Belated catch up from the weekend

I've been away, so here is a catch up from the weekend.

It was to windy to put any nets up for ringing at the weekend, but we did manage to ring a family party of four lapwing chicks on Friday evening. There were also at least 20 whimbrel on the fields.

I had a wander around the patch on Saturday afternoon, dodging the showers. There had obviously been an influx of swifts and most of the resident warblers were singing and a couple of yellow wagtails were noted.

On Sunday, it was still windy. There were a few wheatears about on the dunes and one or two were definitely of the greenland race. There is also a notable number of linnets around at Druridge this year, more than usual. Most of them aren't on territory yet, just roving about in a big flock. I had a walk up to the Preceptory, but found nothing unusual.

Tonight we ringed another four lapwing chicks, two from a brood of four (two evaded us) and another brood of two. There are still a a few birds sitting, so it is looking like a good year for lapwing on the Budge fields.

Lapwing chick

Most exciting tonight was a family party of shoveler, a pair and four tiny ducklings. Him and her were marching the tiny chicks across the fields to another pool. Shoveler breed most years at Druridge, one of the few places they breed in the County.

There was no sign of any spoonbill, garganey or wood sandpiper, all of which were reported today.

I've been down to Lincolnshire on a training course looking at the creation of coastal grazing marshes. I picked up some good ideas that I would like to see implemented at Druridge, time for a conversation with NWT!

Looooong Weekend

Here's a quick catch-up from a longer than usual bank holiday weekend (I had today off work). I managed a few visits to the patch over the weekend amongst long bouts of gardening and the obligatory socialising that comes with a 'B-H Weekend'. Sorry there are no pics, my camera is still in the car.

Saturday

Saturday didn't start on my patch at Druridge, but on Dave Elliott's patch at East Chevington, to twitch the purple heron he found there. Almost eleven years tot he day since the last one he found int he same spot (Stewart Sexton and I scoped that bird from the big dune at Druridge for the patch competition that year and I have to be honest, I tried the same trick again but with no luck.)

Back at Druridge a drake garganey was on the Budge fields with five black-tailed godwits. Three year-ticks followed, whitethroat (now singing everywhere), cuckoo (one over the Budge fields) and tree sparrow at High Chibburn Farm.

Sunday

An earlier start. A quick check of the Haul Road flashes which are still holding some water produced only five ringed plover and a dunlin. At least five 'groppers' were reeling. The rest of the day was spent gardening and BBQing

Monday

I was a bit fragile on BH Monday, but a text message reporting two 'stints' on the Haul Road flashes had me scurrying to the patch. I eventually found them, hunkered down in the grass, Temminck's stints. A nice sighting and my first on the patch since 2008. Arctic and common terns were numerous offshore, Arctic being new for the year.

Tuesday

No waders on the flashes this morning, but two wheatears of the leucorhoa race and a smart yellow wag were there. There are lots of warblers singing from the bushes now, most notably whitethroat,  blackcap and sedge, grasshopper and willow warblers.

An evening visit for a look on the sea produced three year-ticks. Puffin and gannet, predictably and a pair of great-crested grebes, less so.


110 whitethroat
111 cuckoo
112 tree sparrow
113 arctic tern
114 Temminck's stint
115 gannet
116 puffin
117 great-crested grebe

Greenland wheatears??

I've been looking at wheatears amongst other things today. There are still lots of them coming through Druridge, favouring the short turf behind the dunes and the haul road.

Many of the wheatears coming through at this time of year certainly look different to those that come through in late march and are often thought to be of the subspecies leucorhoa or 'Greenland' wheatears. I've been doing some research into this and it appears to be less than straight forward. Most references seem to suggest that without taking biometrics it is not clear-cut and these 'big orangy wheatears' that come through here in late April could be of the nominate oenanthe race breeding in the Fenno-Scandanavian steppes.

Here are two from today:

This could be a candidate for 'Greenland', with rufousy underparts extending down to the belly and looks long winged and legged?

This one is still rufous, but not as pronounced down to the belly and although not as obvious in this photo didn't stand as 'upright' as the bird in the first photo.

I would like to have a go at trapping some of the 'big boys' to get some biometrics from them.

On the Budge fields, there are still a pair of pintail, garganey and ruff. Regular readers of this blog will know I like a photo of a stonechat, so as not to disappoint...

Daddy of the brood we ringed yesterday. The pair were feeding the young today .