It was good to peruse the Portland Bill website and even 'gooder' to see spring has arrived there - if it hasn't here yet - and read of the arrival of the first 'few' Wheatear on the first day of March with three at the Bill and two more birds elsewhere on the island. Words like 'not before time' were used on the website to describe an arrival of 23 Stonechat's at the Bill on 27 February with another seven at Reap Lane. The day after, the Stonechat arrival continued with around another twenty five birds at the Bill and went on to record twenty or more on 1 March and yet another twenty or more on 2 March with twelve today 3 March.
Come to think of it perhaps our spring has already arrived too as I personally think the female Stonechat at Conder Green on 26 February was a migrant rather than one of the three birds wintering there since 10 November, and the female on Fluke Hall Lane the day after was certainly a migrant bird as were the four male's at Aldcliffe on Sunday 1 March. I suppose we have other evidence of spring in our area the best of which is probably the arrival of the Avocet at Leighton Moss. So after all it's not 'come to think of it' but positively....Spring is here!
Last year I found my first Wheatear at Fluke Hall 18 March - I think this was later than other peoples first - and the first Little Ringed Plover was on Conder Pool on 31 March. It is interesting that a LRP had been reported at Martin Mere on 28 February but the report was deemed 'questionable'.
Well the pic isn't Portland Bill lighthouse but is the one at Cockersands with Plover Scar in the foreground....but wait a minute, picture posted previously on 22 November......Whoooops!
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