The Lincolnshire Bird Club

What a great spring this year it seems to just get better and better!

Today's Highlights:

Common/Scarlet Rosefinch 1 (Picked up by Kev Wilson in flight!!) (Singing briefly on a couple of occasions near the Sleeper track, what a beauty!!)
Osprey 1 (In off the sea)
Tree Pipit 1
Possible Hawfinch early morning?
Jay 50
Eider 6
Golden Plover Sp 1 (Per John Shaugnessy)
Kittiwake 1 on the deck (Per Rob Watson)

Cheers,

Richard

Hi Richard

Pleased to hear you are having a great spring -- I guess its all a question of perspectives, location and age but up here in the far north of the county there is universal acceptance that this has spring has been the worst in living memory and that accounts for 45 years + for some of us; there has been no passage of terns, waders are non-existent, so many spring visitors are missing and after several 100 hours in the field the most serious six observers have yet to find any scarce migrants let alone a rare bird. Today I was out at 04:30 listening around the pits for any unusual songsters, scouring the local hedges then doing several miles on the Wolds in the hope of a shrike but another 12 hours later and it all seems a waste of time. Two Spotted Flys back on territories and singing and a less than annual Garden Warbler plus a single Sanderling were all I had to show for another long day.
It is also rather depressing to note that there have been just two brief sightings of Turtle Dove here this spring and no singing birds the first such occurrence for over 60 years, just one Cuckoo has returned but it is elusive and quiet and the story is repeated across North Lincs where many people record a lack of Cuckoos. After a long period there have been no records this year of Hawfinch and following years of decline it looks as if they have now gone while no-one has seen a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in any of their regular woods, another species rapidly being lost. At Barton Bearded Tits have also disappeared with none breeding this year and even species like Shoveler are rare than usual.
On the positive side there are 9 singing male Cetti's in the far north but losses certainly seem to be outweighing gains.
Maybe June will be better -- but I may be taking up macramé by then

Hi Graham, can you recommend a good book and I will knot myself a Cuckoo. First year I have not had one on my patch.

_________________
Regards,

Andy.

Hi Andy

Can I reccommend 'Silent Spring' by Rachel Carson ! - I have just finished it.

Cheers

Kev

But you can't blame DDFT Kev,that's been off the menu for a long time. I agree with GPC, a long crappy winter, followed by a miserable spring so far. There have been some highlights if you live further north and have had some skuas but further south (and not counting the aberrant Redwing in Margate) it's been poor I think,
Phil

It is interesting reading this thread, and I don't have the depth of knowledge the other posters have, but one thing struck me watching Springwatch last night was whether the fact that the jet stream is so far south of its "norm" has had any effect on records. I am sure there are those who have a better academic understanding of these things who may have a counter argument, but is it a possible theory?

Andrew

Regarding Cuckoos; I usually get them on my patch near Tetney. This year one arrived 6th May and damn well cleared off PDQ.
This time last year caterpillars were hanging off the grasses sloughing skins and the cuckoos were feasting on them. This year with spring being... what; a month late? I can't imagine there's many caterpillars about and maybe that's why the cuckoos have gone (south probably!)

Today's Highlights: (28th May)

Iceland Gull (1st summer offshore late afternoon, headed towards Norfolk)
Little Gull 4
Mediterranean Gull 2
Kittiwake 2
Crossbill 2
Cuckoo 1

I still haven't seen any Flycatchers yet this year. Certainly appears to be a lack of waders around the scrapes so far this spring with the exception of 2 Little Stints on Tennysons yesterday, not even any Common Sandpipers about.

Richard

Common Sandpiper on the Freshwater Lagoon just before I saw you on Saturday

You raise an interesting and valid query Andrew, the jet stream has been unusually
south into Iberia and even north Africa for considerable periods over recent weeks.
I hear from Birders in Iberia how the weather has been cooler, cloudier, and wetter than
normal ( if there is a normal now ?) and this has grounded migrant birds so this may
be connected to the poor spring migration in UK, Eastern europe has been sunny warm and
clearer , and migrants were arriving in Estonia in mid may.
regards John.

Spurn has had the best May ever with 189 species recorded (per Spurn B.O. website) so I reckon Lincs. poor spring is more to do with a lack of birders, I hardly ever see any birders when I'm in Lincs. except Steve M and his mates on their Tuesday day out.
Geoff