Sometimes I have to pinch myself and realise that the Dee estuary lies on the border of North-West England and North Wales and not in the Mediterranean - we are actually closer to Iceland than we are to many of our summer holiday destinations! Despite this fact the birds here don't seem to mind, as the past few days have seen many birds more typical of the "Med" choosing here rather than there.
Spoonbills are one of the main culprits for confusing my sense of latitude and regulars will be aware that two individuals have spent the majority of winter on the estuary, one favouring Parkgate and another IMF. Little egrets took up this pattern of behaviour less than 20 years ago and now regularly breed here. With an increasing population in the Netherlands will spoonbills follow their lead?
Obviously, for some it is part of their annual migration. Take for example our black-tailed godwits (Icelandic Race) who have been known to spend their winter as far south as Faro on the Algarve in Portugal yet many birds spend the winter here instead (I know where I'd rather be). Good numbers of these birds have been seen from the hide over the past couple of days, some of them are starting to acquire their stunning breeding plumage. Avocets turning up early does not help my sense of location neither!
Its not just the waders but the wildfowl are at it too. A lot of the overwintering ducks have left whilst the only duck to migrate into the UK to breed - the garganey - arrived much earlier than previous years and one striking drake was seen just last night from the hide.
The sight of a marsh harrier hunting the pools is enough to send the birds into a frenzy and yet adds more weight to my minds arguement that the Dee lies several hundred miles further south.
Other birds adding to my confusion are Mediterranean gulls (the clue is in the title), swallows, sand martins, house martins, chiffchaffs and willow warblers all of whom have arrived earlier or just as early as other recent years. Even the insects are at it too - as bees, wasps and butterflies wake up from their winter slumbers.
However mystifying I find this, my mind is in no doubt about one thing - no matter what birds are around, IMF is a lovely place to spend a sunny spring afternoon.