Waders are on the move at the moment, with the first juveniles appearing on our shores. Many adults are still in bright summer plumage and are just beginning moult. It's a good time of year to find interesting waders inland.

News is reaching us of a very poor breeding season for seabirds in Orkney and Shetland. many species are affected including Arctic Tern, auks, Gannets, Fulmars and Shags. A shortage of food in the North Sea appears to be the main problem. Seabird colonies in western Scotland, Wales and Ireland are faring much better.

The strong winds at the end of last week produced some good seawatching around the coast. There were some exceptionally early sightings of Cory's Shearwater off Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly on the 23rd and further records in Cornwall on the 24th. Sooty Shearwaters were seen off Islay, Co. Dublin, Co. Cork, Fife and Aberdeenshire. There was also some really impressive counts of Storm Petrel off Workington in Cumbria including 132 south on the 24th, 163 south on 26th and 83 south on 28th.

Elsewhere there has been a Great Skua off East Riding of Yorkshire on 25th and Arctic Skuas off the same county on the 26th and 27th with two off Tyne & Wear on the 26th.

An estimate of 1600 Swift was made at Spurn Point (East Riding of Yorkshire) on 26th June and at the same place 17 Little Gulls were recorded.

An Osprey was in Warrington on the 28th June and a Black Redstart was at Spurn on the same date. A few Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank and Greenshank are passing through at the moment.

Waders are on the move with Whimbrel in Warrington on 21st June and four in Newport on 23rd June. A Common Sandpiper was in North Yorkshire and a Green Sandpiper in Warrington on the 23rd.

An Osprey was in North Yorkshire and 200 Swifts were in East Riding of Yorkshire on the 22nd. Black-necked Grebes were seen in Co. Durham and North Yorkshire on the 23rd.

Over the last few days Common Sandpipers have been seen on passage at inland sites, for example 4 in Staffordshire on 18th, 2 in Merseyside on 19th and one in Oxfordshire on 20th. Quail have been head calling in Norfolk and Cornwall over the weekend - few have been recorded so far this year, although there is still time for an invasion. In some years, young birds born further south migrate north to Britain in mid/late summer.

There have been some impressive numbers of Swifts seen too including 150 in Cheshire on 19th, 250 in Durham and 100 in Oxfordshire on the 20th. Also 100 House Martins were counted in Cheshire on 19th.

It looks like it has been a good breeding season for Blue Tits and Great Tits with many ringers and nest recorders reporting large broods and high fledging success. The first broods of warblers are also out of the nest including Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Whitethroat and Chiffchaff.

With the breeding season in full low, there are few migrants on the move. A Honey Buzzard in East Riding of Yorkshire on 14th June was certainly a migrant but which way was it going? It could be a late returning bird heading north to Scandinavia or perhaps a non-breeder wandering around. A small number of Whimbrel (3-4) have been recorded a few times during the week from Cornwall. Quail were recorded in East Riding of Yorkshire (14th) and Warrington (15th). Also in Warrington on the same date was a Greenshank.

A Little Gull was off Spurn Point on 15th June. An impressive count of 476 Swift was made in East Riding of Yorkshire.

Greenshanks and Spotted Redshanks are the first signs of waders on return passage. These are most likely failed breeders heading south. Look out for passage waders at inland sites over the next month.

A Wheatear in Cornwall on 12 June is an unusual date and is probably a failed breeder too. In Lincolnshire a Montagu's Harrier was seen on the same date.

An Osprey was seen in Northumberland on 13th June. Cuckoo's have gone rather quiet over the last couple of weeks so it is pleasing that Migration Watch is still recieving daily reports from across the country.

News from the Ringing Unit: A Nightjar was recently caught in Yorkshire. Incredibly it had a ring from Spain on it. This is the first Nightjar to be caught in Britain and Ireland with a foreign ring on! Remember if you find a bird with a metal or colour-ring on please contact the BTO.

Migration is fairly slow at the moment although an Osprey was seen in Hampshire on the 10 June. A Scarlet Rosefinch has been seen regularly over the last few days in East Riding of Yorkshire, and in the same region there has been an impressive gathering of Swifts peaking at 330 on 9 June.

A Quail was in North Yorkshire and East Riding of Yorkshire on 9 June. Three Little Stints were seen on the Western Isles on 8 June.

The Ringing Unit has received a couple of interesting records of ringed birds over the last few days. A Little Tern ringed as a chick in the colony at Great Yarmouth, Norfolk in 1999 was found dead at Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire in early June. Perhaps this bird has moved to the more successful colony in Lincolnshire - the colony in Great Yarmouth has suffered problems with predation.

A ringer at a Constant Effort Site in Suffolk caught a Nightingale with the ring R785299 on 29 April. Interestingly this bird had been ringed at Spurn Point in Yorkshire on 23 April, a distance of 180km. It is likely this bird arrived in Britain via the continent, perhaps crossing from The Netherlands to Spurn in the spring and re-orientated and headed south to breeding grounds

Apologies for the lack of news over the last week -I've been on a trip to the Spanish Pyrenees. For migrant species there, breeding is in full swing. Swifts and House Martins were present in good numbers. We also saw a Honey Buzzard which would have been a migrant passing through on it's way north.

Back in the UK migration has been fairly quiet. Yesterday (6th) there were 5 Little Gull in Northumberland and a Red-backed Shrike in Lincolnshire. On the 5th, a Black Redstart was seen in West Berkshire, 25 Manx Shearwater were seen off the Gwynedd coast, an Osprey was in Somerset and a Quail was recorded in Hampshire.

A Scarlet Rosefinch was in East Riding of Yorkshire on 2-4 June - a classic time of year for them to arrive. Also on the 2nd two Black Terns were in Essex.

News from Portland Bird Observatory on 7th June sums up the state of migration "Late afternoon update. Another hot, sunny day that had seemed as birdless as recent days until a Black Kite and another raptor - perhaps a second Black Kite - flew north over Weston and Easton late in the afternoon. The only other news was of 4 Chiffchaffs and 2 Reed Warblers at the Bill, 24 commic terns, 18 Common Scoter, 4 Sandwich Terns, a Manx Shearwater and a Black-headed Gull passing on the sea off the Bill and 40 Dunlin, 8 Sanderling, a Grey Plover and a Redshank at Ferrybridge". At Dungeness it is much the same "The only migrants of note were singles of Turtle Dove, Reed Warbler and Willow Warbler. There were two Mediterranean Gulls and 50 Kittiwakes lingering offshore."

