Sometimes it must feel like to the spring migrants that they are walking sideways, just as they arrive into glorious spring weather April hits and it suddenly starts to get colder, talk about an unfortunate April fool! However, migrants are made of strong stuff and so over the last few days there has been sightings of chiffchaffs, the years first blackcap and swallow, over 100 sand martins on an evening, white wagtail and another wheatear

Singing chiffchaff near First hide

Sand martin courtesy of Tim & Si Jump

Unfortunately the garganey from last week have seemed to done a bunk over to Alkborough flats but not before giving some great views in front of Ousefleet hide. Lets hope they return in the next week.

Sleeping male

Female - she woke up for a split second!

Other duck numbers have fluctuated but 100 shelduck and 89 shoveler were very good counts and have been supported by plenty of nest prospecting mallard, and then gadwall, two goldeneye, teal, a few late wigeon, and at the end of last week a superb passage of whooper swans. On the Thursday evening it was amazing to see 9 whoopers fly across a blood red sky whooping as they arrived on the Humber late in the evening. 

A fine male shelduck

Goldeneye - male

The tufted duck are looking in fine fettle

Little grebe at Townend

Black-headed gulls

Wader numbers have declined a little from last week, again possibly as water levels settle out and birds go over to feed at Alkborough, but there are still some great views to be had of snipe, oystercatcher, curlew, avocet, black-tailed godwits, and sometimes ruff, lapwing and up to two green sandpipers. A single jack snipe flew off one of the lagoon sluice bunds as I was checking the water levels so make sure you look through the snipe. There has also been little egret and keep a look out for bittern too, the other evening I think I got the briefest glimpse of a bird at Singleton.

Oystercatcher

Redshank

Black-tailed godwits (Tim & Si Jump)

Ruff from the weekend

Curlew - our friendly male in front of Ousefleet hide, I've never known such an obliging bird!!

More black-tailed godwits

Elegant avocets

The marsh harriers continue to put on a top show right in front of the hides with one male carrying around a vole at the weekend to impress the ladies, interesting to see that the male hen harrier was also seen yesterday so carefully check out those adult marsh harriers. Also quite a few buzzards passing through and the recurrence of the red kite.

male marsh harrier

As well as the early arriving migrants there is plenty of resident bird action especially the cettis warblers one of which I saw singing so close I didn't bother lifting my binoculars because I wouldn't have been able to focus them! Still the odd water pipit about too with the last one recorded on Sunday in front of First hide, also some lovely reed buntings about and off course the tree sparrows. Add in our blackbird that sings like a calling curlew (strange but true), singing song thrushes, robins, dunnocks, wrens and much more then it really does feel like spring!  

Reed bunting showing of its lovely rusty and grey back colours

With the early spring weather around the cow slips are looking very nice indeed while at the weekend there were plenty of butterflies and different bees including a few solitary mining bees.

Tawney mining bee

Cowslips

Small tortoiseshell

Comma

 Good to see a few older young hares suddenly appearing around site, they must have been born a while ago!