Wader passage has been slow to get going this spring so it was good to see a slight increase in passing Whimbrel today, including these birds over Ferrybridge © Pete Saunders:
12th April
Another day with things just about ticking over, albeit with the general feeling among the fieldworkers that despite the increasing cloud cover there was slightly less on offer than in recent days. A local Facebook posting reported the presence of a back garden Hoopoe at ?Southwell but this escaped the attention of birders who had to make do with the likes of the first 2 Grasshopper Warblers of the spring at the Bill, a Jay over Sweethill, a Corn Bunting at Reap Lane and the odd one or two Yellow Wagtails, Redstarts and Pied Flycatchers amongst the more numerous spread of Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers. Overhead passage remained rather pedestrian, with inbound Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Goldfinches far more numerous than hirundines. A positive from the day was a noticeable uptick in sea passage, with 250 Common Scoter, 29 Whimbrel, 18 Red-throated Divers, 7 Bar-tailed Godwits, 5 Arctic Skuas and 4 Little Gulls through off the Bill; 37 Manx Shearwaters and 19 Whimbrel were amongst the sea selection logged at Chesil.