There is very little in the way of new migrants arriving over the last few days. The first broods of Chiffchaff have fledged and other migrants are busy feeding young.

On the 26th there was a Curlew Sandpiper in Warrington. A long-staying Red-backed Shrike was seen again in East Riding of Yorkshire and two Spoonbills were in Northumberland. A Nightjar was recorded in Gloucestershire - they still appear to be quite scarce.

On the 27th a Honey Buzzard was seen in Tyne & Wear. An excellent count of 200 Swifts was made in West Berkshire.

News from Ringing Unit. The BTO have just received details of the ringed Roseate Tern picked up dead at Stanford Water last weekend. This bird had a very worn ring, with the
readable digits being SX080??. Luckily, all 100 of these rings were used on chicks on Rockabill, Co Dublin on 16 July 1990, so the record is still valid. The only other inland recoveries of Roseate Tern were two Wexford ringed birds found alive in Wiltshire in August 1964 (2 years old) and Hereford & Worcester in May 1993 (4 years old), and a bird from Anglesey found dead in Warwickshire in September 1965 (2 years old).

On the 24th there were Black Terns in Kent and Suffolk and a good count of 75 Sandwich Tern at Dungeness, Kent. In East Riding of Yorkshire 650 Sand Martin and 300 Swift were recorded.

A Marsh Harrier was in Warrington on the 25th.

News from Portland Bill 25 May - Bird of the day today was an extremely mobile Woodchat Shrike that was first found in Top Fields at the Bill and eventually settled at Barleycrates Lane. A fair passage of House Martins and Swifts was evident overhead, but the only grounded common migrants of note in the Bill area were 5 Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Chiffchaffs, 2 Sedge Warblers, a Turtle Dove, a Tree Pipit, a Reed Warbler and a Garden Warbler.

News from Fair Isle 23 May - Despite there being no change in the weather, an arrival of scarce migrants included a male Subalpine Warbler (of the eastern race albistriata), a Wryneck, female Bluethroat, a Turtle Dove (year-tick) and the re-appearance of the Nightingale at Leogh (apparently it has been living in the chicken shed at Midway!). Counts included 2 Teal, 21 Swallows, Redwing, 2 Whitethroats, 3 Chiffchaffs, 4 Willow Warblers, Spotted Flycatcher, Mealy Redpoll and 2 Snow Buntings.

A fairly quiet weekend generally although there was some evidence that waders are still moving through and there was a small movement of Swallows along the east coast in some areas.

On Friday (21st) there was good sea-watching off the Tyne & Wear coast with two Long-tailed Skuas, 126 Manx Shearwaters and 2 Pomarine Skuas recorded. At Spurn (East Riding of Yorkshire) there were two Red-backed Shrikes.

At Portland Bird Observatory a weak weather front passed through in the night and the light pre-dawn shower and stiff north wind that it introduced helped drop a few more late migrants. At the Bill, 50 Spotted Flycatchers and 20 Reed Warblers made up the bulk of numbers, but there was also a scatter of other late arrivals together with more than 100 Swifts, 3 Hobbies and 3 Turtle Doves that passed through overhead.

Spurn continued to have an excellent day on Saturday (22nd) with a late Fiedlfare, one Long-tailed Skua, Red-backed Shrike, Ring Ouzel and Wheatears still present. In Greater Manchester a flock of 250 Swift were recorded. In Norfolk there was a Temminck's Stint, Little Stint, two Curlew Sandpipers and three Common Sandpipers present. A Honey Buzzard was recorded on migration in Hampshire.

Norfolk has had an excellent year for Dotterel passing through and yesterday (23rd) a trip of nine (8 females and a male) were at Happisburgh on the Norfolk coast.

Bird of the weekend for me was a Quail I heard singing from the tent during the early hours of Sunday morning whilst camping on the coast!

As many migrants are still arriving in Britain and Ireland, some of the earliest summer visitors are just about to fledge young. A pair of Little Ringed Plovers have successfully fledged young on the new scrape on the BTO Nunnery Lakes.

Yesterday, Common Sandpipers were still on passage in Essex and Merseyside. An Osprey was in Northumberland but more unusually a Serin was seen in Cheshire.

Nightjar Survey. There are still a few areas that need surveying this summer in Somerset, Devon and in Scotland. The survey requires two visits to look for Nightjars. If you are interested in taking part please contact Greg Conway at BTO.

Temminck's Stints continue to be reported throughout Britain and Common Sandpipers are still on passage with birds recorded in Kent, Suffolk, Cheshire, Cumbria, Leicestershire, Merseyside and North Yorkshire.

A Crane was seen in North East Lincolnshire yesterday and an Osprey was at Flamborough in North Yorkshire.

A Quail continues to be recorded in Greater Manchester, one of just a handful recorded so far this year.

A count of 400 Sand Martin in East Riding of Yorkshire is the largest count we have received for a few weeks.

A late Fieldfare was in North Yorkshire yesterday. The map shows superbly the movement of Fieldfares eastwards and northwards over the last couple of weeks. The maps for Brambling and Redwing are also well worth looking at.

The weekend was dominated by an influx of Temminck's Stints across Britain with most recorded in the south-east, East Anglia and north-east. There was also a few sightings of Bee-eater with five in Kent, three in Norfolk and on the Isles of Scilly.

On Friday six Dotterel were in North Yorkshire, a Montagu's Harrier and Red-backed Shike at Spurn (East Riding of Yorkshire) and an impressive 61 Long-tailed Skua's were seen off the Western Isles. A Nightjar was recorded in Devon - some birdwatchers are reporting that this species is arriving late this spring.

Ospreys were recorded on the 14th in Derbyshire and on 15th in Greater Manchester. A Honey Buzzard was on passage through Merseyside on 14th.

