A Weekend of Surprises

I had a pretty productive weekend, without actually travelling all that far.
Colin wasn't available on Saturday, so I paid a visit to Rye Meads, as I hadn't been there since late last year. I was hoping to get one or two migrants, as well as a year tick or two-though one wasn't what i had expected.
I arrived at the visitor centre to be told that there was a Mediterranean Gull on the north lagoon from Gadwall Hide. They aren't all that regular in the valley, and I certainly had never seen one at Rye so I headed straight there. While there were a lot of Black headed Gulls present, and a lone Common Gull I couldn't find it. Eventually I came across the expected Green Sandpiper, and there were also several pairs of Lapwing and Teal, plus a lot of Shoveller. I had a quick look at the other lagoon, but there wasn't anything unusual so I returned to Gadwall. A large flock of unidentified finches flew past at close range (and out of focus) and while trying to relocate them, some 20 Fieldfare flew through. Shortly after this all the gulls went up, including the 1W Med Gull which had been out of view behind one of the reed beds and flew off to the south. Apparently it was ringed but I barely had time to  pick it up in the bins before I lost it and despite checking all the lagoons over the following hour or so never relocated it.
I carried up on to the Meads, and then returned to the Kingfisher hide where one was perched up on one of the posts before entering the nest hole. I found three Chiffchaffs, but the cool northerly breeze seemed to have put a stop to any migrants, though some Sand Martins were at Amwell. While in the Kingfisher hide, two Muntjac walked through and a Kite flew through putting everything up from the north Lagoon, including a huge flock of Shoveller estimated at over 80 birds.
Back in the car park I snapped the Kestrel in the nest box, but failed to note the vole it had just been given by it's partner.

Sunday was a very nice spring day. In another first for the year I went for a walk around Aston End and along the Beane, taking my sister Jane.
We had a nice time, with lots of Chiffchaff, Skylarks, a couple of Meadow Pipits and my first singing Blackcap of the year in the pumping station by the ford. Lots of Buzzards and Kites were taking advantage of the warm sunshine with birds soaring high overhead.
We also had butterflies. Unlike most, I had only seen one earlier in the warm spell we had- a Tortoiseshell in the garden briefly. We found another on the walk, plus a Comma, three Brimstone and a Speckled Wood.

On the way home, a Tom Spellar tweeted that he had found a Firecrest in Fairlands Valley, in the wood by the main car park. I had an early lunch, and got there at 1330 to find it still present and singing almost continuously. Most of the time it was in the treetops, and very active but on a couple of occasions was low down and giving excellent views.
On the way back, i cut through Ashtree Wood, finding a Treecreeper and a pair of Brambling both of which were nice bonuses.
To cap it all, not long after i got home, a very early male Orange Tip appeared in the garden.

Amwell

It's been nearly a month since my last post. The viral infection I acquired in early February has proved to be very hard to shake off and seems to flare up on a regular basis. I had assumed from the doctors diagnosis that what I assumed was a flu like infection would eventually go, and while things have been pretty good of late I still get a few bad days. One of the guys at work has been diagnosed with walking pneumonia which more or less fits what Ive had and if that's the case it could be months before it finally goes. Mind you I get all sorts  of problems like this throughout  the year, maybe its best to blame the company and the working environment. The really annoying thing is that there have been some weekends where I have been feeling pretty good, but the weather has been appalling with gale force winds, heavy rain etc and it just hasn't been worth going out at all.
This morning it was lovely and sunny, the gales of the previous days had finally gone, and I felt up for a few hours out, so I went to Amwell. Being a Sunday, the usual gathering was present and I had a long chat discussing my medical problems with John Bartlett  as we walked up to the viewpoint. Unfortunately we had missed the Sand Martins and the Swallow (probably the earliest ever for the site) and passage birds had pretty much dried up by 9am. The Oystercatcher pair were back on the island-these were the only waders present, even the resident Lapwings seemed to be missing. As expected with the sunny conditions and the northerly breeze, there were plenty of raptors up with at least four Kites, eight Buzzards and a pair of Sparrowhawks. Lots of Jackdaws and Carrion crows over the woods, but no sign of the Ravens today.
After everyone went off for the Sunday walkabout I went down to the south end with Dave Booth as Graham White had mentioned that the red-head Smew was still around, but unfortunately we couldnt find it, presumably it was hiding behind the island. In fact, apart from one Goldeneye and about seven   Teal, there weren't many winter duck remaining. Signs of spring included several nice patches of Coltsfoot, shoots of Dog Mercury and less welcome perhaps well over a 100 Black Headed Gulls (and only two rafts for them to nest on this year).
When I returned, I carried on to Hollycross, picking up three singing Chiffchaff, one Muntjac and one Stoat, and on my return through the picnic area a few lingering Siskin were still around. I assume that the Redpolls had already gone. By now, the sun had gone and there had been a few hail showers, so I decided to call it a day.