Lockdown, week 5 and counting....... the end of April.

We've reached the end of April, with the weather reverting to type and some heavy April showers and cooler temperatures. It's been a strange spring, I've not travelled more than 10 miles from home in the last 5 weeks and I've had an unparalleled chance to watch the local spring unfold with near-daily cycles or walks - aided by the sunniest April for decades. The leaves are now out and the sun is stronger, and the long spring evenings are upon us. The first Swifts are scything the air, and in the last week or so good numbers of House Martins have appeared to augment the Swallows and Sand Martins that are here for the summer. I've also observed, visually, and audibly, the staggered Warbler arrival. First, Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps, then in the first two weeks of April Willow and Sedge Warblers, followed a few days later by Whitethroats and Reed Warblers, then Lesser Whitethroats and Garden Warblers around 20th April. A couple of Grasshopper Warblers have also been heard, always a good find. Nightingale was quite early this year around the 12th, I find it quite emotional to stand and listen to its song almost throbbing in the air on a still dawn. Several Cuckoos were in good voice from 15th, another milestone of the spring for me. Hobbies this year were on my earliest ever date, 22nd - I thought I might find an early one, and was amazed to see a flock of 6 hawking for insects in the unseasonably hot sunshine! The dawn chorus is approaching its peak - bird song in general being more noticeable this year with the reduced traffic noise - and the next few weeks will see a frenzy of breeding activity, and hopefully the arrival of a few passage waders. These have been very thin on the ground, along with Terns, due to the lack of shower activity to interrupt migration. But Bitterns are booming, Little Ringed Plovers, one of my favourites, are back in reasonable numbers, Curlews are calling at Blakehill with their amazing, evocative and wild sounds, and dragonflies should shortly be emerging to complement the butterflies (including good numbers of Orange-Tips) that have been taking advantage of the sunny spring.

Hobby Masterclass

23 April - A retrospective note, after lockdown - one of the highlights of the consistently fine, warm spring was the early arrival of Hobbies. They feed on insects when first here, and in sunny breezy conditions I had some of my best ever views, at Swillbrook, when an easterly wind drifted the insects, and 5 or 6 feeding Hobbies, towards the poplar trees here. The birds gave repeated close views as they fed over the pool here, so close that I could hear the snap of their bills and the whoosh of their rapid wingbeats as they acrobatically fed over my head. A memorable encounter.

Lockdown, weeks 3 and 4

20 April - I'm certainly seeing the spring unfold locally in a more detailed way than usual, in these exceptional circumstances - a combination of more or less daily cycles around various lanes in the nearer part of CWP - the lack of traffic noise - and the fine, sunny weather. Over the last couple of weeks all the expected Warblers have now arrived, although numbers of some have yet to build up. There is always that moment of excitement when an old friend is heard again for the first time for the forthcoming season, mixed with amazement at the migration some of these tiny birds have undertaken - often the same individual returning to the same territory as in previous years. A special example of this is the Nightingale which is sadly diminishing in numbers year on year, but returns to the same area within CWP each April. Garden and Sedge Warblers seem to be in good numbers this year, Gardens being one of the later arrivals. I've heard a couple of Grasshopper Warblers (and seen one) and Reed Warblers are back too. Blackcaps are also numerous, I would say more so than usual..... Swallow numbers seen sparse, Sand martins are around their colony areas and the first early Swifts have been logged. Cuckoos were first heard on 15th and several are prominent around Cleveland Lakes and Waterhay. The dry weather means damp patches are at a premium, but Little Ringed Plovers are back in the usual habitat of new gravel areas and workings, and several pairs of Oystercatchers are moving around noisily. The continued fine clear weather means that there are few migrants being grounded in any "fallouts" but a rainy day on 18th produced 4 Wheatears and a Whinchat at Blakehill. I've also seen a Leveret and a Grass Snake recently!

Lockdown week 2

6 Apr - Much more springlike weather the last few days, after a cold northerly a few days ago. There has been an influx of Blackcaps, and Swallow and Sand Martin logged on 5th April with my first 2 Willow Warblers today. Migrants should arrive en masse in the next week or two, so good to be able to get out for daily exercise with binoculars handy!