April 2019

Hi everyone! 
April started slowly but a smattering of spring migrants passing through made for some interesting sightings. 
I have altered the format this month to allow me to paste in people's reports exactly as they wrote them. It also saves time as I don't have to fight against the template.
Please keep sending your sightings as this could be the most exciting month of the year.


4th:   Chiffchaff x 16, blackcap x 9, swallow x 1, goldeneye x 6, tufted duck x 195, pochard, shoveller x 3, gadwall x 7, black headed gull x 495, r-l partridge x2, buzzard, green sandpiper. (Terry Brown)

5th:   Yellowhammer on the meadow trail and the haul road, willow warbler x 3. Oystercatcher x 3, green sandpiper, goldeneye x 2. (A+K Harrold)
Mining bees using the mound. (MR)

7th:   Quite a large number of sand martins, house martins with a few swallows mixed in, over Hayling and the river, in the grey gloom this morning. (Mark Brandon)

8th:   One green woodpecker and what looked like two swallows(I was a long way off but I think they were too small for hobbies) perched on tall dead tree off to the right of the main path to the river, dunnock near centre. female bullfinch at riverside, jay at riverside, yellowhammer near field, two blackcaps (male) singing merrily in Rory's Wood. Song Thrush in full voice on main path to river,wren near the gravel workings and many great tits, blue tits, blackbirds and robins plus a couple of long tailed tits. (Francis Burnley)

9th:   Heron, blue tit, wren, sparrow, great tit, coot, mallard, Canada goose, swan, tufted duck and robin. (Chloe, Jake and Graham.)

Red crested pochards on Weedy Pit

10th: Long staying pair of red crested pochards on Weedy Pit. Teal on Rudd pit. (NH)
Mallard pair with 9 ducklings on the Hayling Pit. (VB)
Red crested pochards moved to sailing lake. Little gull x 2 and greed sandpiper x 3 on Heronry North. (Martin)
Collared dove, reed bunting blue tot, great tit and robin. (Phoebe)

Little gull on Heronry North.

Red crested pochard x 2, common tern x 2, little gull x 2, teal x 6, gadwall x11, pochard x 11, goldeneye x 5, tufted duck x 172, yellowhammer x 10, linnet x 15, sparrowhawk, buzzard, Cetti's warbler, green sandpiper x 2, blackcap x 17, chiffchaff x 11, willow warbler.
Brimstone, peacock, orange-tip, speckled wood butterflies. ((Terry Brown)

Red crested pochard pair on Weedy Pit, Little gull x 4 and common tern x 4 on Heronry N. Kingfisher, willow warbler x 3, scaup x 2, sparrowhawk at the VC, swallow x 3, widgeon x 5, pochard.  Little ringed plover x 3, dunlin x 3, ringed plover x 3, oystercatcher x 4, redshank x 10, green sandpiper x 5, lapwing x 2, snipe x 4, little egret. (Martin)

Singing willow warbler x 7+ on Meadow Trail (D Harlow)

Little gull and year-old black headed gull.

Peregrine (fm) over Heronry South  at 6 pm. Cetti's warbler at the Visitor Centre (JAS)

Peregrine over Heronry South.

14th:  Cetti's warbler on boardwalk in meadow. (CB) Red crested pochard on sailing lake and Island Pit, both drakes. Green sandpiper on Heronry North (A&G Williams) a kingfisher on the Hayling Pit (SE)  Flock of c20 swallows over village reported to TG.

16th:  Otter x 2 at south end of Island Pit (Steve May). Red crested pochard drake on Weedy Pit (GSM). Blue tit, magpie, gull, squirrel (Sienna and Cassia) Common tern, yellowhammer x 6, whitethroat, black cap x 4 (A Scott)

Common Terns 17th April. (P. Hagger)

17th: Crane flying south over river viewpoint. Red crested pochard drake on Weedy Pit (female appeared later so probably on nest). Tern rafts launched and immediately occupied. Buzzard, red kite, kestrel and sparrow hawk. Dunlin on island in Heronry South among nesting? b-h gulls. Green sandpiper x 2 on Diddington Pit. Green woodpeckers. Gulls and rooks following the tractor on Peter's Field. Butterflies- orange tip, comma, speckled wood, holly blue, brimstone, green-veined white, peacock.