Late Fieldfares were in East Dunbartonshire (14th) and Kent (15th) and a Brambling was also in Kent on the 15th. A Quail was calling in Greater Manchester on the 16th. Still a few large flocks of Swallows are being recorded, for example 550 past Spurn, 150 in Kent on 14th and 220 in Norfolk on 16th.

Black Terns have been thin on the ground so far this spring and just one was in Lancashire on 15th and one in Hampshire on the 16th.

An Osprey was on passage in Oxfordshire yesterday (13th); probably a non-breeding bird given the late date. A count of 210 Little Terns was made in Norfolk - an impressive sight indeed. Numbers of Spotted Flycatchers are still quite low and the graph showing the proportion of lists submitted with Spotted Flycatcher shows a smaller proportion in 2004 than the previous two years.

News from Wales. Geoff Gibbs from North Wales passed on this interesting story - Thanks Geoff! The RV Prince Madog (the Bangor University School of Ocean Science research vessel) was anchored about a mile west of the Bar Light Float off the Mersey in Liverpool Bay early yesterday morning (13th). There was dense fog and large numbers of warblers landed on the boat. From the descriptions received from the crew they sounded like Willow Warblers - there were even four in the wheelhouse!

There has been a small influx of Temmincks Stints and Sanderlings over the last couple of days with several turning up at inland waters. Yesterday there was a Black Tern at two sites in Suffolk.

Following on from the influx of Red-backed Shrikes over the weekend, one still remains at Hartlepool and in Norfolk. A late Osprey was seen in Brighton and Hove yesterday.

News from the Ringing Unit. We have just heard about a Reed Warbler that was found dead yesterday in a garden in Southampton, Hampshire. The bird was wearing a ring and was previously ringed as an adult male at Woolston Eyes in Cheshire on 26 July 2003. This bird would have been on his way back to his breeding site in Cheshire when it died. We don't know how it died but may have been caught by a cat.

News from Nigeria. Miriam Brandt and Mark Hulme are working on the Jos Plateau in Nigeria and have told us about their recent sightings. Between 1-14 April they caught c50 Garden Warblers, many of which were carrying a lot of fat and were clearly on the move. Whitethroats and Whinchats caught at the same time had very little fat and seemed to be lingering. Over the last week many Spotted Flycatchers have been passing through, with just a few Pied Flycatchers. All the Swallows appear to have left now.

A Quail was calling in Norfolk on 10 May, one of a very small number of Quail that have been recorded so far this year. There was a Wood Sandpiper in Greater Manchester on the same date, another species that is quite scarce this year. A late Fieldfare was in Fife.

Regular recorder David Walker, Warden at Dungeness Bird Observatory recorded an impressive number of terns yesterday: 1925 Common Terns, 118 Sandwich tern, 42 Little Tern, 17 Arctic Tern and 3 Black Tern. Whimbrel were also moving through and 102 were recorded.

Whilst much of the southern part of Britain experienced a rather dull weekend the sun was shining across Scotland and many good birds arrived along the east coast and on the northern isles.

There was an impressive influx of Red-backed Shrikes to many sites along the east coast including Norfolk, Lincolnshire and Cleveland. However, four were at St Abbs Head in Borders and seven were on Fair Isle. About 30 Red-backed Shrikes have been seen over the weekend - many more than in recent years and slightly earlier than usual. As well as the shrikes, there were smaller numbers of Bluethroats (red-spotted form), Wryneck and a Red-breasted Flycatcher. The winds over the weekend were from the east, turning northerly off the east coast of Britain. It is interesting why so little arrived in Yorkshire - shrikes were found to the north and south!

Spotted Flycatchers continued to arrive over the weekend with a fall on Fair Isle. However, it was a male Collared Flycatcher that stole the show there (9 May). An estimate of 1000 Swift was made in Bath & NE Somerseton 8 May - a fantastic sight! Large flocks of Swallows and Sand Martins are still being recorded.

A flock of 18 Hobby were watched hunting insects over a reedbed in Suffolk on 9th. A late flock of 15 Waxwing were in South Yorkshire on 9 May. A late Fieldfare and Redwing were recorded in East Riding of Yorkshire.

An impressive flock of 119 Whimbrel were seen in Newport, elsewhere smaller numbers were recorded across the country. Flocks of over 100 Swift were recorded in Suffolk and Worcestershire. Five Dotterel were seen in Norfolk (it's interesting how the presence of a Red-footed Falcon leads birdwatchers to find other good birds in the area). Spotted Flycatchers were seen as far north as Angus, but also in Nottingham, East Riding of Yorkshire and Herefordshire. A late Fieldfare was in Norfolk.

New research into Nightingales. Researchers from Germany have just published a paper in New Scientist and reveal that urban noise can force Nightingales to sing so loudly that they break European sound pollution regulations. Henrick Brumm recorded the songs on Nightingales in Berlin and measured the volume of the songs and background noise and found that the birds can sing up to 14 decibels louder in response to noise such as traffic. The loudest song recorded was 95 decibels - European law forbids exposing workers to more than 87 decibels without ear protection!

On 5 May there were counts of 500 Swift in Essex and 100 in Hampshire, elsewhere small number (mostly less than 10) were recorded. Whimbrel were recorded from several sites and reached Aberdeenshire (3) in the north and Co. Louth (4) in the west. The peak count was 53 in Devon. Ring Ouzels have been arriving since March and passage birds are still seen, for example one in Norfolk yesterday. Birds on the east coast could well be heading for Scandinavia.

A Spotted Flycatcher was in West Berkshire yesterday - this species is still very thin on the ground. Cuckoo's are being recorded at a similar level to 2002 and 2003 although some observers are reporting a lack of Cukcoo's in their area. One was in Highland yesterday.

Wood Warblers are back on their breeding grounds, but more unusually one was in Peterbough yesterday.

On 3rd May a Crane was in Herefordshire and a Dotterel was seen in Dotterel. Hobbies were seen in Bristol, Herefordshire, Hertfordshire and Warrington. Reed Warblers continue to arrive and were recorded yesterday in Cardiff, Newport and Suffolk. Just one Spotted Flycather was seen in Northumberland. Good numbers of Swallows, House Martins and Swifts continue to be recorded from inland waters.

A late Fieldfare was in Norfolk.

