Observations

Summer visitors trickle in

A review of the birds of March-April 2025

It was dry, rather settled weather from early March with cold starts and sunny days and there were some days to get good raptor counts. From the end of March until mid April saw fine clear weather getting resident birds off to an early start but blocking weather over Iberia didn’t particularly induce early arrivals of summer visitors. The whole period was exceptionally dry with a little rain.

There was the usual scattering of prospecting Great Crested Grebes in March with up to three, but only a singleton in April. A pair of Shelducks made a surprise reappearance for just one day in April. Low spring numbers of Shovelers continued with a maximum of 41 before dropping abruptly to single figures. Teal behaved in a similar, predictable fashion, with 32 falling to single figures. Gadwalls were in good form with 177 on duck count day, when 63 Tufted Duck were also present, respectable counts these days.

Red-crested Pochards have settled in at eight birds by mid April (five males; predict your brood count here), whilst Pochards were a little low by recent standards with a peak of only 17.

Fine weather enabled the raptors to get up and about with up to nine Red Kites and 11 Buzzards. A distant Osprey came in from the NW one March afternoon. It was escorted southwards off site by an attentive Red Kite whence it ran into a stroppy Peregrine over the power station – talons were presented and the Osprey gave as good as it got!  A male Marsh Harrier weaved his way over the Draper Hide followed the next day by a record three birds.The first Hobby of the year sailed over the meadow with a maximum of five by the month’s end.

On the wader front, our first Little Ringed Plover arrived in March, numbers rising to five in April. Lapwings slowly departed through March leaving single figure counts of three to seven in April, apart from 12 one day, apparently refugees from ploughing up on the Toll Road hill. Nineteen Snipe was the best count all winter in a poor year for this species, whilst Jack Snipe remained until the last five in early April. It is unusual to be certain of seeing Green Sandpipers on the move, but five around the scrape were clearly unfamiliar with the site, as were three later in April that dropped in from high, the last of the ‘winter’. A Common Sandpiper also appeared in April.

An adult Little Gull interrupted Marsh Harrier counting as it dithered about for a while before heading off NE, and two fine adult Mediterranean Gulls dropped in on two days in April.The first Common Tern of the year arrived (and left) just before the month’s end.

The Barn Owl showed intermittently until late March, whilst we recorded the first Cuckoo and eight Swifts in April. Starling roosts reappeared with around 200 on several evenings in March (the actual roost being on Stansted Innings); the Water Pipit was gone by the end of March. Our small gang of Redwings also stayed on until late March, the last of the winter being caught by dazzling during a nocturnal Jack Snipe session! One Meadow Pipit lingered and the last eight Yellowhammers had gone by the end of March.

Of the summer passerines the first (and so far only) five Sand Martins went over in March, a Swallow the day after and eight House Martins in April, all in woefully low numbers.

It is difficult to say when the first migrant Chiffchaffs arrived and the winter birds left, but an upsurge in multiple songsters revealed 22 by the beginning of April. Blackcap were a little easier with the first in late March, and well in by early April when 17 were logged. Move on past mid month and the main arrivals came: Sedge and Reed Warblers en masse, with Whitethroat and Garden Warbler, followed by Yellow Wagtail. The only Willow Warbler of the spring so far sang for one day. No Grasshopper Warblers or Lesser Whitethroats have yet been recorded.

Light finch passage was restricted to Chaffinches moving east in March, with a best count of 18, but there have been no records in April. Greenfinches reappeared in small numbers along with Goldfinches and up to four Linnets. Two Siskins were a nice surprise for an early rising breeding surveyor…