Saturday 26 May 2018

Patch Watch 2018 Update,13th & 19th May 2018.

The efforts on the local patch continued,with 4 more additions to the patch year list,some good numbers of both migrant birds and butterflies being recorded.The following is what i saw on the two visits.

 13th May 2018

The visit started well today,with 20 Swift and a male Cuckoo around Winter's Pond and some increased numbers of migrants with good numbers of Whitethroats passing through,with at least 19 singing males being observed between East halton Skitter and Winter's Pond.
 Best birds of the visit went to 2 Common Sandpiper along the shoreline between Winter's and East Halton Skitter,a couple of Whimbrel,a female Wheatear at Goxhill Haven and the best of the bunch,a cracking Short-eared Owl watched hunting the saltmarsh at East Halton Skitter.
 As mentioned above,some impressive numbers of butterflies along the road between the 'Shrike' hedge and Winter's Pond included 24 Orange Tip and 38 Green-veined White,the most of either species i have seen anywhere.

19th May 2018

On today's visit,the highlights went to an unexpected addition to the year list,with a lovely Little Owl being found along the edge of the sheep field near Grange Farm at East Halton and a more expected one in the form of my first Ringed Plovers of the year along the shoreline near Dawson City.It just goes to show how poor wader passage has been this spring,with these latter birds being the first migrant birds i have seen apart from the Whimbrel flock from a few weeks ago.
 Whitethroat numbers were back to normal levels today,but there was a slight increase in singing male Lesser throats,Reed Warblers and a few more Sedgies around,but numbers of Hirundines and Swifts are still well down,with only 1 Swift being seen in my 8 hour visit today.

Not a bad couple of visits to my local patch and now i have reached 112 species  for the year.
Buck Roe Deer,Goxhill Marsh.


Brown Hare Near Red House Farm.

Short-eared Owl,East Halton Skitter.

Dawn At Winter's Pond.

Record Shot Of The Little Owl.

East Halton Beck/Skitter.

Singing Male Lesser Whitethroat,East Halton Skitter.

Ringed Plover,Goxhill Haven.

Dozing Dunlin,Goxhill Haven.


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