News from the Ringing Unit: We recently reported that a Common Sandpiper (ring number NV82841) had been found freshly dead in Wiltshire in April. The ringer has kindly sent some further information about this bird. The bird was ringed as a chick on 8 June 1996 in the Moorfoot Hills (Borders) and then not seen again until 9 June 2002 when it was 6km south of it's ringing location. It was with a mate NV94590. They produced young in 2002 and 2003. Will NV94590 return this summer?

The unsettled weather over the Bank Holiday produced some excellent birdwatching (in between sitting in the car for hours!) and unforgettable sights. For me, watching a Fieldfare feeding next to a male Ring Ouzel on a playing field in Norfolk is memorable.

On Saturday 1 May one observer in Lincolnshire recorded 400 House Martins, 600 Swallows and 500 Swifts at one site. Cranes were seen in Norfolk, Northumberland and South Yorkshire. Fieldfares were recorded in several counties along the east coast and also inland in Hertfordshire. One Redwing was in East Riding of Yorkshire.

A Honey Buzzard was seen over Warrington on Sunday 2 May, one of several sightings over the weekend. A Montagu's Harrier passed through Medway and 160 Little Gulls were counted at a site in Merseyside. Around 400 Swifts were estimated in Oxfordshire. There was a good passage of Whimbrel over the weekend with a peak count of 50 in West Sussex on the 2nd.

There was superb seawatching on the Western Isles on Monday 3 May with 17 Arctic Skuas. 22 Great Skuas, 12 Long-tailed Skuas and 126 Pomarine Skuas. the first Nightjar of the year were in Kent (two). Dotterel were seen on passage in Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and Lancashire.

There were generally fewer migrants around yesterday after the recent arrivals. A count of 22 Blackcap in Wokingham was good, and there were still 5 Fieldfare in Somerset.

Interestingly, after a late arrival, the numbers of Little Ringed Plover are dropping off after a peak in mid April (see the graphs here). Is this a real trend with fewer migrants being picked up, or are birds not being recorded in breeding areas? Only more observations can tell us!

Over the past week many arriving migrants have been grounded on the south and west coasts by passing weather fronts. In the west, over 100 Willow Warblers were at Copeland Bird Observatory (Co Down) on the 24th, and on the same day Bardsey Bird Observatory recorded 1,500 Willow Warblers and 360 Grasshopper Warblers (the Warden likened the sound to a massive fishing match!). On the 27th, a fall at Portland Bird Observatory (Dorset) included 200 Willow Warbler, 90 Wheatear, 30 Whinchat, 12 Pied Flycatcher, 10 Tree Pipit, 8 Redstart, 7 Grasshopper Warbler and a Firecrest.

On the 28th Dungeness Bird Observatory (Kent) reported 100 Whitethroat, 40 Willow Warbler, 12 ‘Greenland’ Wheatear, 9 Lesser Whitethroat and 3 Grasshopper Warblers. Strangely, further east along the Kent coast at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory no fall of migrants was noted at all!

With a series of fronts passing through the country over the last few days, many arriving migrants have been grounded on the south coast. In the west, over 100 Willow Warblers were at Copeland Bird Observatory (Co Down) on the 24th. On the 27th, a fall at Portland Bird Observatory (Dorset) included 200 Willow Warbler, 90 Wheatear, 30 Whinchat, 12 Pied Flycatcher, 10 Tree Pipit, 8 Redstart, 7 Grasshopper Warbler and a Firecrest.

On the 28th Dungeness Bird Observatory (Kent) reported 100 Whitethroat, 40 Willow Warbler, 12 ‘Greenland’ Wheatear, 9 Lesser Whitethroat and 3 Grasshopper Warblers. Strangely, further east along the Kent coast at Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory no fall of migrants was noted at all!

Also of note on the 28th were 5 Little Ringed Plover in Herts, 2 Spotted Redshank in Dorset and 7 Lesser Whitethroat in East Yorkshire.

Our ‘man’ in the field Dawn Balmer (Migration Watch Organiser) is in Mallorca at the moment and reports that bad weather is holding back large numbers of migrants, with over 1,000 Swallows feeding up at one site!

After reporting on the arrival of Swifts yesterday, we have now been inundated with reports. Maximum counts have included 120 in Kent and 100 in Oxfordshire. Oddly though, we have had no reports from Scotland yet! It’s also odd that we haven’t had many records of Hobby, which normally seem to arrive in numbers at the same time as Swifts. The only recent high count was of 4 in Oxon.

Other records in yesterday included Curlew Sandpiper in Kent, a pair of Garganey in Suffolk, 2 Spotted Flycatcher in Wiltshire, 300 Swallows in Shropshire and 25 Reed Warblers in Lancashire.

We have also just received some interesting reports from one MigWatch recorder who has sent sightings from the Brae oil field in the North Sea, east of Orkney. On the 27th he recorded a Barnacle Goose, Siskin, Wheatear, Snipe, 3 Whimbrel, 2 Brambling and 3 Swallows, including one that was nest prospecting in the rigging loft!

News from Italy: The holder of BTO ringing permit number 5000 Richard Billington has sent news of migration in northern Italy. “I saw hirundines/ swifts/yellow wag etc well over a month ago yet the swifts and yellow wags are only arriving in Britain now while Reed Warblers are only arriving here now. The migration strategies of the different populations are more different than I thought.”

He also informed us of four BTO-ringed Sand Martins that had been caught in reed beds there, including birds from Essex, the West Midlands and Suffolk. This is quite amazing considering that since the Ringing Scheme began in 1909 we’ve only received reports of five Sand Martins from Italy!

Along with the obvious bonus of fine weather due to the current high pressure system, Swifts have been also been arriving en masse. Following a slow arrival initially, numbers are now building up, with peak counts of 20 in Norfolk and 10 in Bristol. Over the past few days, Swifts have been seen as far north as Cumbria and County Tyrone and as far west as County Tipperary.

Other interesting arrivals included a Corncrake in Lincolnshire (26th), Cuckoo in County Kerry (25th) and 45 Little Terns in Norfolk (26th).