From Cambridge Bird Club: Paxton Pits - 2 Garganey (Jamie Wells); Yellow-legged Gull (Mark Brandon); 3 Garganey, Red-crested Pochard, Blue-headed Wagtail with 7 Yellow Wagtail (Martin Davis)

Mallard on nest (P. Hagger)

18th: Third Thursday Walk: Blackbird, blackcap, b-h gull, blue tit, bullfinch, buzzard, crow, chiffchaff, common tern, coot, cormorant, gadwall, goldcrest, great crested grebe, great tiit, green woodpecker, heron, greylag, herring gull, house sparrow, l-t tit, magpie, mallard, moorhen, mute swan, oystercatcher, pheasant, redshank, robin, rook, treecreeper, stock dove, teal, tufted duck, willow warbler, wood pigeon, wren, Canada goose, red-crested pochard. 39 spp. (David Wilson)

Cetti's warbler 19/4/2019 (J Hill)

Grass snake (Oliver Mallet)

Redshank x 3, common sandpiper x 2 (Sailing Lake) Adult little gull x 2 on Heronry North.
Chiffchaff x 17, blackcap x 21, willow warbler x 9, goldcrest, buzzard x 2, yellowhammer x 7, common tern x 24 and red crested pochard drake. (Terry Brown)
18th: From Cambridge Bird Club: Paxton Pits - RING OUZEL, 9 Little Gull, Garganey, Lesser Whitethroat, Raven over east (Jamie Wells)

19th: Whitethroat and willow warblers at the mound, garden warbler, blackcap x 6, willow warbler x 6, chiffchaff x 10, common tern and yellowhammer. (MA) Cuckoo heard at River Viewpoint. Poss hobby passing high over VC. Cetti's warbler in Meadow (T and V G)
From Cambridge Bird Club: Cuckoo, 3 Nightingale (John Raven); 3 Black Tern, pair of Red-crested Pochard (Martin Davis)

20th: Cuckoo, blackcap, yellowhammer, chiffchaff, black tern. Orange tip, peacock and speckled wood butterflies. (J P F) Osprey over Heronry lakes (TG)

21st: Cuckoo at river, garden warbler near Kingfisher Hide. (PC)
Black redstart fem. in the quarry. 12 black terns in the quarry.(GTH) Cuckoo also on meadow trail.

22nd: Adult little gull on Heronry South (Steve May) Robin, swift?? chaffinch, magpie, sparrow, chiffchaff, green woodpecker, great tit, blue tit, pheasant, mallard. (Jake, James Chloe and Sharon)
Black terns x 14+ in quarry plus nightingales and 3 cuckoos. (A and M Thomas) L-t tits at Cobham Hide, little gull at Kingfisher Hide. (A&J Hull +Christine, Harriet, Carole, George and Mark)

23rd: Little tern and arctic tern x 3 from Kingfisher Hide. (D Harlow)
Bar-tailed godwits x 21 also from Kingfisher Hide. (D Harlow and J Wells)

Sedge warbler singing.

24th: Ten warbler spp: Grasshopper, Cetti's, reed, sedge, whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, garden, blackcap, chiffchaff and willow! (Neal Parkin) Cuckoo x 2 near the visitor centre. 15 linnets on dandelions in the sheep field. GS Woodpecker at the gulley.

Orange tip butterfly on a Geranium.

Butterflies included holly blue, brimstone and orange tip.

Hedgehog found on the Reserve near the Hayling Pit, turned inside out by a badger. Oystercatcher, herring gull x 3, lapwing, buzzard and sparrow hawk. Rat on the bird table at the visitor centre, 3 muntjac in the sheep field. Large red damselfly at the moorings. (JAS)

Muntjac showing scent gland and tusks.

25th: 2nd year little gull over Heronry North.

26th: Chiffchaff, blackcap, willow warbler, whitethroat, lesser whitethroat, reed warbler, garden warbler. Cuckoo heard as well as oystercatchers calling. Brimstone, orange tip and speckled wood butterflies. (RS Buxton).

27th: Dozens of sand martins over Weedy Pit plus swallows and house martins over Heronry Lakes.

28th: Cuckoo and buzzard over the Visitor Centre (JAS)
Arctic Tern x 2. Little tern. RC Pochard.

3 Otters including two young on Island Pit. American Wigeon drake on PHP. (GR)

29th: Cuckoos, buzzard, yellow wagtail.
David Bale reported from the Anglian Water Road at Stirtloe: 7:45 am.
Blackbird, bullfinch, reed bunting, coot, cormorant, crow, stock dove, gadwall, goldfinch, greylag geese, blackcap, chiffchaff, Cetti's warbler, goldcrest, reed warbler, sedge warbler, willow warbler, whitethroat, lesser whitethroat x 7, cuckoo, b.h gull, heron, jackdaw, magpie, mallard, moorhen, robin, rook, starling, mute swan, common tern, at east 5 nightingales, skylark, mistle thrush, song thrush, blue tit, great tit, long tailed tit, great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, woodpigeon, wren and yellowhammer.