April 2003 Ogston Bird News – 115 Species – 30 Days Covered

April was predominantly dry and sunny with fairly light winds. Towards the end of the month it became more unsettled with heavy showers.

Little Grebe was present most days with a maximum of six on 16th. Great Crested Grebes were seen every day with the maximum of seventeen being recorded on 3rd. Grey Heron numbers peaked at forty-two on 2nd and a single Mute Swan was present on the last four days of the month. Greylag Geese were recorded on nine days with the maximum of ten recorded on 27th, an unusual occurrence for Ogston. Shelduck were noted on several dates with a pair being present on 28th & 29th.

Duck numbers remained steady throughout the month with Teal recorded every day with a maximum of thirty-three on 11th. Shoveler was recorded on seven days with a maximum of five on the 17th and a couple of Pochard were noted on 24th . A pair of Gadwall took up residence for much of the month and on 23rd eight Wigeon flew in late afternoon and landed near the members hide on the West Bank.

Raptors of note this month were a Peregrine Falcon, which was seen on four dates with two being seen on 22nd and on the same date a Goshawk was also noted.

Waders had a good month with two Oystercatchers being present for most of the second half of the month. The Water Bailiff on 2nd flushed a single Jack Snipe from the bank and a count of twelve Common Snipe was made on 6th. A Woodcock was seen on 16th and two Whimbrel were noted on 24th and again on 29th. Curlew was noted on thirteen days with the maximum of three on 6th. Little Ringed Plover were seen most days with a maximum of ten on 18th. A Ringed Plover was seen on two days towards the end of the month. Common Redshank was noted for most of the month with the maximum of six being seen on the 14th &15th. Common Sandpiper was seen on seven days but it was its North American counterpart’s arrival on 30th that caused a bit of a stir. A summer plumaged SPOTTED SANDPIPER was found by Mick Blount on the new scrape to the left of the members hide, the bird which will probably become bird of the year for Ogston was appreciated by many as it fed amongst rocks near the dam wall.

A Sandwich Tern put in an appearance on 21st and four Common terns were noted on the same day. Arctic Terns were noted on several dates with the maximum of four being seen on 28th.

A Cuckoo was heard on several dates the earliest being 20th and a Green Woodpecker was also seen or heard most days. A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was also noted on several dates.

Sand Martin and Swallow numbers continued to increase as the month went by and the first House Martin was noted on 9th with much greater numbers present at the month end. A Tree Pipit was seen bathing in the scrape to the left of the hide on 17th and a WATER PIPIT was also present in front of the hide on the 7th & 8th. Yellow Wagtails were present on ten dates with the maximum of four on 21st. Meadow Pipits were also noted on several dates with maximums of six on 10th and 21st. A White Wagtail was present on three dates 9th, 10th and 20th.

The last Redwing to be seen was on 20th and likewise the last Fieldfare on 7th. Small flocks of both species were seen passing over early in the month. The first Willow Warbler of the year was found on 2nd , the maximum being sixteen on 23rd. Chiffchaff peaked at thirty-seven on 19th, the first Whitethroat arrived on 15th, the first Lesser Whitethroat was on 22nd , Blackcap arrived on 3rd and the first date for Garden Warbler was 23rd. A Sedge Warbler was heard on 23rd and a Grasshopper Warbler was heard and seen on Crow Lane on 30th. A Reed Warbler was noted on the hide lane on 21st and was present for about a week. A Pied Flycatcher was noted on several dates towards the end of the month.

Other sightings of note were Raven on four days and four Grey Partridge seen on the 23rd. An exceptional month with the site record for species recorded in a single day at Ogston being broken with seven-eight on the 21st and the monthly total of one hundred and fifteen species was also a site record.

Bryan Hartley