Sunday 28th March
Of interest today 2 Firecrests and 2 Chiffchaffs.
Saturday 27th March
I was at work this morning which is rare on a weekend day so I could only cover the patch in the afternoon, this in turn produced a Sand Martin heading north, and is also the earliest record for the cemo, also 3 Firecrests and 3 Chiffchaffs which was pretty much as best as it got.
Wednesday 24th March
I managed to get out between 5:30 - 7:30am, before heading off to do some work, it was pretty quiet all round but it did produce a Shelduck heading south at 6am which is a rare bird here, but that was generally it apart from 5 Chiffchaffs, 12 Redwings, 3 Goldcrests, 8 Chaffinches, 1 Grey Partridge, 1 Siskin, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Corn Bunting, 2 Meadow Pipits, 2 Goldfinches, 200 Herring Gulls and 500 Wood Pigeons.
Monday 22nd March
Highlights today included 3 Common Buzzards heading north/east between 9:20 - 10:20am, which were also the first birds this spring. The cemo had another spring record with a total of 15 Chiffchaffs, also present was 2 Firecrests, 56 Golden Plovers west, 1 Goldcrest, 2 Sparrowhawks, 5 Chaffinches, 2 Grey Partridges, 41 Rooks east, 12 Jackdaws east, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 1 Kestrel with 8 White Wagtails, 10 Skylarks, 3 Meadow Pipits and 15 Lesser Black-backed Gulls in the paddocks.
Sunday 21st March
I covered the patch this morning which produced an excellent and record total for the site of 30 White Wagtails all the birds were present in the paddocks mixed with 10 Pied Wagtails, also present were 6 Wheatears including 5 males and the first female of the spring. Other highlights included 1 Firecrest, 1 Chiffchaff, 2 Woodcocks, 1 Siskin, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Sparrowhawk and 2 Jackdaws in the cemo, with 9 Redwings and 300 Wood Pigeons north.
Saturday 20th March
I had some private survey work to do today so I covered the area for about 2 hours during the first part of the morning and It was pretty good with some obvious signs of overnight movement. The day started off well with a total of 13 White Wagtails in the paddocks followed by a Swallow heading west, I do believe this only the 4th March record for the cemo. It didn't stop there with a nice male Wheatear by the cement works with 4 Firecrests and 2 singing Chiffchaffs around the cemo. Other bits in this brief spell included 1 Goldcrest, 6 Pied Wagtails, 3 Chaffinches, 3 Meadow Pipits, 6 Redwings, 3 Goldfinches, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 300 Wood Pigeons.
Thursday 18th March
Spring has arrived, I got onto my patch at 9:30am in nice conditions even if it was a bit on the breezy side. Today had a good feel to it and started well with my first spring migrant, a total 6 White Wagtails which were feeding in the horse paddocks early morning and were still present by early afternoon, followed soon after by the strangest but a great record of 2 Turnstones which were heard calling and then seen heading north over the cemo from the cement works. I managed to do a very brief raptor watch today which produced just 4 Sparrowhawks but one of these birds caught a victim by the cement works and when investigating it turned out to be of all birds, a Grey Partridge but there wasn't much left when I arrived. Anyway I continued once more to the paddocks for a last look and sitting on one of the fence posts was a male Wheatear, this is the 2nd earliest record for the area, with the previous record being on the 17th March, the bird showed very well feeding most of the time on manure heaps. After enjoying that for 30 minutes I went into the cemo which produced a singing Chiffchaff my 3rd spring migrant of the day, also 1 Reed Bunting west, 1 Grey Partridge (alive), 7 Redwings, 7 Chaffinches, 2 Goldcrests, 10 Skylarks west, 6 Meadow Pipits, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 4 Jackdaws, 20 Starlings, 2 Long-tailed Tits, 300 Wood Pigeons, 10 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 2 Linnets, 3 Pied Wagtails and 2 Kestrels, overall an enjoyable day but I can't wait till the end of the month when hopefully I will have my camera back and my new and better Sigma 120-400mm lens, to replace my old Sigma 135-400mm lens.
Tuesday 16th March
I had a lot of other commitments today which was a shame on such a lovely day, it also looked good for migrant birds of prey, but I haven't had much time yet for a good raptor watch but hopefully it will happen this week if the weather favours. I did manage to get out between 5:45 - 7:30am, and with a few bits on the move it felt as if it could off been a good day. Certainly the highlight of the morning was 2 White-fronted Geese (not surprisingly a rare bird here) which headed north at 7am. There was a steady passage of 69 Redwings heading west with 2 Fieldfares in with them, the cemo held 4 Siskins, 1 Goldcrest, 10 Chaffinches, 7 Linnets, 2 Sparrowhawks, 5 Goldfinches, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Green Woodpeckers, with 40 Starlings, 1 Golden Plover, 1 Lapwing, 35 Ring-necked Parakeets, 300 Wood Pigeons, 1 Meadow Pipit, 3 Jackdaws and 2 Alba Wagtails south.
Monday 15th March
It was very enjoyable today in such spring like conditions, and the bird life wasn't to bad either with a few common species in full song. The day started off well with 2 Peregrines heading east over the main entrance late morning, followed shortly after by 1 Woodcock, 1 Chiffchaff and 2 Siskins by the crematorium, and a total of 33 Redwings and 26 Fieldfares between the garden of rest and horse paddocks. Other bits noted were 2 Sparrowhawks, 5 Chaffinches, 5 Linnets, 5 Skylarks, 2 Meadow Pipits, 70 Black-headed Gulls, 3 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 10 Pied Wagtails, 70 Starlings, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 3 Long-tailed Tits, 500 Wood Pigeons, 3 Goldfinches, 1 Corn Bunting and 4 Jays.
Monday 8th March
I only had an hour spare today so I decided to cover the horse paddocks and allotments hoping for some early spring migrants, It didn't happen but birds that were seen included 25 Fieldfares, 1 Redwing, 1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Kestrels, 7 Skylarks, 700 Wood Pigeons, 1 Grey Partridge, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls.
Friday 5th March
It was nice walking round today even if it was a bit on the nippy side, bird wise it was very quiet which concentrated more on the quality rather than quantity. As soon as I entered the main entrance a Crossbill was calling overhead which was eventually seen heading in a westerly direction. There was 2 Firecrests near the crematorium and a Chiffchaff by the garden of rest. Other bits noted were 2 Fieldfares, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Rook, 1 Jackdaw, 6 Chaffinches, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 30 Black-headed Gulls.
Monday 1st March
It was certainly a lovely day to be out in such glorious sunshine and light winds, there was also a certain amount of activity amongst the locals this morning who were pairing up ready for the new breeding season. Highlights today included a Peregrine which headed west late morning to the annoyance of the local gulls, and 2 Firecrests which were showing well near the main cemetery entrance. Other bits noted were 30 Pied Wagtails in the paddocks, 5 Goldcrests, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Kestrel, 5 Chaffinches, 2 Linnets, 7 Goldfinches, 1 Green Woodpecker, 25 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Skylark and 70 Wood Pigeons.
