Well it still doesn't feel particularly spring like on site at the moment, with temperatures only hitting about 10C this week and that cold wind still making an appearance on some days. My insect sightings for the year are still looking decidedly poor, with no further butterfly records this week and a handful of queen bumblebees flying on the warmer, calmer days.
Much of my week has been spent working at our other site up at Beckingham Marshes, but thankfully we have plenty of birders reporting good stuff for us here at Langford. On Tuesday, the first avocets of the year were picked up by volunteer Dave Roberts on Phase 1, 2 birds were also seen this morning by volunteer Rob Werran. My Thursday morning bittern vigil produced a bird over Phase 2 at 05.20, followed later in the morning by a woodcock which flew up from the public footpath edge by the northern most silt lagoon, a flyover godwit species - frustratingly distant and silhouetted and plenty of sand martins and the first singing chiffchaffs recorded on this year's BBS.
Rock pipit, a flyover glaucous gull, redshank, dunlin, sand martin and ringed plover were highlights from Rob and Craig's visit on Thursday afternoon, volunteer Ellen Marshall was pleased to record peregrine on site on site yesterday, as was our Conservation Officer Carl Cornish, along with sand martin, ringed plover and 4 pintail.
204 whooper swans flew over this morning (with another/same 200 seen over the nearby village of Farnsfield) - obviously some movement going on today - I had a rather more modest 8 over my patch in Lincs!
Whooper swans on the move. Ben Hall (rspb-images.com)