The following summary only includes records from our resident birders’ health walks and garden sightings; consequently, it provides a mere snapshot of the true scale of our spring migration.
Light winds backed from south-west to south-east during a sunny day and temperatures peaked at 14 degrees C. Three Eider, 11 Common Scoter, a Red-breasted Merganser, a Red-throated Diver, three Ringed Plovers and 211 Sandwich Terns flew south past the Fog Station.
On the headland, notable records included two Gadwall, four Little Egrets flying south, two creamcrown Marsh Harriers, a summer-plumaged Spotted Redshank, a male Ruff, three Ringed Plovers, two Whimbrel and three Dunlin. Additional interest included 11 Swifts, a Cuckoo and a southerly movement of hirundines; 230 Swallows, 75 House Martins, 15 Sand Martins. Additional passerine interest included one Hooded Crow, a reeling Grasshopper Warbler, 26 Willow Warblers, five Garden Warblers, a Reed Warbler, two Spotted Flycatchers, one Pied Flycatcher, a Common Redstart, six Whinchat, 19 Wheatears, a White Wagtail and eight Yellow Wagtails. Sightings at Bempton/Buckton included four Swift, single Yellow Wagtail and Wheatear, along with four Corn Buntings.
