Tuesday 16 March 2010

16th March 2010

Saw my first bumblebee of the year yesterday in my garden, and for the first time attempted identification - seems to have been a Buff-tailed Bumblebee.

Got up early, and after giving my bicycle's chain a good oiling (it had gone a bit rusty!) went out on it for the first time in a couple of weeks. Hightlight at the lakes was seeing 7 Mute Swans at Engine and Windmill, including 3 first-winters. Apart from 2 Goldcrests singing around Terry's Pool, all the other notable birds were at Windmill Pool, where 4 Pochards, a Kingfisher and the Muscovy Duck were seen, plus 2 presumed Lesser Redpolls flew over. As I was on my bike, decided to check out the eastern parts of Earlswood, managing 7 Lapwings and a Green Woodpecker (on telegraph pole), after which I very briefly checked the lakes again from the causeway and continued on to Terry's Green, where I'd hoped to check the STW but a recently cut hawthorn hedge scuppered that so had to make do with just a Buzzard overhead. Forshaw Heath was very quiet.

With the winds now blowing from the south or thereabouts since this afternoon and forecast to continue doing so for the rest of the week, I'm hoping Earlswood's first migrants will be seen very soon - tomorrow maybe??? Seems Warwickshire's first Sand Martin of the year was seen at Draycote Water today.

M.P. Griffiths

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