Colin and I decided a long time ago that trying to do any long distance birding, or visiting coastal sites is never a good idea on Bank Holidays (as is venturing anywhere near the M25) unless there is something really worth going for, so we tend to stay local.
On Saturday we went out for the more or less traditional April Little Paxton and fens trip with as view to getting a few of the usual year ticks. This of course meant a fairly late departure. It was a bit worrying leaving Stevenage in fairly dense fog, but it cleared as we headed up the A1 and by the time we reached the Paxton car park we had lots of sunshine and blue skies. It was still a bit chilly though, with a bit of an easterly breeze.
I was surprised to see how low the water was in the Heron Lake, several feet lower than normal. Whether this was deliberate with a view to producing expanses of mud and islands for passage waders and breeding birds, or whether it was down to the lack of rainfall over the last year or so, I don't know. Over the course of the two hour circuit we managed to pick up all of the visiting warblers, apart from lesser Whitethroat, and, unfortunately only a single Nightingale, which does seem to be dealing here.
There were about a dozen Common Terns with a single Black Tern among them. Always distant, I couldn't get a decent image of it. There were, or had been, a couple of Little Gulls but one or two possible candidates turned out to be false alarms. Heard our first Cuckoo (possibly two present) and I had a flyover Yellow Wagtail. No hirundines at all.
Plenty of Orange Tips, Peacocks, Speckled Wood and Green Veined Whites.
We then went to Berry fen near Bluntisham where a Green Winged Teal had been present for a long time. It had warmed up considerably and it was quite nice walking along the Ouse bank to get to the fen, one of a series managed by the RSPB as part of the Ouse Fen project.
It proved to be a wasted exercise in that we failed to find the Teal, though there were many common Teals present, but trying to sort out distant sleeping ducks in the vegetation is never easy.
We finished the day with an afternoon at the Ouse Washes, and by now it had got even warmer and it was an exhausting trudge up to the hides. This was the only place with any hirundines-a few Swallows feeding over and around the pumping station. For once there were many Tree Sparrows feeding around the car park and picnic area.
We had hoped to pick up Garganey and Cranes here, but of course we failed again. There were still a lot of Wigeon, Teal and Pintail remaining from winter, along with several flocks of (presumed) breeding Black Tailed Godwits and Avocets but Ruff were absent. I was half expecting a Great White Egret as well but could only find Little, and there should have been one or two harriers as well.
Sunday morning I paid a visit to Amwell. The area in front of the view point is looking pretty good for a passing wader though there haven't been many as of yet. Two Little Ringed Plovers had been present first thing but had departed. Lots of Sedge Warblers in the reeds and as usual the thick bramble patch in the big reed bed had a reeling and invisible Grasshopper Warbler.
I walked up to Tumbling Bay with John Bartlett, Mick and William where there was at least one Garden Warbler singing. While there I managed o get a few snaps of one of a pair of Whitethroat.
Lots of Peacocks, Orange Tips and Green Veined Whites again, plus a single Brimstone.
I got home and was pleasantly surprised to hear a Willow Warbler singing in a neighbours tree-it was still present on the Monday, and is the second year in succession that we have had one.
Easter Monday wasn't all that good as I had one of those days that I occasionally where I woke up very tired and achey. I had intended to go for a walk around Aston End, but did not feel up to it, so following some news, drove down to Tyttenhanger and had more gentle stroll.
Picked up two Lesser Whitethroats here and a Greenshank on the main pit. I missed single late Redwing and Fieldfare in the paddock but did hear two of the Tree Sparrows.
A long spell at the top of the cliff with Rupert et al didn't get much. A hoped for regular Yellow Legged Gull had departed, and a suspected Caspian Gull couldn't be conclusively identified.
I left after a couple of hours as the rather severe hayfever that has been such a problem kicked in, but I did get nice singing Blackcap.
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