The transition to spring-like weather over the past week has produced some interesting sightings, alongside plenty of pre-breeding activity. Early on, No.4 bed produced counts of 13 Oystercatchers and 9 Goldeneyes, which are good by Reserve standards, while Saturday’s Wetland Birds Survey (WeBS) turned up some Reserve scarcities. These included the female Lesser Scaup and female Greater Scaup, both of which have mainly been with the Tufted Duck flock on the Ship Canal for the past week, though the Lesser Scaup has put in a couple of brief appearances on No.3 bed, too. A small movement of Pink-footed Geese on Saturday brought with it a single Bean Goose and two White-fronted Geese, to add to the four White-fronts which flew along the Ship Canal on Tuesday. Saturday’s warm sunshine triggered plenty of courtship behaviour, with displaying Great Crested Grebes and Buzzards, mating Coots and Toads, plus an early flying Peacock butterfly on No.1 bed. Another couple of weeks and, if the weather is kind, we’ll be looking out for an early-returning Sand Martin, which is always, for me, a sign that spring has truly arrived. Photo of an Oystercatcher Cheers David Bowman (with Dan Owen, Helen Wynn and Brian Baird)

The last week has seen a fair amount of rain, though, with the sun breaking through by mid-morning yesterday it felt like Spring wasn’t too far away. Last Wednesday saw at least 25,000 Starlings still present at the No.3 bed roost, which has been attracting a few hunting raptors. The Barn Owl which was flushed from near the No.3 bed Footbridge on Saturday morning was no doubt brought in by the easy pickings available at the roost. On No.4 bed gulls and Lapwings have started to build up, with the Lapwing flock reaching 1,000 on Saturday, with the nice surprise of five Golden Plovers picked out among them when they were flushed. On the same day, over 300 Black-headed Gulls were present, which are likely to be returning breeding birds. After several disastrous breeding seasons, due to an unholy mix of Avian Flu, Mink predation and human disturbance, we are hopeful that the protective steps we’ve taken about the latter two will lead to a resurgence - unfortunately the impact of Avian Flu is in the lap of the gods. With yesterday’s sunshine there were plenty of birds in song, with Cetti’s Warblers, Willow Tits, Song Thrushes, Robins and Great Tits all adding to the morning’s soundscape. Photo of displaying Mute Swans Cheers David Bowman