Lockdown Diary: Thursday 16.4.20

Spring is back! After a brief rest, yesterday, birds are arriving in numbers again, it seems. This lovely, clear morning I encountered four new birds for my Ferry Meadows CP year list: Common Sandpiper, Lesser Whitethroat (at least three singing birds), Grasshopper Warbler and Garden Warbler. Of this list, the Grasshopper Warbler is the scarcest in the park, being not quite annual. It was a heard only job, as the amazingly insect-like rattling ‘reel’ of the the Grasshopper Warbler usually takes place from a well hidden perch in the middle of a dense bramble, rose or the like.
The Garden Warbler (a singing bird) was a day earlier than any I have previously recorded locally (with my records going back to 2003). We do particularly well for these plain yet lovely birds, around Ferry Meadows and they seem to live alongside the abundant Blackcaps without too much conflict, although Blackcaps are supposed to dominate them in general.

Common Sandpiper, Gunwade Lake shore, Ferry Meadows CP

The Common Sandpiper was feeding along the same little beach on Gunwade Lake where the Little Ringed Plovers popped in a few days ago. It was taking advantage of the fact that the dog walkers had not arrived there yet, to chuck sticks in the water for their dogs to chase (and hence flush any wader for miles!) While I was trying to photograph it, a Green Sandpiper called and nearly landed. Presumably this same bird was later feeding on the scraped ditches of the area known as Heron Meadows, which were created a year or two ago and have been drawing a few good birds down to this nice, rough field.
If you are interested, my Ferry Meadows CP area year list has now risen to 105 species (and my Peterborough area list to 144).