Wow what a month it's been, with all these Spring Migrants coming through, I've picked up some unusual and new species for the patch this month, highlights have included; Osprey, Grasshopper Warbler, Whimbrel, Wheatear and Willow Warbler.
Here are the results from my March records on both Under 25 league and Midlands league
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| Midlands Results |
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| Under 25 results |
Greylag Goose: 10 records this month with 7 birds being the highest count of the month at the 'Pond'
Mallard: 11 records this month with around 30 birds present throughout the month, but decreasing slightly as we went through the month
Tufted Duck: Two birds were present on the 'pond' on the 9th
Red-legged Partridge: One record of 4 birds present in a cover crop field at Shoby on the 30th
Grey Partridge: Quite surprising record of two birds heard calling near Shoby on the 1st, good to know that there is more than one pair around
Pheasant: Resident species on the patch with 5 birds seen most trips around the patch this month
Grey Heron: 1 record this month of a single bird seen flying away from the 'pond' in a Easterly direction, probably same bird I've seen throughout this year so far.
Red Kite: One record of a low-flying bird going W-E over my head on the 19th, already this year has been the best for this species on the patch, it's great to see them roaming around a bit more now
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| Red Kite from the 19th |
Sparrowhawk: A 3 records this month, all sightings being single birds, with 2 of the records being a male bird and a female bird was seen on the 15th
Buzzard: 6 Records this month with 6 birds being the highest count of the month on the 12th
OSPREY: This is by far one of the best birds i'll get on the patch this year, after only seeing a high-flying individual 2 years ago in September, I had the first bird on the 6th, this bird was missing a secondary feather. Then on the 9th another bird flew over and a lot closer too! This bird wasn't missing any feathers, then on the 16th ANOTHER bird flew over with a blue ring on it's foot! Probably from Rutland. To have one Osprey was amazing but to have 3 is incredible!
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| The Osprey from the 9th |
Moorhen: 5 records this month, with 4 birds present at the 'pond' on the 17th
Lapwing: An amazing 7 records this month due to 2 males spending most of the month displaying to one another across a field, then that field got drilled with barley but they left a patch, I'm pleased to say one of the Males stayed and has got a mate!
WHIMBREL: For anyone who knows my patch will know this is highly unlikely speices, but I had a single bird call and fly off in a Northern direction on the 30th, this is also a LIFER for me! I don't think I'll get a lifer off my patch for while!
Black-headed Gull: 3 records this month of flocks of 30 birds moving through with Common Gulls too
Common Gull: 4 records this month with numbers varying from 10-40 strong throughout the month
Lesser Black-backed Gull: 3 records of small flocks (c5) flying around the paddocks at the start of the month
Feral Pigeon: I've only just realised that I haven't added this species to the list! This is a resident species with around 4 birds present throughout the year
Stock Dove: 12 records this month with flocks 20 strong, which for me is very good!
Woodpigeon: Around 200+ birds present around the patch throughout the year
Collared Dove: A few pairs are lingering around the village, highest count being 6 birds present on the 21st
Barn Owl: One bird was present hunting around some grassy meadows on the 2nd
Little Owl: As the breeding season commences I haven't heard many Little Owls this month with only one record this month on the 2nd heard calling at 11pm
Green Woodpecker: 2 records this month with 2 males heard 'yaffeling' on the 1st being the highest count
Great Spotted Woodpecker: 11 records this month with up to 4 males drumming around the patch on the 6th
Kestrel: 2 records this month, both coming from their breeding location, only seen the male, still awaiting the female bird to arrive
Magpie: 8 records this month, the highest count being 7 birds feeding in one paddock on the 15th
Jay: One record this month of 2 birds seen flying towards one of the local woods from the 'pond' on the 1st
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| The 2 Jays from the 1st |
Jackdaw: 200+ birds present on the 23rd at a roost being the highest count this month
Rook: 50 birds present around the patch throughout the month
Carrion Crow: Up to 30+ birds seen one the 12th being the highest count this month
Raven: One record this month of a bird flying north through my village on the 1st
Goldcrest: 6 records this month with 5 birds in a flock down at Shoby on the 4th being the highest count in one place
Blue Tit: 13 records this month, with 8 birds in my garden on the 16th being the highest count this month
Great Tit: 12 records this month 5 birds in my garden on the 12th being the highest count
Coal Tit: 9 records this month, with 3 birds present in my garden on the 12th being the highest count
Long-tailed Tit: Only 4 records this month, with all records being single birds
Skylark: 12 records this month on the patch, with 7 birds singing on the 30th being the highest count
Sand Martin: A new species for the patch, with 7 birds seen flying over the 'pond' on the 8th, this is a species I've wanted on the patch for many many years
Swallow: 12 records this month with their numbers increasing throughout the month, with up to 6 males seen flying around the patch on the 30th
House Martin: People who know me know I'm mad for House Martin's, so when the first pair arrived on the 16th I was so happy, but due to bad weather no more birds turned up for the rest of the month
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| House Martins |
Chiffchaff: 11 records this month with 6 males heard singing at Shoby on the 11th being the highest count this month
Willow Warbler: Only the second Willow Warbler record on my patch on the 4th, also this bird was ringed but I couldn't get a good enough photo, also I thought this bird was a Chiff until it started calling!
