dungeness), instead the wind was a dreaded south-westerly here. It was pretty terrible in comparison HERE highlights included a few Kittiwakes moving west, two to three Fulmars, some Little Terns, Common Scoters and Sandwich Terns dripping past east, a Hobby in-off and a Wheatear on the houses. Amazing how localised differences in wind direction can make so much difference. Hobby was a patch year tick, now on 152.

While I was away the Hoopoe action reached fever pitch with two birds calling and courting with eachother most of the week but duly departed before I got back. I'm truely jinxed with Hoopoe round here and only saw one in flight in Cyprus too. 

In-coming Hobby
Female Wheatear
Fulmar- one of two or three today
Kittiwakes
Whimbrel- there are over 30 or so in the harbour at the moment with smaller numbers moving off the coast in the week too
Female Blackcap. Most of the local summering warblers are in now establishing territories.
Nice to get a migrant moth in the trap- a Dark Sword Grass
Pale Prominent - a NFY

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