News from Italy: The holder of BTO ringing permit number 5000 Richard Billington has sent news of migration in northern Italy. “I saw hirundines/ swifts/yellow wag etc well over a month ago yet the swifts and yellow wags are only arriving in Britain now while Reed Warblers are only arriving here now. The migration strategies of the different populations are more different than I thought.”

He also informed us of four BTO-ringed Sand Martins that had been caught in reed beds there, including birds from Essex, the West Midlands and Suffolk. This is quite amazing considering that since the Ringing Scheme began in 1909 we’ve only received reports of five Sand Martins from Italy!

Foreign news: Unfortunately, many European migrants will never make it back to their breeding grounds. Birdlife Malta recently highlighted the hunting issue in The Times of Malta. 

An impressive count of 60 Yellow Wagtails was made at a site in Kent. Elsewhere Yellow Wagtails were recorded from many sites across southern England. There was also another small arrival of Lesser Whitethroats yesterday.

The 22nd saw the largest number of Swifts reported so far this spring with birds reaching as far north as North Yorkshire. A total of 275 Swallows were also recorded at a site in Kent - one of the highest counts this spring.

Redstarts were seen in Cumbria, East Riding of Yorkshire, Highland, Merseyside, Kent and Somerset. Pomarine Skuas have been passing over the last few days with 156 recorded past the Western Isles yesterday.

The forecast for the weekend looks settled, so there should be a steady flow of migrants but perhaps no big falls of birds.

Migration at Portland Bill 24-25 April There are a couple of interesting articles about migration on the Swarovskibirding website. Register on a trial basis and have a look. Swarovskibirding will be at Portland Bill and Radipole Lake on 24 & 25 April - pop down there and talk to them about migration.

A superb count of 230 Fieldfare was made in Dumfries and Galloway on 21st with the only other record coming from East Riding of Yorkshire. No Redwings were recorded at all yesterday but Bramblings were seen in East Riding of Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Greater Manchester.

Cuckoos continue to arrive with records from East Sussex, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, Greater Manchester and York yesterday. The highest count of Swallows yesterday came from West Sussex when 200 were recorded.

News from the Ringing Unit. We have just heard that a Common Sandpiper ringed as a chick in Borders Region, Scotland in June 1996 was found freshly dead at Devizes in Wiltshire on 22 April (today!). This bird would have been on it's way back to it's breeding grounds in Scotland.

Migrants continue to arrive with Lesser Whitethroats recorded in Brighton & Hove and Essex today. In Norfolk, there was no sign of the incredibly rare Alpine Accentor (found yesterday near Cromer) but visiting birdwatchers were treated to an Alpine Swift and a Montagu's Harrier nearby. Also in Norfolk today was a Hobby.

Yesterday (20th) there was a good arrival of Whimbrel with records ranging from Cornwall to the Western Isles and also from Co. Louth in Ireland. Swifts were seen in Rutland and West Yorkshire. Nightingales were recorded at many sites in the south-east and also from as far north as Rutland. Reed Warblers are slowing arriving at sites in the south. An impressive 2000 Sand Martins were estimated at Leighton Moss in Lancashire.

Just one record of a Redwing yesterday - from the Isle of Man. Looks like they have almost gone!

Where have all the Redwing gone? Over the last few days, we’ve still been receiving lots of reports of big groups of Fieldfare (62 in Surrey on the 19th), but very few for Redwing. The animated maps for Redwing and Fieldfare show this return migration quite nicely.

After a very impressive showing through the winter, Brambling are now only being reported in small numbers, with 14 in Norfolk on the 19th being the peak count. Siskin also seem to have started their northward migration, with only small numbers seen recently in gardens around Thetford.

Increased numbers of some summer warblers have been reported recently. Following the first Lesser Whitethroat on the 14th in Dorset, birds have now been reported as far as North Yorkshire and Worcestershire (both on the 19th). Garden Warbler and Whitethroat numbers have also increased, with 8 Whitethroats seen at one Kent site (19th).

French News: We’ve just heard news of a large fall of Collared Flycatchers in southern France over the weekend, so double check any Pied Flycatchers you see!

Fine weather on Saturday saw good arrivals of many species, including Yellow Wagtail, Tree Pipit and Redstart. There was also a sudden arrival of Wheatear, some of which were of the larger, gaudier ‘Greenland’ race. Peak counts included 50 on Portland Bill (Dorset), 44 in East Yorks and 41 in Tyne & Wear. Perhaps the most surprising count was of 42 from Lutley Wedge in the West Midlands. Craig Round mailed us to say “such numbers would probably be nothing special at a coastal migration site such as Portland Bill but are exceptional for an inland site such as Lutley!” Check out the pattern of arrival peaks for the two Wheatear races here.

Other noteworthy arrivals were the first Wood Warblers (in Cornwall and Derbyshire on the 17th), Black Tern in Kent on the 17th and good numbers of Arctic Terns as far north as Cumbria (with a peak count of 51 at Dungeness, Kent on the 18th).

Migrants continue to arrive along the south coast, although in generally smaller numbers than over the weekend (the weather is too good!). Small numbers of Cuckoos have been heard throughout southern and central England with one bird reaching Dumfries and Galloway.

On the 14th Nightingales were heard in Essex and West Sussex, there was Pied Flycatcher in Kingston upon Hull and a Reed Warbler in West Sussex. A flock of 300 Fieldfare was recorded in Cumbria; generally smaller numbers have been recorded over the last few days.

On the 15th Garden Warblers were recorded in Cambridgeshire and Shropshire (still very few in) and Redstarts were in Powys, Somerset and West Sussex. In Kent a Hobby and Lesser Whitethroat were recorded. A Turtle Dove was in Bristol and the over-wintering bird in Cambridgeshire was seen again. An impressive flock of 200 Brambling was seen in Angus.

Migrants continue to arrive, and although good numbers of migrants have been seen on the coast, some Migration Watch recorders are reporting a derth of migrants inland.

Yesterday (13th) Common Sandpipers were seen in Carmarthenshire and North Lanarkshire, a Cuckoo in Cambridgeshire, Grasshopper Warbler and Redstart in Greater Manchester, Osprey in Cumbria and Lancashire, Pied Flycatchers in Powys and Sedge Warblers in Devon and Kent. Tree Pipits were recorded in Hampshire and Kent and Yellow Wagtails were seen in Essex and Kent.

