At long last we've had some southerly winds! And they have brought in some lovely birds over the bank holiday weekend.
Thankfully, our nightingales have perked up a bit and have been singing for our nightingale festival - there are now at least 2 (possibly 3) males around the Fattengates courtyard area and 2 along the adder alley section of the nature trail.
Here is a lovely photo of one of them taken by visitor Ben Williams.
We've also been hearing the warblers this weekend - there seem to be more lesser whitethroats rattling from the hedgerows than I remember having heard before and I can no longer be safe identifying everything as a blackcap as there are finally a few garden warblers around the nature trail.
Fattengates courtyard is a great place to stop awhile and listen. This morning as well as the nightingale we could hear blackcap, garden warbler, willow warbler, chiffchaff, wren, goldcrest, greenfinch, blackbird and a very vocal song thrush who has been out-competing (as well as impersonating) the nightingales. A swift flew overhead (my first of the year) and a party of 10 Mediterranean gulls flew over calling.
Cuckoo have also been seen and heard this weekend.
I'd also suggest paying a visit to West Mead hide. Yesterday we had what must be a record count of 26 greenshank on West Mead pool (with a further 5 on the North Brooks). There was just the one this morning alongside a redshank and lapwing with her 4 chicks.
Scan the brooks for an agile hobby - they could appear anywhere on the reserve but seem to be in hot pursuit of hirundines (swallows, house and sand martins) at the moment (very few dragonflies for them yet!). Red kites are also a regular sighting.
On the North Brooks, scan for more waders including greenshank, whimbrel and little ringed plover and watch elegant little egrets hunting on the water's edge.