Well, it has been a very exciting start to spring at Nagshead. Our first Chiffchaffs arrived on March 21st followed by Blackcaps on the 26th. We were all pretty shocked by the early arrival of a male Pied Flycatcher on March 31st though! This is the earliest ever record for Gloucestershire! Congratulations to Ann, one of our dedicated volunteers who found him on the Short Trail. This beats our previous earliest by five days, which remarkably was the Nagshead April 4th bird from last year. It will be interesting to see what the arrival date is in 2013. The first Willow Warblers arrived on April 1st followed by a Tree Pipit on the 2nd. The poor weather since then seems to have caused migration to stutter a little, but we currently have at least one singing Pied Flycatcher, four Willow Warblers, two Tree Pipits and lots of Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps around the reserve.
Summer migrants haven't been the only cause of excitement though, some of our visitors have been treated to fantastic views of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, a stunning and elusive little bird which is high on every birders 'must see' list.
Male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, RSPB Nagshead (Photo: Lewis Thomson)
We have also managed to prove breeding by Crossbills on the reserve, I was lucky to witness a pair feeding a very recently fledged youngster which could barely fly on March 26th.
Male Crossbill, RSPB Nagshead (Photo: Lewis Thomson)
Great pics , brilliant news.