News from the Ringing Unit. We have just heard that four Common Terns ringed as chicks by South West Notts Ringing Group in 2003 (in Nottinghamshire) have been controlled by Belgian ringers in Senegal:

SX79310 caught January 2004 at Ile Senghor
SX79341 caught 6 December 2003 at Fata
SX79342 caught 6 December 2003 at Fata
SX79344 caught 15 December 2003 at Fata

They also found 8 Sandwich Tern,
4 Roseate Tern, 21 Common Tern, 5 Arctic Tern that had been ringed in Britain.

Thanks for all the records over the Easter weekend. Good numbers of Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Wheatear and hirundines were recorded from thoughout Britain and Ireland. Chiffchaff numbers appear to be slightly up on the previous two springs. There was a small arrival of Cuckoos, Tree Pipits and Common Sandpipers over the weekend. Sedge Warblers were reported from central and south-east England whilst just a few Reed Warblers were recorded.

A Garden Warbler was recorded on the 9th in South Yorkshire and on the same date there was a Nightingale in Bedfordshire. On the 10th a Swift was seen in Dorset, whilst on the 11th another Nightingale was in Suffolk. Whitethroats were recorded in Suffolk (11th) and Surrey (12th). An excellent count of 101 Little Gulls came from Seaforth in Merseyside on the 12th. Arctic Terns were seen in Co. Louth and the Western Isles.

Weather conditions created near-perfect fall conditions at Portland Bill on the 10th and 12th with a weak weather front having arrived from the north after an otherwise clear night. On the 10th totals from the Bill area included 500 Willow Warblers, 200 Wheatears, 200 Chiffchaffs, 75 Blackcaps, 25 Redstarts, 3 Tree Pipits, 3 Song Thrushes, 3 Bramblings, 2 Ring Ouzels, 2 Grasshopper Warblers, 2 Pied Flycatchers, a Fieldfare, a Redwing and a Whitethroat; visible passage was also conspicuous, with 1500 Meadow Pipits, plenty of hirundines and an Osprey passing through. The 12th also produced some excellent counts around The Bill area: 400 Willow Warblers, 300 Chiffchaffs, 120 Wheatears, 60 Blackcaps, 25 Redstarts, 8 Grasshopper Warblers, 3 Redwings, 3 Fieldfares, 3 Firecrests, 2 Ring Ouzels, 2 Black Redstarts and ones and twos of all the other expected early April migrants.

Nationally it seems that numbers of Blackcaps are a bit low for the time of year, and several other species are about a week late eg Grasshopper Warbler, Sedge Warbler. Poor weather over North Africa and southern Europe may have held up migration. Improved conditions this week could see good arrivals in Britain and Ireland.

With low pressure systems across North Africa, Spain and France migration may be held up for a few days, however migrants are trickling in and new birds are still to be found. Yesterday (7th) Reed Warbler and Tree Pipits were in Hampshire, Sedge Warblers in East Riding of Yorkshire and Kent, Whitethroat in Hertfordshire and four Nightingales were in Kent.

An Osprey was in Greater Manchester, Common Tern in Suffolk, Garganey in Devon and Northumberland and Little Gulls in Gloucestershire and Merseyside. A superb count of 32 Mediterranean Gulls was made on the Isle of Wight on the 7th.

A Turtle Dove was seen again in Cambridgeshire. This is a bird that has overwintered in a village and has been seen a few times throughout the winter.

Good numbers of Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers have now been recorded and Yellow Wagtails are slowing arriving.

Hot on the heels of the first Pied Flycatcher in Gwynedd on 3 April, another was seen yesterday (6th) in Ceredigion, Wales. The first Reed Warbler was also recorded on the 6th in Hampshire; more should arrive over the weekend. A Sedge Warbler was recorded yesterday in Glucestershire and there was a Whitethroat in East Sussex. The first wave of Willow Warbler arrived over the last week and we will expect more in the coming days. Yellow Wagtails were seen in Hertfordshire, North Lincolnshire and Staffordshire.

An Osprey was seen in Derbyshire on the 6th by one of our regular recorders Chris Falshaw. Good numbers of Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins have been reported over the last few days.

An excellent count of 25 Greenshank was made on Jersey on the 6th. Small numbers of Little Ringed Plovers continue to be reported. At Dungeness in Kent 24 Common Terns and 23 Sandwich Terns were counted. Inland there were Sandwich Terns in Hertfordshire and Warwickshire.

Help fill the gaps We have recently added a new page showing those 10km squares that have not been visited as part of Migration Watch. Can you help fill in the gaps? Click on the region name and you'll see a list of unsurveyed squares.

Yellow Wagtails were recorded in East Sussex and Essex on 31 March. Also on the same date there was a Garden Warbler in Cornwall, Ospreys in Angus, Derbyshire, Merseyside, Powys and Rutland. A Ring Ouzel was in Durham and a Whitethroat in Warwickshire.

On 1 April there was a Garganey in Suffolk, Ospreys in the Isle of Wight and Northumberland, Ring Ouzels in Northumberland and Scottish Borders. Willow Warblers are starting to arrive and some birds have now reached Co. Amagh and North Yorkshire.

Black Redstarts are turning up on the east coast and records have been received from Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex in the last two days.

Flocks of Redwing and Fieldfare are moving through, with flocks of 200-400 Fieldfare regularly recorded. Redwings tend to be in much smaller flocks. The peak count of Brambling received in the last few days is 80 in Norfolk.

On Tuesday 30th large numbers of Chiffchaffs were again recorded including a top count of 29 at a site in Kent. Elsewhere there were Gain Cornwall, Slough and Tyne & Wear. Ring Ouzels were seen in Northumberland and the Scottish Borders. Two hundred Sand Martins were at a site in Lancashire and there was a Sandwich Tern in Angus. A few Swallows were recorded in the southern half of England and one reached Tyrone in Northern Ireland. Willow Warblers were in Bristol, Cornwall and Northumberland.

