Monday 10 May 2010

North winds blow

A scarce visitor - a drake Garganey on Brownsman pond

Monday 10th May comments:
It’s been a frustrating few days as the northerly winds continued which prevented boats from sailing – not good for visitors or the wardens! However the breeding seabirds got on with business as usual, despite the low temperature (there was snow on the Cheviot Hills which you can see from the islands – it’s that cold!). We’re crossing our fingers that the weather will improve and temperatures will rise – after all it is mid-May!

On the bird migration front, a drake Garganey graced Brownsman pond for twenty minutes on Saturday whilst the first Arctic Skua moved north alongside a handful of Manx Shearwaters. Other than that, it’s been quiet although that Wagtail is provoking plenty of debate – we’re edging towards a possible Spanish Wagtail (or hybrid) but with no clear majority – so we’ll just have to keep digesting the information we have - I'll keep you all posted!

On the islands, more Sandwich Terns have settled whilst Common Terns are scraping in traditional areas and yes, those Arctic Terns are back - in huge numbers. Not long before the head pecking will begin...

No comments: