28th Apr 2019: Sandwich Tern

This week was rather quiet, until the weekend. On the 24th, John had the Whooper Swan was on the Borrow Pit pool. There was also a Common Sandpiper there and three more at the reservoir.

Yesterday evening John (et al) had our third Arctic Tern of the year, plus a Common Tern, a Little Ringed Plover, a Yellow Wagtail and 'lots' of hirundines.

Photos courtesy and copyright of JFT

This morning there was a Coot at the reservoir, with a Common Sandpiper and two Yellow Wagtails. The Whooper Swan was still in the field up the valley up the valley, but otherwise everything else was as normal and fairly quiet. Or at least it was until Clive found a Sandwich Tern late morning! The tern showed well and stayed till the evening at least and showed well for several admirers.

Photos courtesy and copyright of JFT

 A very nice (and I believe first?) record for the Grimsbury Woodland reserve was of two Grass Snakes seen recently by Brenda Hatton in the ditch near the railway.

Courtesy and copyright of Brenda Hatton

21st Apr 2019

The most notable thing this weekend was what seemed a mass arrival of warblers that we were waiting for, actually on Friday evening after I'd posted Dylan recorded three Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler and two Willow Warbler at the reservoir.

Early Saturday morning John had a Common Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover and over the weekend there were good numbers of Whitethroats and Sedge Warblers, particularly up the valley.

19th Apr 2019: More warbling

Nothing too exciting so far this week, but the spring migrants keep passing through and there's been a few new ones added to the year list.

On Monday John had our first Whitethroat of the year that was also heard on Wednesday.  On Monday Ian Rowe also recorded our first Dunlin of the year and another Oystercatcher was reported by an unknown observer (via Mike Pollard).

Courtesy and copyright of JFT

On Tuesday the Whooper Swan was still up the valley, seen by JFT.

This morning it was generally quiet but a Marsh Tit was singing in the wood (I've not heard one singing here for a few years). The Whooper Swan was still in the usual field up the valley, with three Sedge Warblers, two Whitethroats, Willow Warbler, Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs all singing in the nearby scrub, hedge and trees - not a mix of birds I ever expected to record on patch! On my way out  I met Clive and Jim who had found another Sedge Warbler near the entrance and later John also had a Lesser Whitethroat along the river.


We are approaching the same dates that Wood Warbler has been recorded in the Spiceball Park to Grimsbury Woodland stretch for the last few years. It would be great to have one again!

14th Apr 2019

It's fair to say the end of the week was quieter than the first half but with migrants passing by or dropping in daily, there is always something going on at this time of year.

A Common Sandpiper was present at the reservoir on Thursday (Ian Rowe).

On Friday there was Ring-necked Parakeet, male Little Plover, Common Sandpiper and five Tufted Ducks at the reservoir in the morning and two Yellow Wagtails in the evening (JFT). Also, the Whooper Swan was still in the U.C.V. (Mike Pollard).

Today the Whooper Swan was on the Borrow Pit pool (MP) and then flew up to it's usual field. There was also two Arctic Terns and four Teal at the reservoir in the morning (Adrian Tysoe) and in the evening another Arctic Tern with a Common Sandpiper and two Yellow Wagtails (JFT) and a Common Tern (Dylan Parry-Davies).

Slightly off topic but of note, I had my sound recording gear out at my house on the night of Wednesday 10th and recorded an Oystercatcher flying over at about 22:30.

All photos courtesy and copyright of JFT

9th Apr 2019: Marsh Harrier, Little Gull, Arctic Tern & Yellow Wagtail!

John: Well...what a day it has been at the reservoir, with FOUR new birds for 2019. The gloomy conditions and easterly winds of the previous day, continued into this morning. Unlike yesterday though, it brought far more excitement!

It all began with the appearance of 2 adult Little Gulls dropping in on my pre-work stroll, one sporting a nice black hood. It was great watching them bouncing over the water in an almost tern-like manner.

While watching the Little Gulls, I realised a Tern had joined them - this turned out to be a lovely adult Arctic Tern! It is an early-ish date for one, however was part of a small sprinkling of them across inland water-bodies over the last couple of days.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better, a succession of Lesser Black Backed Gull alarm calls, alerted my attention to a raptor flying fairly low over the cattle field - I was amazed to find it was a cream-crown Marsh Harrier, a new bird for me at Grimsbury! It battled into the breeze, harassed all the way by the local pair of LBBGs, before it disappeared over the nearby Amazon warehouse. What an amazing visit it had been!

Additional highlights included the first Yellow Wagtail of the year, picked up by Ian Rowe at lunchtime, as well as a further one in the evening. We again had a visit from a female Little Ringed Plover, while a White Wagtail was generally about, together with at least 25 Pied Wagtail. There was a decent drop of Swallows, Sand Martins & House Martins about all day, making the place a real hive of activity!

8th Apr 2019: Common Tern

This morning John reported the Common Sandpiper still present as well as two Willow Warblers and 'lots' of Blackcap and at lunch time he found our first Common Tern of the year. The tern and sandpiper were both still present this evening (per Dylan Parry-Davies). Also today, our first reported House Sparrow of the year.. I think (per Karl Moss).

Courtesy and copyright of JFT

7th Apr 2019: Spring migration action

Quite a busy week, so I apologise if I've missed anything.

Through the week there's been a good passage of hirundines, including an increasing number of House Martins.

Monday 1st: The Whooper Swan in the U.C.V. fields still and a Lapwing  there in the afternoon (Steve Holiday). A Little Ringed Plover (Dylan Parry-Davies) at the reservoir too.

All photos courtesy and copyright of JFT

Wednesday 3rd: 7-8 male Blackcaps along the river by the reservoir in the morning (JFT), our first 'big' arrival of this species. In the evening an Oystercatcher  was present around the sailing club and on the pontoon (Dylan Parry-Davies et al).

Thursday 4th: Our first Willow Warbler  of the year, in the scrub to the east of the river (JFT).

Friday 5th: The Whooper Swan still in the U.C.V. and Little Ringed Plover at the reservoir in the morning (Colin Wilkinson)  and the swan was back on the borrow pit pool for a short time in the evening before going back to the fields. A Little Egret also flew over the reservoir in the evening.

Saturday 6th: A Little Ringed Plover again in the evening (JFT).

Sunday 7th: The Whooper Swan still in the U.C.V. (Steve Hoiliday). Our first Common Sandpiper  was at the reservoir for the day (JFT) and at least one Willow Warbler still (Mike Pollard).