Update from Gibraltar Following bad weather on the night of Thursday 25th many migrants were grounded on Friday morning including 20 Woodchat Shrikes, 8 Subalpine Warblers, 8 Redstarts, 2 Nightingales. Friday evening the weather cleared and there was a rush of raptors passing over; 46 Marsh Harriers were counted and 32 Ospreys were recorded between 6-7.30pm.

Phenology comes to town Would you like to immerse yourself in phenology for a day and hear the latest from Dr Tim Sparks, Dr Alistair Fitter, the UK Climate Impacts Programme, the National Pollen Research Unit and Mike Townsend CEO Woodland Trust?
The Woodland Trust is jointly hosting a one-day phenology seminar with the Royal Meteorological Society on Saturday May 15 2004 at London Zoo. The day will cost £5 for Woodland Trust members, £10 for all others. Places are very limited so book early or look out for details of how you can take part online. To register telephone the RMS on 0118 956 8500 or email susandrew@royalmetsoc.org

Plenty of migrants recorded yesterday (29th) including the first Common Tern of the year in Dorset. Garganey were seen in Devon and Lancashire, House Martins in Cambridgeshire and North Somerset, Osprey in Fife, Ring Ouzel in Suffolk and a Swallow in Kent. Also in Kent was a Yellow Wagtail and Willow Warblers were recorded in Bristol, Devon and Telford & Wrekin.

Although there is high pressure over Britain and Ireland, with south-easterlies and warmer weather forecast, migrants may be slow arriving over the next few days due to a low pressure over Spain and southern France producing wet weather.

However, many migrants were recorded over the weekend, the most widespread being Chiffchaff. On Saturday (27th) there was a Common Sandpiper in Greater London, Garganey in Kent and Norfolk, Ring Ouzel in Lancashire, 200 Sand Martin in Powys and Willow Warblers in Cornwall and Lothian.

On Sunday (28th) there were Garganey in Cornwall and Lancashire, Osprey in Rutland and Wiltshire, Sandwich Tern in Cumbria and Portsmouth, Swallow and Willow Warbler in Portsmouth and a Whimbrel on Cornwall and Portsmouth.

Winter visitors are still being recorded in good numbers including 750 Fieldfare in Derbyshire, 42 Redwing in the West Midlands and 200 Brambling in Nottinghamshire on the 27th. There were 5 Snow Buntings in Norfolk also on the 27th.

There was a Black Redstart in Suffolk on the 25th. On the same date a House Martin was in Brighton & Hove, Sand Martins at many sites across the country including 100 in Gloucestershire. Swallows were seen in Gloucestershire, Rhondda Cynon Taff and South Yorkshire. Willow Warblers are still very scarce but they were recorded yesterday in Hampshire and Brighton & Hove.

The weather forecast looks good for next week with a high pressure over Europe and southerly winds predicted.

On the 24th there was a Willow Warbler in East Sussex, an Osprey in Lancashire and three Ring Ouzels in Blackburn with Darwen. Swallows were seen in Cornwall, East Riding of Yorkshire, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Merseyside, Somerset and West Sussex.

Peak counts of winter visitors yesterday were 10 Brambling in Suffolk, 200 Fieldfare in Lancashire and 30 Redwing in Cheshire. Please keep your records coming in!

Following last weeks arrival of migrants, the northerly winds forecast for the rest of the week may slow down the speed of migration. Yesterday (22nd) a good number of migrants were reported again. There were Swallows in Leicestershire, Northumberland, Warrington and West Sussex, House Martins in Essex and Ring Ouzels in Redcar & Cleveland and Warrington.

Little Ringed Plovers were seen in good numbers in Surrey (upto 9 at one site) and also in Carmarthenshire and Hertfordshire. A Redstart was in Bristol.

Migrants continued to arrive over the weekend with good numbers of Chiffchaff, Sand Martin and Wheatears reported. On Friday (19th) House Martins were seen in Norfolk and Northamptonshire and two Swallows were in Kent. Two hundred Sand Martin were counted at a site in West Berkshire and there was a Willow Warbler in Essex.

On Saturday (20th) flocks of 200 Redwing and 300 Fieldfare were recorded in Norfolk.

A House Martin was in Cambridgeshire on Sunday (21st) and there was also a Redstart in East Sussex and a Ring Ouzel in Gloucestershire. Twenty Wheatears were in South Yorkshire and 10 Bramblings in Gloucestershire (peak day counts).

The widespread arrival of Chiffchaffs, Wheatears and Sand Martins continues and the winds remain favourable over the weekend. More unexpectedly, there were three Yellow Wagtails together in Norfolk and a Willow Warbler in Rhondda Cynon Taff - both early records.

Elsewhere there were House Martins in Devon, Dorset and Leicestershire, Swallows in Ceredigion and Wiltshire, three Ring Ouzel in Derbyshire and a Whimbrel in Portsmouth.

Please keep your records of Redwing, Fieldfare and Brambling coming, these are helping to build an excellent picture of their movements.

Migration is well and truly underway with good numbers of Chiffchaff, Wheatear, Sand Martin and Little Ringed Plover arriving over the last few days. On the 16th there was a Sandwich Tern in Kent and a Little Stint in Rutland. Yesterday (17th) there were two Ring Ouzels in Derbyshire, a Garganey in Cumbria, Swallows in Anglesey and Norfolk.

Winds from a south-westerly/southerly direction set to continue into the weekend, although increasing in strength. We can expect to see further arrivals of birds over the next few days.

With slightly milder weather and winds from the South-West over the weekend we saw a trickle of migrants appear. On the 13th, Wheatears were in Cornwall and Somerset and two Common Sandpipers were in Greater London. On the 16th, there was another Wheatear in Dorset and Sandwich Terns in Devon and West Berkshire.

The flock size of Redwing and Fieldfare continue to increase and we received many records over the weekend.

Alpine Swifts were found in Cornwall and North Yorkshire - a classic spring 'over-shoot' from southern Europe.

There are still a good number of Waxwings present in the country with 5seen in Tyne & Wear on the 10th and 41 in South Yorkshire on the 11th. A Sandwich Tern was in Kent on the 10th.

Redwings and Fieldfares continue to be reported from throughout Britain and Ireland with 200 Fieldfares in West Berkshire and 95 Redwing in Somerset on the 10th.

