It was another cool and breezy morning but I went to Pilling armed with spring traps and mealworms. There was a little gang of 7 Wheatears this morning, more or less together in the usual spots, so I set about trying to catch a few. Just like Saturday, I caught two birds, but this time a male and a female, both juvenile, second calendar year birds.
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I didn’t see much else along the sea wall, just the expected handful of Linnets, 2 Little Egret, 2 Kestrel, 55 Redshank and at Lane Ends itself, 3 Willow Warbler plus pairs of Tufted Duck and Little Grebe.
I left Pilling and made my way to Out Rawcliffe to perform a quick top up of the bird feeders. When the winds subside Will and I hope to get out ringing and catch up with more Lesser Redpolls, so we decided to maintain the nyger feeders a little longer for both Redpoll and Goldfinch still coming through the site. I topped up the feeders that swayed from branches in the stiff breeze whilst counting 10 Goldfinch, 4 Lesser Redpoll and a couple of ground feeding Chaffinch. In the plantation were at least 5 singing Willow Warblers and a single Chiffchaff, and as I drove off site, 3 Buzzards and the Little Owl sheltering from the threatening showers and the ever present wind of recent days.
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Back at home the sun broke through, the wind dropped and the recently arrived House Martins circled above. I first saw them two days ago surveying their annual nest site at the big house on the corner- April 4th was a good early sighting for me, just a day behind Swallow on 3rd April.