Godwits on the move

The cold northerly winds that have been with us since last Saturday have reduced migration to trickle. The snowfall and freezing night time temperatures recorded in the last few days will also not have helped recently arrived migrants.

Summer plumaged Bar-tailed Godwit by Laurence Pitcher (Beachybirder)

Despite the poor weather, a few birds were still on the move, most notably Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwit. Small flocks of both were noted passing most coastal watchpoints last week and it is well worth keep an eye for summer-plumaged Bar-tailed Godwits if you are near the coast this weekend.

Bar-tailed Godwit reporting rate on Birdtrack showing peak in early May

Several surprising species were noted at watchpoints during the week, the most fascinating being a Nuthatch at Hilbre Bird Obs, Wirral on 23 April. This was only the third record for the island, with previous in 1962 and 2009, all in spring. Nuthatches are a very sedentary species with ringing data confirming that movements of more than 50 kilometres are exceptional. The most recent Atlas showed the species colonising northern England and southern Scotland, so could this species now be ready to jump the Irish Sea to colonise the Isle of Man and Ireland from where they are currently absent?

Nuthatch by Edwyn Anderton

Another surprise was a spate of Hawfinch records from the Scottish islands, with two on mainland Shetland, another on Fair Isle and one on the Outer Hebrides since last Friday. Very little is known about the movements of Hawfinches in Britain and Ireland, with some studies showing that birds breeding here make only limited movements. If that is the case, it seems likely that the birds seen in Scotland were heading back to Scandinavia or further afield.

Other notable migration counts occurred at opposite ends of the country: Fair Isle, Shetland logged 147 Wheatear and 244 Meadow Pipits on 27/4. In the far south of Britain, several hundred Willow Warblers arrived on Hengistbury Head and nearby Portland (both in Dorset) on the same day. Over 100 Blackcap also appeared on the latter site. Other sites throughout Britain noted only a handful of commoner migrants and the odd Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtail and Grasshopper Warbler. As predicted last week, the first Roseate Tern of the year was noted last Saturday in West Sussex and two days later the first was seen on their main British breeding colony of Coquet Island, Northumberland.

Reporting rate of Cuckoo

Looking ahead, it looks probable that temperatures could return to more seasonal levels from mid-week onwards and probably not a minute too soon for breeding and migrant birds alike. Given favourable conditions, there could be a good arrival of birds delayed by the northerly winds.

Paul Stancliffe and Stephen McAvoy