Monday 24th March: Little Ringed Plovers!

Finally we have our first spring migrants! Roger Wyatt found a couple of LITTLE RINGED PLOVERS on the Meadow today though sadly they'd gone by the time I visited later in the afternoon (unless I managed to overlook them). Over the last couple of days the SHELDUCK count has continued to climb, peaking at an amazing 16 birds on Sunday before dropping back to 13 today. OYSTERCATCHER numbers have been steady at 3 or 4 birds and there have been up to five REDSHANK about as well. Whereas the rest of the duck species are declining in numbers, Gadwall are noticeably more numerous with at least 20 birds today.


The Jericho RED KITE has been hanging around a lot recently on the Meadow and has even been on the ground on the Railway Field a couple of times. The only other point of interest was a CAPE SHELDUCK in amongst the other Shelduck. Certainly an escape from somewhere, the Meadow seems to attract more than its fair share of plastic waterfowl.

The (plastic) Cape Shelduck, adding a splash of the exotic to the Meadow

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