Migration still slow

Whilst at times the weather here has seemed near perfect for the arrival of summer migrants, weather fronts further south in France have blocked their progress and the opening of the floodgates hasn’t quite happened.

This might all change on Sunday. High-pressure is forecast to extend from northern Britain all the way to the south of France and, if fog holds off, we could see the first big wave of summer migrants arriving. It will also help birds waiting to leave get on their way too, such as the Greylag Geese and Redwings on the northern isles.

Black Redstart by Ron Marshall

This week has been slow but there has been some visible migration. Meadow Pipits have pretty much been leading the way, with numbers in the low-hundreds being counted at some coastal watchpoints. Chiffchaff and Sand Martin have reached low double figures and Ring Ouzel has been seen a little more widely. Black Redstart seems to have been the most obvious of the grounded migrants, with small numbers being seen at many sites across the country.

Small numbers of Willow Warbler have pushed north, the first Common Terns have arrived and a few Sedge Warblers have made it back to a few reedbeds. Scoter, both Common and Velvet have been on the move at sea and there has been a small movement of Great and Arctic Skuas.

Black-winged Stilt by Moss Taylor

The first of our satellite-tagged Cuckoos has made it back to Europe and is currently on the southern edge of the Pyrenees, whilst the remainder are still in West Africa preparing for their own desert crossings. 

On the rarity front, Alpine Swift, Red-rumped Swallow, Hoopoe and Black-winged Stilt all arrived this week, and with high-pressure and light winds forecast for the early part of next week, we could be in for more of the same, and maybe Woodchat Shrike or Rustic Bunting.