Late March 2009

Tuesday, 31st March 09:

CHIFFCHAFF - arrivals now all over the shop

Trims Green:

0655-0715 Hrs

Red-legged Partridge 2

Linnet 7

Meadow Pipit 2 high over

Yellowhammer 9 - 3 singers

Corn Bunting - depressingly still only a single

Hayter, Spellbrook (west):

Green Woodpecker - calling all day from Carpark Wood. Nice to have them back on work land after spending all winter on Spellbrook Farm and the previous Summer nesting 300 yards North of Hayter

Sparrowhawk 2 - see below... another (or same) female seen again later at lunch

PEREGRINE - Male and Female Sparrowhawk having fisty-cuffs with this Male. Lasted quite a while with birds still arguing when they dissapeared South-West. Only my second patch-record with thanks to AP for drawing my attention to these birds. YL

Wallbury:

10 mins at lunch

CHIFFCHAFF 2

Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 male

Reed Bunting 1 singing male

Wood Anemone

Stort Park Farm:

WEST 1630-1700 Hrs

Skylark - usual singers in abundance

Meadow Pipit 11 north in less than 30 mins

Yellowhammer 2 (M+F)

WOOD ANEMONE - hundreds of flowers under the old oak, half way up path leading North from this site.

EAST 1700-1730 Hrs

Green Woodpecker - 4 birds arguing beside the style between main lawns

Mistle Thrush 2 - over west

Goldfinch 7

Singing Chiffchaff and Reed Bunting at Wallbury

Monday, 30th March 09:

A Cormorant on a metal tree, Tednambury Marsh

Trims Green:

10 mins before heading to work

Corn Bunting 1

Chaffinch 10+

Skylark 8+

Linnet 12

Meadow Pipit 1

Yellowhammer 7+ (2 singers)

Stockdove 2

Hayter, Spellbrook (west):

0720-0730 Hrs

Pied Wagtail - pair hanging around usual nesting spot

Mistle Thrush 1 - franctically worming lawn at 0715 Hrs

Stockdove 1 over SW

Wallbury:

Migrant Search at lunch.

Great Spotted Woodpecker 1

CHIFFCHAFF 3

Tednambury Marsh:

1615-1715 Hrs

Sparrowhawk 1 over west

Reed Bunting - only 3 singers

Canada Goose 8

Cormorant 1 on the phone mast

Stoat 1

Muntjac 2

CHIFFCHAFF 2

Thorley Bypass:

Kestrel 1 hunting

A Muntjac wondering if he heard something at Tednambury Marsh

Sunday, 29th March 09:

White-fronted X Barnacle Goose ... maybe ;-)

All my online photos of this bird (Three sightings spanning over two years):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gjs1/sets/72157603946644968/

Highlighs and photos from 57 species noted today

Amwell NR

Little Egret 3

Common Buzzard 4

Oystercatcher 2

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER 2

SAND MARTIN 19(+) [12(+) Hung around for a bit with a further 7 new arrivals appearing from the South]

Grey Wagtail 2

Cettis Warbler 2

Chiffchaff - Lots

Treecreeper 2

Siskin 1 singing male where the river crosses the main road in Stan Abbots

Canada X Greylag Goose - a common hybrid

White-fronted X Barnacle Goose - The third time I've seen this bird... thanks Rick, would've missed this one without you :-)

Little Ringed Plovers, Mute Swan with drip

Pair of Goldeneye, singing Siskin

Buzzards, female GSWoodpecker

Woodpigeon and Grey Heron

Long-tailed Tit and Mute Swan at full stretch

Fox and Coot

The 2nd Hybrid of the day... a Greylag X Canada Goose at VERY close quarters

Saturday, 28th March 09:

miserable weather for new arrivals... now if that wind would change ;-)

Stortford Park Farm:

Green Woodpecker 3 (2 on west side of bypass, 1 on east)

Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 drumming from House grounds

Goldfinch 12 in a tight flock, sticking to the tree tops

Skylark - many singing on the west side during the few minutes of sunshine

Yellowhammer 3 - two males

Friday, 27th March 09:

Comma - my first pic of the year ;-)

Taken on SPF (west)

Trims Green:

Corn Bunting singing on South field at early o'clock

Hayter, Spellbrook (west):

Fieldfare 47 stopping briefly in trees on Entrance lawn

Green Woodpecker - calling all day from the carpark wood. No usual bird calling from Spellbrook Farm may indicate that they've moved back in to 'the tree' for the summer. I will keep an eye out for them as it'd be nice if the hopped back over the fence to breed, again, on Hayter land.

Thursday, 26th March 09:

Corn Bunting

Nearly two months doing the Corn Bunting 'circuit' and we were finally rewarded with a bird singing from the Roadside (not 200 yards away for a change)

cheers for putting up with my early morning insanity SteveE :-) much appreciated

Trims Green:

Corn Bunting 1 - singing in between previous posts. With only a single singers noted so far i'm sure this is only one bird singing around his territory and not more.

Hayter, Spellbrook (West):

Chiffchaff - Still none heard in Spellbrook yet tho i should get one at wallbury if it's singing weather early on Monday morning

Kestrel 1 - female areound North Field

Jay 2

Redwing - a single looking nervous in trees on North side of main carpark... my last before summer?

Wednesday, 25th March 09:

Hayter, Spellbrook (west):

Mistle Thrush 1 - continuing visits to main lawn with nest located nearby

Coal Tit - Early morning visits by two birds now seems almost compulsory.

Blackbird - Albanisic Male (and mate) still building nest.

Monday, 23rd March 09:

Trims Green:

Corn Bunting 1 - singing from the South-West edge of trees around the Lysander Park 'new' farm building

Hayter, Spellbrook (West):

Sparrowhawk 1 - male hunting around Hayter entrance on Spellbrook lane west. Finally leaving due West without catching lunch.

Sunday, 22nd March 09:

Slow-worms 3 - 2 males (grey) and 1 female (copper) in Stortford allotments

Hatfield Forest Lake:

A brief family outing, mostly concentrating on the West side of the lake

Tawny Owl 1 - male calling from east of usual roosting spot on the North-West side of the lake

Great Crested Grebe 6 - with one on the central, North-end nest

Chiffchaff 1 - just south of usual Tawny roost

Tufted Duck 12 - Oddly in the middle of the South end. Wintering birds seem to favour the North end so I think these may be just passing through

Greylag 2 - South-East edge

Canada Goose 5

Mute Swan 2

Mistle Thrush - only a single singer

Song Thrush 4+

Nuthatch 2

Saturday, 21st March 09:

Find of the day was a ringed Lesser Black-backed Gull... more below

Amwell NR:

A quick stop at the viewpoint with Kate and Finn.

target yearlist species: Sand Martin arriving, feeding over the water, LSWoodpecker calling behind the viewpoint and don't forget that i'm still waiting for Barn Owl!

Grey Wagtail 2 on island

Ringed Plover 2 on island

Common Snipe 6(7)

Redshank 1

Cetti's Warbler 2 singers

Chiffchaff 3 minimum

Little Egret 2

Shelduck 1

Goldeneye - only noticed one male

Lesser Black-backed Gull - Information came back on this bird incredibly quickly,

SPECIAL THANKS to: Mike Harris, Paul Roper, Peter Stewart and The Severn Estuary Gull Group for their help, commitment and remarkably speedy results. This is the first resighting of this bird, hopefully the first of many :-)

Recapture History

Lesser Black-backed Gull

N: (netted) 10: (Winter Plumaged Adult) Ringed

15/12/07

SGD Stoke Orchard landfill site, Gloucestershire

SGD

CJN

FP86993

S: (sighted) 12: (Summer plumaged Adult)

21/03/09

Amwell Nature Reserve, Hertfordshire (144 km, E, 1 yr 96days)
GJS

A Common Snipe, second-winter Common Gull, Lapwing and a badly animated Ringed Plover

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