A quieter day than yesterday but nevertheless some nice birds and further signs of Spring today. Quite a lot of the birding activity centered around the Bempton to North Dykes area and perhaps most interestingly included a male Ring Ouzel which was seen to come in off the sea and settle into the dell close to the car park at Bempton RSPB. Between Bempton and North Dykes there were 2 Sand Martin, 2 Wheatear, single Redwing and Corn Bunting and 600 Linnets. At Buckton, 5 Lapland Buntings (4 ad summer males) remained in the ploughed field – now coming to seed in the NE corner, other birds included a male Merlin, a Coot (only second ever here), a Common Buzzard, 2 Wheatear, 120 Linnet and a pair of Carrion Crows nest building on the roof of the Heligoland trap! Elsewhere there was a single Hooded Crow on the golf course, a Willow Warbler singing in Holmes Gut and a quiet sea watch was enlivened by a Stock Dove and Carrion Crow apparently coming in off the sea (presumably they hadn’t come from the continent though!). In what is rapidly becoming a big spring for Red Kites another was reported coming in off the sea today and several Common Buzzards were in the area (possibly a final total of 5)
Late news from yesterday was of a Redstart in an Outer Head garden.