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| The Ringed Willow Warbler from the 4th |
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| Ringed Willow Warbler from 4th |
Blackcap; 6 records this month with up to 3 birds seen at one place at Shoby on the 8th
Lesser Whitethroat: Not a very common bird on the patch in the summer, so I was happy to find this bird in some willows at Shoby on the 27th
Whitethroat: 5 records this month with 2 males setting up territories at Shoby, but only seen one female so far
GRASSHOPPER WARBLER: ANOTHER LIFER FOR ME ON THE PATCH THIS MONTH ! One bird was at first heard reeling at Shoby, after some patience the bird briefly came into view on the 24th ! This was a species that was on my list to see this year, didn't expect it to be on my patch!
Treecreeper: 2 records this month both coming from the spinny next to the Grain Dryer, there is a nest in the spinney but I'm yet to locate it! Both records have been individuals
Wren: 9 records this month with the highest count being 6 birds in my garden, presumably a full family making a visit to my garden on 12th
Starling: 8 records this month with the highest flock count being 52 birds on the 15th, with around c30 birds present throughout the month in the paddocks.
Blackbird: 11 records this month with 11 birds being the highest count down at Shoby on the 21st in a cover field
Fieldfare: 2 records this month both being single birds, my last record was on the 5th
Redwing: 2 records this month with 5 birds seen on the 5th being my last record of the 15-16 winter season
Song Thrush: 11 records this month with 4 birds seen near the grain dryer on the 31st being the highest count this month
Mistle Thrush: 7 records this month, all records being of a nesting pair in the village, sadly the nest was predated, and there is no sign of either of parents yet since
Robin: 10 records this month, 5 birds were seen in my garden on the 15th being the highest count this month
Wheatear: This was a target species for me, and I spent almost every morning in the Easter Holiday looking for them to find my first one on the 6th, I went on the find another 9 birds, being 6 records all together, the highest count was 3 birds seen on the 24th! This is by far my best year for Wheatear
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| Wheatear from the 17th |
Dunnock: 6 records this month, 4 birds were fighting in my garden on the 12th being the highest record in one place this month
House Sparrow: c50 birds were present around my village throughout this month, with c30 birds present at Shoby too
Tree Sparrow: 10 records this month all coming from the pair down at Shoby, seen at their nest location and surrounding hedgerows
Yellow Wagtail: 6 records this month, my first being 3 birds seen on the 16th, and the highest count being a passage roost of 17 birds on the 23rd! That's the highest ever count of Yellow Wags on the patch
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| Yellow Wagtail from the 23rd |
Pied Wagtail (Yarrellii): 11 records this month of Pied Wags, with 7 birds present on the roof of the Grain Dryer on the 31st being the highest count
White Wagtail (Alba): A single bird was seen amongst the 17 Yellow Wagtails on the 23rd, this is a species that I've only seen on Scilly, so to have one on my patch brought back some memories from last October!
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| White Wagtail from the 23rd |
Meadow Pipit: 12 records this month, all records came from the 1st-14th, so they'll all be passage birds, with the highest flock count being c30 birds in the paddocks near the my house
Brambling: 12 records this month with the highest count being 12 birds, the last record this year of Brambling was the 16th with a single female amongst 3 Chaffinch
Chaffinch: 13 records this month, with around 20 birds present all the time at the Grain dryer this month
Bullfinch: 5 records this month, with 4 birds seen on the 12th at Shoby
Greenfinch: 9 records this month, 6 birds were seen in my garden on the 1st
Linnet: 11 records this month, with only single birds ever been seen at once!
Lesser Redpoll: 4 records this month, of a single bird visiting my Grandads and my own garden from the 9th-17th
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| Lesser Redpoll from the 9th |
Goldfinch: 11 records this month, with around 30 birds present around the village all month
Siskin: 4 records this month of a single male bird, again visiting my Grandads and my own garden from the 4th-9th
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| Siskin from the 5th |
