The Lincolnshire Bird Club

Kirkby Pits 11am
41 flew over the hide, circled round and landed on the pit across the road and 500yards north. Seemed vary wary and probably won't stay long. Cheers. Pam and Rick

A sizeable passage today then with the following down here :

7 N through Freiston @ 09.10h
c.100 through Frampton @ 10.15h,

and also a pager message regarding 110 NNE over Ruskington @ 08.05h, presumably different birds...unless they circled south again!

Little else so far, except continued the flock of c.90 Twite at Frampton, some of which are colour-ringed - at least 2 with fluorescent pink on right leg (couldn't see any other colours) and 1 with large white on right with smaller yellow/green above. Will report in due course. Oh, and also 2 Coot, a very scarce spring migrant at these 2 sites !
Cheers,

Phil + Paul Sullivan

41 Whoopers still at Kirkby Pits at 13.40 hrs. so a look this afternoon may be worthwhile. They seemed quite settled.

80+ (think there was more birds away from the main group) over Ruskington at 8.05am. Nice way to start a days work.

Mark

2 over Baston & Langtoft Pits this afternoon at 16:20, not the big numbers we had a couple of weeks back but still presumably part of the movement!

Also 2 LRPs new-in today here, 2 Smew still and a Dunlin.

Josh

Just seen Trevor's photo in the gallery of a Whooper Swan with an apparent all-dark bill - looks like mud-staining as opposed to anything a little more exotic...! Discuss?

...25 inland over Frampton this morning at 08.55h. Also 2 Chiffchaffs at Freiston

Phil

Thanks for the comment from blgp_birder. I am not sure that staining of the bill is the answer. All the other birds seemed to have bright shiny yellow/black bills characteristic of the Whooper and and it would seem odd that one should have acquired staining. Also to me the bill shape in the black-billed bird does not seem quite the same as the Whoopers in the photo - in particular the base of the bill does not seem to extend right back to the eye as in the other birds.