2nd March

The blasting westerly that sprung up overnight gradually dropped away through the day but probably not soon enough to have allowed much in the way of new arrivals to have dropped in, with a Black Redstart at Reap Lane (a different individual to the one that's popped up there from time to time through the winter) the only obvious newcomer. Coverage of the Bill area came up with 6 Purple Sandpipers, 3 Short-eared Owls, a Black-headed Gull and a Chiffchaff on the land and 2 Red-throated Divers, 2 Common Scoter, a Mediterranean Gull and a steady trickle of what looked to be migrant Common Gulls on the sea.

The first Hummingbird Hawk-moth of the year was on the wing at Weston.

There seems to be fewer Short-eared Owls about now than there were earlier in the year but those lingering on have still been showing nicely © Roger Hewitt: