Spring migration gathering pace

With a reduction in my usual very busy spring workload it has been an unexpected pleasure to spend time in the Scarborough area so far this spring (although anyone reading this in need of some surveys doing - please do get in touch!). 

The birding has been typically hard work, but the past week or so has seen an increase in the numbers of birds on the move. Typical early migrants have been the main items of interest with Goldcrest, Chiffchaff and Wheatears all in evidence.

Wheatear

Wheatear

The first Swallow flew S on 1st April. The same day a Short-eared Owl was at Cromer Point. It was on the cliffs before flying out to sea harried by gulls. It returned to the land and appeared to pitch back in around Jacksons Bay. Presumably the same bird was at Long Nab on 3rd. 

A call from Wig on 4th April had me heading down to Marine Drive in search of a Black Redstart, which eventually gave itself up with nice views in the rain. A Willow Warbler flycatching from the Marine Drive wall was seemingly new in and it moved on quickly.

The 5th was a pretty busy morning with a steady vis mig of Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Goldfinches. Numbers were not as impressive as further north at Cowbar, where in excess of 2500 Meadow Pipits were recorded. However steady arrivals on a broad front from the sea most resulted in a decent if less impressive total of 142 Meadow Pipits logged heading north. Sand Martins are beginning to increase with a few hanging around near Cromer Point, where they breed and small numbers trickled South. 

A pair of Shelduck have been hanging around the cliffs and look likely to make a breeding attempt. 

Shelduck

Surprises came in the form of a cream-crown Marsh Harrier moving north about a mile inland from the coast, with a Buzzard also seen flying north there. A nice arrival of White Wagtails involved a concentration of six together in the field beyond the Obs, with a few Pied Wagtails also around and vis migging. Even more surprising, given the date, was a swift which moved slowly south as the rain arrived. Hoping that such an early date might mean it was something of greater interest, I checked it as best I could in the gloomy conditions, but nothing suggested it was anything other than a Common Swift. A pleasing record nonetheless, although there is a March record from the Scarborough area. News from Wig of a Grasshopper Warbler further up the coast at Ravenscar is however the earliest area record, beating the previous earliest record of 16th April 1996. All in all a surprisingly productive few days for the Yorkshire coast in the first week of April! Lets hope the fun continues.