Thursday April 6 - Earlswood Lakes

 I missed a trick yesterday. My Mum is now at my sister's on the outskirts of the Earlswood recording area, and I am on standby for any cover/assistance she needs. So I spent much of a wet afternoon there, and on leaving, decided to have a quick scan of Engine Pool. This proved reasonably successful as I ticked  House Martin for the year, there was at least one and probably two flying around with over a dozen Swallows and some Sand Martins.

I also noticed that one of the Black-headed Gulls had a BTO ring which I tried to read. I managed all the digits but neither of the letters, although it is probable that it was ?A50446. 

The ringed Black-headed Gull

What I didn't do (and wished I had) was walk down the side of Engine Pool. Had I done so I may have seen a Common Sandpiper and a bright male Yellow Wagtail which Andy Gooding later reported on the rafts.

So this morning after another visit to see my Mum I resolved to actually walk around the lakes (well two of them). It was a classic case of "you should have been here yesterday". Hirundines were down to a handful of Swallows and Sand Martins, and all the good stuff had moved on. At least I heard and saw a Willow Warbler for the first time this year, and counted nine singing Chiffchaffs and five singing Blackcaps as I walked around Engine Pool and Windmill Pool. A Little Egret was down the bottom end of the latter, and a Lapwing flew over.

I identified a couple of common flowers; Green Alkanet and Marsh Marigold. But it was too chilly for insects to be on the wing.

Green Alkanet

PS: At 17.49 an Osprey left Abbots Salford Pool just south of my recording area heading West North-west. I tried to go to Arrow Valley Lake hoping to intercept it if it veered from that course but was thwarted by the police blocking access to the road by the entrance. An hour later one was seen at Earlswood over Engine Pool (same bird?). 

PPS: Some diligent research from Mike Wakeman came up with a likely ring number of EA50446 for the Black-headed Gull suggesting it had been ringed at Marsh Lane GP on 07 June 2022 as a chick. Sadly I have also heard from Matt Griffiths that it now appears to be ill. It is probably suffering from the bird flu which has now killed an adult bird which I had thought was showing signs of the virus as it swam in circles by the dam at Engine Pool on Wednesday afternoon.