Calandra Lark by John Harding
If rare birds are what makes you tick, the last week or so
has to be one of the best spring periods on record. Last week’s Caspian Stonechat, Calandra Lark and Dalmatian Pelican (if accepted as a
wild bird) would take some beating and it would take a very special trio of
birds indeed. However, Britain’s second ever Green Warbler, found on Shetland, Britain’s first ever spring Blyth’s Pipit and the first ever Lammergeier (if accepted as a wild
bird) seems to have done the trick.
But what of our common migrants?
The week has seen a rush of hirundine passage, particularly
through a few south coast watchpoints. During the morning of 19 May sample
counts at Portland, Dorset suggested that Swallows
were passing at a rate of 550 per hour. It is interesting to note though that
the BirdTrack reporting rate for House
Martin is behind the historic reporting rate, so we might have a large
arrival of House Martins still to
come.
House Martin BirdTrack reporting rate
Spotted Flycatcher
migration seems to have stalled in the cooler northerly airflow that we have
been experiencing. There might be a window in the weather after early rain on
Sunday morning when fairly calm conditions are forecast on either side of the
English Channel, but by early next week we will be back in northerly airflow
again.
The forecast for northern Britain is a mixed bag with the
early part of the week looking quite stormy at times. This could be good news
for anyone heading north to catch up with Long-tailed
Skuas, as the birds could be pushed close to the northern isles, they will
almost certainly be accompanied by Pomarine
Skuas too.
Nightjar by Neil Calbrade
Any still, clear conditions during the next week will also
help any Nightjars that are on the
move. Some birds are already back at their breeding sites but the BirdTrack
reporting rate shows they will continue to arrive during the next couple of
weeks. And of course, waders will continue to push north when conditions allow too. Wood Sandpiper and Temminck’s Stint are good mid to late
May birds to look out for.
Nightjar BirdTrack reporting rate