Friday April 24 - Spernal STW and Morton Bagot

 I was able to get up early this morning to Join Tony and Greg at the local sewage works where they were ringing. This April seems to be chugging along unremarkably, and today was no different.

While the lads set the nets up, I roamed around trying to see or hear anything unusual. The best I could come up with was a Sand Martin perched on wires with four Swallows, two singing Cetti's Warblers, plenty of Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers, and a fly over drake Mandarin. All a little pedestrian, but nice to record anyway.

Sand Martin is likely to be tricky at Morton Bagot again

The ringers were also having an off day and I gather they only caught six birds, most of which were re-traps. However, one of those was a Reed Warbler originally ringed as a female here on June 4 2024. So to Africa and back twice since it was first ringed.

Reed Warbler, now rather scarce up the road at Morton Bagot

Other birds seen included three Grey Wagtails, while a male Cuckoo could just be heard from the direction of Morgrove Coppice.

After breakfast I headed for Morton Bagot for part two of the morning.

If I was hoping for an upturn in migrant rarity I was to be disappointed. Nevertheless two Swifts were my earliest for the patch. They were not, however, the earliest there. That accolade went to Mike Holley who saw one here on 14 April 2024. I only know this because my West Midlands Bird Club Report arrived a few days ago. It's worth joining the WMBC for their excellent annual report alone.

Other birds present today included two Grasshopper Warblers (I even glimpsed one as it dived into a grassy field), three Lesser Whitethroats, and 18 Common Whitethroats.

Common Whitethroat

With one eye on the WestMidsAlldayer a week on Saturday I checked out Bannams Wood, noting a Nuthatch and a Coal Tit. You wouldn't believe the trouble I've had spotting those two on previous Alldayers.

Down at the scrape field I had to watch a dog-walker allowing her dog to run all over habitat which Heart of England Forest is maintaining for Lapwings. Just eight distressed birds were visible, and the Water Rail was silent (or departed). 

Fortunately the Flash field is spared such disturbance, but it still appears that the Avocets have gone, while just three Teal remain.

I reckon anything over sixty species will be a result. Just 51 today.