The first Red Kite of the year flew east over site at 10am, with a second bird north offsite along Eastdon Ridge at 11.10am. Between these sightings an Osprey flew north over Starcross at 10.50am.
Also overhead 38 Swallow, seven Sand and the first three House Martin of the year, 12 Meadow Pipit
and a Siskin. Grounded migrants included 11 Chiffchaff, 10 Willow Warbler, two Wheatear and a female Blackcap.
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| Wheatear - Lee Collins |
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| Willow Warbler - Dave Jewell |
Elsewhere 13 Sandwich Tern, two Great Northern Diver and an Eider were offshore and counts from the high tide included 315 Oystercatcher, 61 Dunlin, 37 Bar-tailed Godwit, nine Sanderling, eight Redshank, eight Grey and five Ringed Plover, six Teal and a Greenshank.
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| Reed Bunting - Lee Collins |
Year list additions:
121. Red Kite
120. House Martin
120. House Martin
Ringing News: Although most wintering waders are long gone the wintering Swedish ringed Turnstone is still present. Ringed in August 2021 on passage on Nidingen in the SW of the country, it has been present each winter since.
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| Turnstone - Lee Collins |
Other Wildlife: The warm weather and cloudless sky provided ideal conditions for Sand Crocus, with thousands likely in flower across the site, with hundreds easily viewable in the Crocus Compound behind the Visitor Centre.
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| Sand Crocus - Kevin Rylands |
Insects also responded with ten species of mining bee on the wing, with Cliff Andrena thoracica and Small Sallow A. praecox new for the year and Sandpit A. barbilabris the most numerous. A female Tawny Mining Bee A. fulva in the car park was the first for the Recording Area, the 78th bee species recorded on the Warren.
The Grey Squirrel was in the Entrance Bushes, with a couple of Orange-tip outnumbered by Peacock, Small White and Speckled Wood.
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