Today saw another exciting pulse of early spring migration, although this would have been hard to appreciate from a walk around the Bill where grounded migrants continued to be almost completely absent. The sea provided the best return for both variety and numbers, with totals from the Bill including 891 Common Scoter, 25 Red-throated Diver, 12 Oystercatcher, 11 Brent Geese, 10 Garganey, 5 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 4 Velvet Scoter and the first 6 Sandwich Terns of the year. Meadow Pipits once again made up the bulk of the overhead passage with 534 from the morning spot counts at Wallsend, where the supporting cast included 38 Linnets, 19 Wood Pigeon, 11 alba wagtails, 10 Goldfinches and 2 Swallows; 12 Sand Martins were also a belated addition to the island year-list, although the lone House Martin was distinctly on the early side - there are only four earlier records of House Martin at the Bill (in 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2014). Elsewhere, there was a White Wagtail at Reap Lane and 2 Mute Swans at Ferrybridge.
Both Red Admiral and Small Tortoiseshell were on the wing at the Bill today.
Today was certainly a Common Scoter day although whether it'll be the Common Scoter day of the spring remains to be seen ...
...even in slow motion they don't half bomb past © Martin Cade:
It's always a pleasure to spend time at the Bill tip but just lately that's been made even more enjoyable by the presence of so many Razorbills in attendance at the auk colony - counts of well into three figures have been the rule so far this spring and on many days they're outnumbering Guillemots which certainly isn't usually the way of things here...
...whilst for several months there's been a really good-sized group of Common Dolphins in residence offshore © Martin Cade:
