Tuesday 4 May 2021

A real live rarity (almost)

Summer migrants trickling in, most of the usual suspects have arrived though still waiting on garden and sedge warblers and house martins (the last being sadly rare in my patch now). Much excitement today though when on a quick visit to my flooded fields (they had filled up again after yesterdays rain) I spotted a small brown wader type on the muddy margin in amongst the cattle footprints. It appeared to be a ringo but inland and never having been here before it needed a better look. Not having my scope I had to take some very zoomed in photos which revealed it to be a little ringed plover. A decent species anywhere in Scotland but particularly good in West Lothian. While they have bred twice in the last 10 years somewhere in the county those oddly seem to be the only recent records. Certainly a very pleasing find for my patch. Went back with my scope and got some pleasing views, though no better photos.

No ringo goes like a little ringo goes...

Swift addition to my April list

An earliest ever patch record of swift on 29th April, with whitethroat a few days back, a fly over tree pipit early Sunday morning (together with  a pair of ring ouzel; Figure 1) and sand martin just 15 minutes ago bring numbers up to 80 species or 99.17%. 





Figure 1. Ring ouzel was on the menu on Saturday.


Well done to Mr Stevens for over a hundred before the middle of the year.



Ton up!

Ton up (100.40%) in record time with the first Manxies this morning. I'm sure they show better off Galley but these are the first ever record shots that I've managed from the Kent coast...