Wednesday 6th March 2012

2 Stonechats on the Butts which is the classic time for spring migrants to turn up as a large proportion of British breeding Stonechats go down to the Iberian peninsula for the winter. More of a surprise was a Jack Snipe at the Butts pond. Not sure if we have any previous spring records at all of this species but if we do they are very few in numbers. This bird was accidentally flushed whilst checking to see if any frogs have returned yet. A Lapwing on the Butts first light was possibly the one on the point later in the morning that departed south into Essex. Offshore quiet but 2 Great-crested Grebes went south & 4 Shelduck and a Curlew north. In the obs compound the only signs of spring passage was a new Song thrush & an emaciated young male Sparrowhawk which weighed in at no more than the weight of a Blackbird. Why this individual was so thin is not known but it may well have been a migrant that got lost over the North Sea and used up all it's fat reserves before finding land. Finally one of the Collared Doves is now siting tight on her nest in the Holm Oaks.