Cetti's warbler; Ben Lewis
First of all, an apology for the lack of recent sightings updates for the past few weeks, there was an update to the community pages which prevented one blog, since this date the phone lines have been down due to a tree falling on the two weeks ago so we have been without internet too.
Since the last update the spring migrants have been passing through in small numbers. The last few days have seen a large increase in numbers of blackcap and chiffchaff numbers. Today we have had sedge warblers and willow warblers singing from around the fen, still in very small numbers, but these will increase due to the current weather conditions. In the air we have had small numbers of swallow passing over as well as sand martins adding an even more spring like feel.
The marsh harriers are now busy building nests and courting each other, we now have many more males on site. We have our very well contrasting male back again for at least the third year in a row, this bird is so pale and has a white rump so it is mistaken for a hen harrier occasionally, it has paired up once again with the dark female with the pure white belly.
Other non migrants have been busy singing, birds such as reed bunting are now easy to see singing away on the tops of the reeds. As predicted the cetti's warblers are going through their showy part of the year, if you have never seen one before this is the time to get out and give it a go. Bearded tits are also busy nest building, I would have thought that the very strong recent winds will have ruined any early nests so there is some haste with the building.
There are two bitterns booming occasionally from the reedbed, but they are still working up to their full voice, they are usually heard early in the morning and later in the evening. In another three weeks they should be heard more frequently in the daytime too.
Otters have been very scarcely seen for the past few weeks, I take this as a good sign that they have young and are laying low for the time being, possibly taking on a more nocturnal habit, we should see the new families in a month or so, depending on how old the young ones are.
The wet grassland now has many lapwing displaying, redshanks and oystercathers are adding a slight seaside feel to the soundtrack. There are still 35 ruff at Buckenham which are beginning to look more and more colourful by the day, hopefully they will stay for long enough to look like the images in the field guide.
I have just come back from Buckenham and managed to see 3 yellow wagtails and 1 little ringed plover, these are fresh in migrants and hopefully just the start of the passage waders on the scrapes.
The next week looks as if the migrant flood gates may be opened a little more. I would expect birds such as willow, sedge and grasshopper warbler to be heard from the reedbed. Swallows, sand and house martins will all increase and there is the possibility of an early cuckoo, ospreys are also on the move so there is always a chance of catching one of these expert anglers stopping off for a quick meal