I was a little worried that I might miss out on the recent Little gull passage having been working away most of this week, but fortunately it continued into today and this afternoon there were still 27 little gulls at the flash, almost all of them adults in full summer plumage. From looking at the reports from today it would seem that the best estimate for the day is 88 birds, but because birds were coming and going with at least one flock of 44 seen to apparently leave east, it's perfectly possible and even likely that around 120 birds passed through today. To put that into context, my previous best day total for the flash was four.

Also today, arctic tern, 5 common terns, whimbrel, 2 common sandpipers and my first swift of the year. Oh, and bird of the day, my first linnet at the flash this century . What a day to be alive!

62+ is now the best estimate of Little Gulls on the flash this morning, though with birds coming in and going off again the number passing through could have been nearer 90.

At least 53 Little Gulls dropped in this morning, and an Arctic Tern.

Also two Common Sandpipers.

Up to 24 Little Gulls present this afternoon (including 2 first summer birds) feeding mainly off the car park to spit area.

6 Common Tern

1100 Sand Martin

14 Swallow

1 Little Egret

Apologies for the late post, it's been a hectic day. This morning, 9:45 - 12:45;

Cattle egret 1 on the spit, flew south at 10:55 and apparently left. Usual top quality photo attached

Tree pipit 1 flew north over the ruck calling

Arctic tern 3

Common tern 1

Common sandpiper 3 - 4

Additional sightings from our High Peak RSPB group trip this morning:

Male Redstart fly-catching from Tom Edmondson hide, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Tern, 2 Treecreeper, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 6+ Cettis Warbler, Kingfisher, Goldcrest, Stock Dove, 3 Goosander, 5 Lapwing 

Highlights on and around Ramsdales Ruck and the western end this morning:

22 Willow Warbler

8 Blackcap

1 Whitethroat

1 Grasshopper Warbler 

3 Reed Warbler

1 Little Egret

This morning, 7:15 - 10:30;

Ringed plover 1 at the boat club

Common tern 1 on a buoy at 7:30 but not seen later

Little ringed plover 1

House martin 10 over horse paddocks at Mossley hall farm

Swallow 2

Sand martin much reduced in number, probably about 800

Goldeneye 3 (adult male & 2 sub-adult males)

Late afternoon today:

2560 Sand Martin

5 House Martin (no Swallows!)

1 Common Tern

This morning drake common scoter in the middle and little egret. This afternoon in the rain my first common tern of the year (and also my earliest ever in the UK), also 4 little ringed plovers and large numbers of sand martins again, probably around 2000. Also house Martin and swallow.

colin davies wrote:

---

 An impressive sight!

-- Edited by colin davies on Monday 10th of April 2023 03:03:15 PM

---

 Certainly agreed there Colin, fantastic to see.

I'm sure that your count is more accurate, I find it difficult to count such a swirling mass of birds and I didn't have a clicker . An impressive sight!

Amazing how counts can differ. Around 2pm this afternoon my average from a few counts of Sand Martin made with a clicker was 2200!

Single Dunlin on the spit.

Cetti's Warbler singing from Sorrowcow Pond.

This afternoon in torrential rain from the boat club, an estimated 1500 sand martins, 1 house martin (my first of the year) and 2 swallows. Also 2 little ringed plover, 18 herring gulls, 10 lesser black-backed gulls, 1 little egret and the bar-headed goose on the spit, the first time I've seen the latter in about 3 days.

All that I can add from this morning is that at least one green sandpiper was still on the spit. Due to the height of the vegetation on the spit, only really viewable from the shore next to the hide and even then only occasionally coming into view. It seems to favour the area around the first single post, it was in the same area yesterday. I seemed to miss almost everything else!

First thing this morning, completely shrouded in thick mist but lifted eventually and clearly a few good birds around including seen by others:

1 male Redstart along the eastern edge of Ramsdales Ruck by the lagoon but melted away and not seen again as the mist lifted

9 singing Willow Warbler on and around Ramsdales Ruck

1 Curlew calling on the spit but I never saw it as it had departed before the most lifted for me

14 Goosander

1 Little Egret at the western end

400 Sand Martin

1 Swallow north

2 Green Sandpipers on the spit this morning.

Also, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Shelduck, 13 Goosander and 10 Goldeneye.

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

37 wigeon still present this afternoon, also the recent bar-headed goose at the boat club.

37 Wigeon present this morning.

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

This morning:

c1100 Sand Martin, often impressively gathering into a tight flock higher in the sky before dropping back over the water to continue feeding 

1 Swallow straight through north

1 Reed Warbler

2 Willow Warbler

2 Shelduck

2 Greylag Geese

2 Redshank

Early afternoon today:

400 Sand Martin, often very high in the sky

1+ Swallow

17 Chffchaff on and around Ramsdales Ruck aline

16 Stock Dove in a single flock flew in from the west and landed in fields off Sandy Lane

Afternoon visit 13:45 to 16:15 mostly around the hides

Charlie Owen (Teal) Hide - 2 Little Grebe, singles of Mute Swan & Lapwing with only small numbers of Teal, Gadwall & Tufted Duck plus a Treecreeper to the left of the hide.

Bunting Hide - Along with the usual cast a Female Bullfinch & 5 Stock Dove.

Pengy's Hide - 2 Little Grebe & A nuthatch over the hide.

Tom Edmondson Hide - 5 Grey Heron, Willow Warbler, Goldcrest & male Bullfinch enjoying an abundance of petals.

On the flash at least 100 Sand Martin towards the sailing club & a Common Scoter seen earlier by Gordon Newman.

Also seen :- Pied Wagtail;  Mistle & Song Thrush & Chiffchaff in song;  Goldfinch  &  Male Pheasant near Bunting Hide.

Today at various times;

Willow warbler 2 singing on the ruck, my first this year

Curlew 1 on the foreshore of the boat club

Common scoter 1 drake in the middle

Little ringed plover 3 (2 at the boat club, 1 on the spit)

Sand Martin 500

Oystercatcher 5

Little egret 1

Mandarin 1 drake off the car park

Regarding the mandarin, there's been a drake following a pair of mallards around for a few days now, and I assumed that it was the bird that was present on and off last year which also visited Plank Lane marina, and which also stayed close to a pair of mallard. However that bird had a purple ring on it's left leg, whereas todays bird does not have a ring. In the attached photos you can see the ring on the photo of the eclipse plumage bird taken last year, and it doesn't look like the sort of ring which would easily come off, so I wonder if this is in fact a different bird?

Avocet still present and asleep at 6.30 this evening. 

Avocet still present to 11:30am at least, though it did try to leave twice but thought better of it. Also today, little ringed plover on the spit and around 500 sand martins. Attached photos of the avocet plus the ruff and black-tailed godwit from earlier.

So far this morning,  avocet, ruff, black-tailed godwit, oystercatcher and little egret on the spit.  The ruff and godwit flew high and appeared to leave at 9.26am.

2 Little Egret, 2 pair of Wigeon and 35 Sand Martin this evening 

Info thanks to Phil Rhodes

This early morning:

A conservative count of 400 Sand Martin, made slightly easier when they occasionally ‘balled up’ high over the flash

9 Wigeon

4 Siskin on Ramsdales Ruck

2 Greylag Geese

4 Snipe

This morning, 200+ sand martins, 2 little egrets, no spoonbill

No sign of the spoonbill at Tom Edmondson, Charlie Owen (Teal), Ramsdales, on the spit or at the western end between 6pm and 7pm. It appears to have either left or gone to roost.

Other birds today, 100 sand martins this morning, raven over the ruck, little egret and drake mandarin.