Sunday 12th April

It's been another excellent couple of days on the Patch with three more year ticks to add. On Saturday morning Steve Lavington got the first YELLOW WAGTAIL of the year and three more were reported on RBA in the afternoon right up at the north end near the Trout. Today late afternoon I was very excited to find a SANDERLING in the Plover flock near Burgess Field only to discover when I got home that Phil Barnett had actually found it an hour or so earlier on. I couldn't really complain though as Phil also had a couple of fly-over adult MEDITERRANEAN GULLS - I'm really pleased that we sneaked these on to the year list right at the end of the spring passage. SANDERLING, is a less than annual vagrant on the Patch so a great year tick. We sometimes get them but usually much later on in the spring passage.

Over the weekend there's been a lovely mixed flock of LITTLE RINGED and RINGED PLOVERS feeding along the shoreline by Burgess Field gate and the allotments so a great opportunity for some close views. The exact composition of this flock varies as birds come and go but this evening there were five Little and one Ringed Plover with the Sanderling hanging out with them as well. 

Rounding off, up to three OYSTERCATCHERS are still about and up to five SHELDUCK. There was also a lovely flock of at least 10 SWALLOWS all feeding over the Meadow in the Hinterland area on Saturday - so this species is properly "in" now.

The Sanderling

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