5th and 6th April


A rough couple of days with the blazing westerly wind making census pretty hard work but we all put the time in and there were birds to be seen; the Northern Harrier was still floating around and the Green-winged Teal yet again reappeared on Gretchen on the 5th while wildfowl and wader counts included 7 Gadwall, 15 Red-breasted Mergansers, single Whooper Swan and Goldeneye, 424 Golden Plover, a single Grey Plover (only the third record so far this year) and 221 Turnstone.

                Passerines continued to trickle in despite the weather as counts comprised 190 Meadow Pipits, 9 Rock Pipits, 10 Wheatears, 15 Redwings, a Rook and 4 Snow Buntings.

Raven, photo Simon Davies


                The year’s rarest bird – our unexpected Kingfisher was re-found in a different ditch bordering Hooking on the 6th while the Green-winged Teal was still present (we’re beginning to wonder how long he spends elsewhere and how long he spends hiding in the ditches at the back of Gretchen, admittedly a site which gets checked several times a day!).

                Other little bits during this quieter day included 2 Great Skuas – the first time they have come ashore onto Torness, single Peregrine, Sparrowhawk and Merlin, 13 Wheatears and a Chiffchaff.

Sandwich Tern, photo Simon Davies
Grey Plover, photo Larissa Simulik

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