Many more Redwing and Fieldfare were reported yesterday including a count of 400 Fieldfare and 200 Redwing in Tyrone. Elsewhere on the 4th, 12 Snow Bunting were in Kent and Blackcaps were in Merseyside and Somerset.

Nightjar Survey This year there will be a national Nightjar survey and we are still looking for volunteers in some areas, particularly Cornwall and Somerset. If you are interested in helping out, please contact the organiser greg.conway@bto.org to see if help is needed in your area.

There is little in the way on new spring migrants arriving but Redwings and Fieldfares are on the move. The recent cold snap certainly caused movements locally. A flock of 110 Redwing were recorded in Dorset on the 2nd March and 127 Fieldfare in Fife in the 3rd. A flock of 50 Brambling were in Highland.

On my day off yesterday I visited a small sewage works in Suffolk and saw three Chiffchaff, including one in full song - the first I've heard this year. We also trapped and ringed the birds as part of a project looking at Chiffchaffs wintering in Britain. If you see a Chiffchaff this spring with colour-rings please contact the BTO Ringing Unit and give the date, location and combination of rings.

Despite the cold weather and snowy conditions across East Anglia, two Stone Curlew were seen on the 28th February at traditional breeding grounds in Suffolk. Four Sandwich Terns were on Guernsey on the 29th February and on the same date a Whimbrel was in Cornwall.

The 29th February also saw a interesting of Fulmars with birds found inland in Buckinghamshire, Wiltshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Leicestershire. An incredible passage of 154 'blue-phase' Fulmars was recorded at Flamborough Head in East Yorkshire. and five were found washed up on Blakeney Point in Norfolk. At this time of year Fulmars are returning south to their breeding grounds and perhaps the recent north-easterly winds, together with poor visibility in the snow showers pushed the Fulmars inland. The 'blue-phase' Fulmars may have been pushed south by the northerly winds as they headed towards their breeding grounds in the arctic.

Sightings of Redwings and Fieldfares have been sent in from across Britain and Ireland which really helps us to build up an accurate picture of where these species are at this time of year. Flock sizes are quite small with 20-40 being about average. The largest flocks of Fieldfare were 150 and these were in Oxfordshire, Powys and York. On the 23rd a flock of 400 Fieldare was counted in Powys. A count of 160 Redwing came from Oxfordshire on 22nd and 100 in Powys on the 23rd.

Blackcaps were recorded from 18 counties/regions over the weekend suggesting a wide distrubution. Chiffchaffs were recorded in Brighton & Hove, Co. Kerry, Conwy, Hampshire, NE Lincolnshire and Leicester.

A Swallow was in West Berkshire on Saturday 21st February.

On the 18th a Greenshank was in Cornwall and a Woodlark in Surrey. Chiffchaffs were recorded in Essex, Surrey and West Berkshire on the 19th, also Blackcaps were in Bristol and Merseyside.

Thanks for all the sightings of Redwing and Fieldfare. Records show some big flocks of Fieldfare around including 300 in Kent. We have received very few records of Brambling so far. Here in Norfolk they have been very thin on the ground this winter. Is it the same everywhere?

If you haven't entered all your sightings from last year yet you can still enter them on the website. Simply select 2003 from the drop-down menu.

On the 18th there was a Common Sandpiper in Cardiff - perhaps an overwintering bird? Also on the 18th there were Blackcaps recorded in Bath & NE Somerset, Swansea, Bournemouth and the West Midlands.

Fieldfares have been recorded from Orkney in the north, Kent in the south, Norfolk in the east and Tipperary in the west. Redwings are also widespread with a peak count of 62 coming from North Yorkshire.

On the 17th February there were Blackcaps in Merseyside and Somerset. Fieldfares were recorded from many areas in southern and central England. The top count was 70 from Derbyshire. The most westerly record came from Amagh in Ireland.

A volunteer at BTO saw a Ring Ouzel in Norfolk on the 8th February - an exceptionally early record!

Thanks very much for all your records over the last two days. We have received some excellent sightings such as a Black Redstart in Tyne & Wear on the 15th and another in Cornwall on the 16th. Chiffchaffs were seen in Hampshire and Northumberland on the 15th and three Blackcaps were recorded yesterday in Brighton & Hove, Ceredigion and Merseyside. Remarkably a Swift was seen on the 15th in Hertfordshire!

We have received records of a Whimbrel in West Sussex, six Ruff in Kent and two Spotted Redshank on the Isle of Wight - all on the 16th February. It is likely these relate to over-wintering birds.

As well as lots of Redwing, Fieldfare and Brambling sightings, recorders in Kent and Norfolk were lucky enough to see Snow Buntings.

Two Blackcaps were recorded yesterday (15 February); one in Greater London and on in Oxforshire. One hundred Redwings were recorded in Pembrokeshire with smaller flocks in Greater London and Cambridgeshire. Two Greenshanks were in Co. Londonderry - perhaps these are over-wintering birds?

Other websites are reporting news of a Garganey and Swift in Cambridgeshire yesterday.

At this time of year we are particularly interested in your records of Brambling, Redwing and Fieldfare. On 14 Feb around 300 Bramblings were seen at a site in Angus/Dundee. This winter Bramblings have been quite thin on the ground with few large flocks reported. You can use the SHORT or FULL list to submit records of these winter visitors.

On 14 February there was a Swallow and a House Martin on the Isles of Scilly and another Swallow in Devon. Incredibly early records!

We have also heard reports of a Great Tit on eggs and a Tawny Owl and Collared Dove with young so it looks like the breeding season has got off to an early season too.

With Wheatears, Swallows, House Martins and a Sand Martin already recorded in the last week it seems that spring is already hear! High pressure over Europe and warm south-westerly winds has led to some exceptionally early sightings in southern England and Ireland.

Over 25 House Martins have been recorded across the south coast counties and one was seen in Ireland on 7 Feb. A Sand Martin was in Sussex in 8 Feb and there were Swallow sightings in Somerset and Isles of Scilly over the weekend. An exceptionally early Yellow Wagtail was reported in Kent on 7 Feb. A Red-rumped Swallow was seen in Cornwall on the 8th and 10th Feb - much to the delight of local birders!