The floodgates are about to open!

During the last few weeks migration has been somewhat stuttering. Breaks between weather fronts crossing Europe allowed birds to move only for them to be stopped by the next batch of fronts to move through. That might be about to change this weekend as high-pressure moves over the UK. The winds will turn southerly, and at least for a short while will come from as far south as North Africa. This should open the floodgates for birds such as Swallow, Blackcap and Willow Warblers, birds that should be fairly widespread at this time of the season but are still a little thin on the ground.

Hobby by Jason Thorpe

We are still a week or so away from the peak migration period but we should see lots of birds arriving in the next few days.  Hobby, Grasshopper Warbler, House Martin, and Sedge Warbler  could arrive in force, along with the first flood of Whitethroat and, as the winds turn more south-easterly around mid-week, a few Lesser Whitethroat too.

Redstart should be seen more widely, and Pied Flycatchers are worth looking out for too.  In fact with the conditions looking so good, most of our summer migrants should be represented over the next few days, perhaps with the exception of those that have a late spring arrival time, such as Swift, Spotted Flycatcher and Quail.

Cuckoo by Charles Tyler

Six out of our seven satellite tagged Cuckoos are still south of the Sahara in West Africa but we do have one that has crossed the desert. Hampshire Cuckoo "Selborne", has been in northern Spain for around a week and will probably make the final leg of his journey home in the next week. Although none of our tagged Cuckoos have made it as far north as the UK, Cuckoo is definitely worth listening out for in the next few days and keep an eye on the Cuckoo tracking maps for daily updates on the position of our tagged birds. 

At sea, Common Terns on the move could be joined by the first Arctic Terns of the spring, and when terns are on the move skuas move too, so there ought to be a few Arctic and Great Skuas seen.

Arctic Skua by Moss Taylor

Conditions look to be perfect from the early hours of Friday morning right through to at least the early part of next week, and whilst the south coast ought to be the place to be, we could all enjoy spring arrivals during this time.

Black Kite by Jill Pakenham

With the warm winds coming from so far south, overshooting spring migrants should also be a feature. Along with the possibility of a few more of the birds we have seen during the last week, Red-rumped Swallow, Black-winged Stilt and Woodchat Shrike. With the forecast weather it looks like we could be in for an arrival of southern herons, Purple Heron, Little Bittern and Night Heron are all on the cards. We could also see the odd Black Kite and maybe Sardinian Warbler.

The conditions are also good for departing migrants and it is worth keeping an eye out for the last Redwings and Fieldfares, and at sea, Brent Geese.