Swift!

The first swift of the year is a notable date in any patch-workers notebook, as the last of the migrant breeders to arrive it marks a bit of a milestone in the ornitholigcal year. I saw my first swift of the year today and it was at Druridge.

It's arrival was overshadowed by another migrant this morning, a much scarcer spring bird on the coast - whinchat.

whinchat - record shot

Whinchats are hard to come by in the spring on the coast, much more obvious in the autumn, so this one was nice to see. In 2009, I failed to see whinchat at all at Druridge. A single white wag was the other notable passage visitor.

Two male blackcaps were vying for territory by the Budge screen and whitethroats were still singing strongly. I recorded 48 species at Druridge in three hours this morning, without a seawatch. I reckon with a seawatch I could have easily seen 55 species, over a third of the average yearly total!

The warmer conditions this morning may have been responsible for a hatch of cinnabar moths - they were everywhere!

Cinnabar moths - at it!

On the big pool, these two were making a racket.

little grebe

redshank in summer plumage

117 whinchat
118 swift