A foggy start soon gave way to mild and mainly overcast conditions that saw another nice spread of early arrivals uncovered around the island. Whilst a brief
Serin at the Obs marked the highlight of the day's birding, it was
Chiffchaffs that once again made up the bulk of the numbers with the first three figure total of the spring at the Bill, where 12
Goldcrests, 5
Firecrests, 2 each of
Black Redstart,
Wheatear and
Fieldfare, a
Redshank and a
Redwing were also all new in. Elsewhere, the first
White Wagtail of the spring pitched up at Blacknor, a
Brambling was at Weston, another
Black Redstart at Reap Lane and another
Redshank at Ferrybridge; 2
Shelducks and 2
Wheatears were also at Ferrybridge.
There was only a typically fleeting tree-top view of the Serin at the Obs but there was nothing at all typical about the date of this one as it was one of the earliest ever spring arrivals here © Martin Cade:
With there having been no wintering Black Redstarts at the Bill - has that ever happened before? - there's no doubt that the two nice male there today were new arrivals © Jodie Henderson:
