18th March

Despite the really bitter cold definite signs of spring today with two Chiffchaff in the Magic Garden. This is the best shot I could manage in the almost pitch black of the ditch they were favouring…

This capped a week of very poor weather but at least it brought the floods out. Both the Bottom Fields and Langlands were well flooded…

Pick of the sightings were these three distant Tufted Duck, my first of the year…

Unfortunately the radical clearing of the ditches means the water rarely stays around for long and the area that was deep enough for the Tufties to dive was dry by the following morning.

Other sightings on the floods included three Little Egret together, four Shelduck, seven Teal, 21 Mallard, two Oystercatchers, 70 Lapwings, a single Golden Plover and 12 Curlew. Gulls included around 200 Black-headed, two Lesser Black-backed, eight Herrings and my year’s first double figure count of Common Gulls.

March is the month for Commons through the Vale of Mowbray and the parish always picks up a few at this time of year. Back in the 1990s the numbers were much higher (I have had counts of up to 2000 birds) but whether this reflects generally lower numbers or a different migration route I don’t know.   

Yesterday I popped out between blizzards. Very quiet but I did at least get to photograph this obliging Treecreeper in the Magic Garden…

Less happily I was disappointed to see yet another little piece of good habitat going, this damp corner near the school was great for winter finches and thrushes as well as the odd wader.