Flopwings, blackwits and awl birds

For the first time in several weeks I completed the full circuit of the coast trail today. The north-easterly wind made it feel quite cool, especially on the North Wall and the top of the dunes. Out of the wind, though, the sun still had a bit of warmth, and the blue skies gave a lovely springlike feel to my walk.

The feeling of spring was enhanced by the birdlife on the Scrape. As I approached North Hide I was greeted by the unmistakable slow wingbeats and flickering black and white plumage of a pair of lapwings displaying overhead. North Hide is a good place to watch these beautiful birds tumbling in display, or bowing towards each other with tail feathers raised and spread, or to hear the characteristic "pee-wit" call. 

There's a number of theories about how lapwings got their name, but it is thought to be a derivation of "flapwing" or "flopwing." This could refer to their lazy display flight, or to the way they hang their wing, as if broken, to deter predators away from a nest.

North Hide is also a good place to look for snipe, and while I could only find one, the visitors in the hide reported six of them camouflaged among the grass. There was a jack snipe seen yesterday, but this typically elusive species couldn't be located today.

Lapwing by Andy Hay (rspb-images.com)

On reaching East Hide I was greeted by a lovely little flock of dunlins scuttling around close to the hide, but my personal target here was to find my first Mediterranean gull of the year. Sure enough, I quickly spotted the slender white wingtips, black hood and bright red bill of an adult "Med gull", helping it to stand out from the crowd of increasingly vocal black-headed gulls. This is, to many of us, THE sound of spring at Minsmere, though the volume is sure to increase considerably over the next few weeks.

Claire, one of our wardens, was completing her twice weekly checks of the Scrape fence, walking around the outside of the fence to check that it remains predator proof and free from encroaching vegetation. (These checks will usually take place on Monday and Thursday mornings throughout the spring). While carrying out these essential checks, a small amount of local disturbance is inevitable, so whether it was Claire's presence or an unseen predator, the flocks of waders took flight and suddenly the air was filled with blackwits and awl-birds - otherwise known as black-tailed godwits and avocets. 

Avocet by Jon Evans

With the flocks being quite mobile it's difficult to put an exact figure on how many avocets we have now, but I counted 55 from East Hide, 39 from South Hide, and a minimum of 66 birds in total. There were also about 80 black-tailed godwits, 30 dunlins and four oystercatchers from East Hide, as well as a bar-tailed godwit and two ringed plovers at South Hide.

A benefit of the disturbance was the arrival of the two redhead smew back on East Scrape. With easterly winds forecast all week, I susepct that they'll remain a little longer yet. Other ducks included two pintails, and good numbers of teals, gadwalls, shovelers and shelducks. A common gull also flew in, while on South Scrape a nice adult yellow-legged gull enjoyed a nice snooze.

I didn't get time to head towards Island Mere today, but the otters, bitterns and marsh harriers were showing well all weekend, and the firecrests were again seen at the Rhododendron Tunnel. Our volunteer guide, Mick, found a woodcock close to the top of Whin Hill this afternoon, and bullfinches and siskins were also spotted around the reserve. There were also some good sightings of weasels and stoats over the weekend.