Tuesday April 20

I was convinced that today would be good. The weather remains sunny and settled, a hint of easterly in the forecast. Yesterday I had a text that Grasshopper Warblers had returned to Morgrove Coppice, surely a sign that today would see further migrant arrivals.

Perhaps I had set myself up for a fall. After an hour at Morton Bagot it was just the same old stuff. Eventually I recorded three singing Whitethroats, nine singing Blackcaps (plus two females), and a singing Willow Warbler. But none of the hoped for, dare I say expected, late April migrants were in evidence.

There was change at the flash field. The Teal had all gone. Admittedly the Shelduck count was back up to three, and the four Avocets are still occupying their respective flashes. Six calling Black-headed Gulls appeared, and a Snipe took flight briefly.

Buzzard

The sight of a Common Buzzard standing in a field beyond the Kingfisher Pool gave me today's token bird shot.

The usual butterflies were on the wing, but I could find no damselflies at the Dragonfly Pool. Instead I took the opportunity to get a shot of the Common Water Crowsfoot which is forming an attractive mat in the shallow end.

Common Water Crowsfoot

Some ringing news concerns the control of a Lesser Redpoll which had been trapped on 11 October 2020, and was pulled out of a mist net at Hazeley Heath in Hampshire on 13 April 2021. This map shows the points of capture and recovery.

Lesser Redpoll control - per Tony Kelly

A movement of 124 km in a south south-easterly direction.

I'll be putting the moth trap out tonight and will add any results onto the end of this post in due course.

Moth results: 22 moths of 10 species as follows:

Oak Tree Pug    -    1 (nfy)

Brindled Pug    -    3

Waved Umber    -    1 (nfy)

Brindled Beauty    -    1

Lunar Marbled Brown    -    1 (nfy)

Swallow Prominent    -    1 (nfy)

Knot Grass    -    1 (nfy)

Common Quaker    -    10

Small Quaker    -    2

Oak Nycteoline    -    1

Some nice moths there. The Oak Nycteoline was only the second for the garden (but not new for the year).

Oak Nycteoline

Lunar Marbled Brown

Waved Umber

They are all now resting in state awaiting release tonight.