Sunday 4th March

Three Woodlark in the Buffer Zone most of the day were the highlight, this species is most often recorded here passing overhead and these were the first since 2014.

Woodlark - both Luke Harman

Other cold weather arrivals included at least two Woodcock, 87 Lapwing, 32 Golden Plover, 15 Redwing, six Fieldfare and two Mistle Thrush. The year's first Sandwich Tern, the earliest migrant since 2008, hinted at the promise of Spring, whilst other counts from the estuary included 622 Oystercatcher, 497 Dunlin, 166 Bar-tailed Godwit, 48 Knot, two Avocet, a Great Northern Diver and the Slavonian Grebe.

 Sandwich Tern - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere large numbers of gulls were feeding around the beaches with 95 Lesser Black-backed and 55 Common and three Mediterranean Gull; two Great Northern Diver and an Eider were off John's Watch, single Jackdaw and Raven were overhead. A count of dead birds following the cold weather revealed 109 Lapwing, 34 Golden Plover and single Redshank, Little Egret and Avocet. The totals of the first two species exceed the number of live records here between 2011 & 2017.