Steve’s away on a twitch today, a report will follow.

2 Common Terns and 4 Arctic Terns were in the Belvide log book for this morning but just 5 Common Terns could be located this afternoon. Also reported were the male Brambling at the woodland feeding station and the 3 Tawny Owl chicks were seen in Gazebo bay, 1 now out of the nest. Other birds seen this afternoon were 3 Redshank, 4 Oystercatcher, 1 LRP, 2 Dunlin, 1 Hobby, a female Wheatear and a Yellow Wagtail.

An adult female Marsh Harrier flew thru to the south at 7.15am and was a different bird to yesterday. 12 Arctic Tern were present from 12.30pm, also 2 Common Tern. 5 Whimbrel flew thru to the north east at 2pm, 3 Dunlin dropped in this afternoon, also 2 Common Sandpiper were noted. The first Lesser Whitethroat of the year was by the Chappell hide, also a Garden Warbler in the same area. 2 Hobby were chasing Swifts this afternoon. A female Wheatear was on the shingle island. 3 Yellow Wagtail were on the north shore. 4 Wigeon, 25 Teal and 2 Shelduck were counted. A Water Vole was in front of the Scott hide this afternoon.

A female Marsh Harrier was seen twice this morning. First at 9am and again at 11.35am when it drifted off south west. An Osprey flew through to the north at 3.35pm. 4 Wheatear were below the dam including a male Greenland Wheatear (photo) 3 Tawny Owl chicks were sat at the hole entrance along the Gazebo bay. The female Brambling was seen again in the reservoir plantation. 5 Wigeon remain. 4 Common Tern, 1 Common Sandpiper and 6 Oystercatcher were noted.

A very disappointing day with no notable passage other than a single Black Tern that flew thru late afternoon and 6 Common Terns. Birding was made very difficult even sat in the hides as the driving rain was blowing through the shutters. A female Brambling was at the woodland feeding station. a female Wheatear was on the north shore plough, also 8 Yellow Wagtail were noted. 5 Wigeon remain.

2 Whimbrel were on the north shore between 10.54-11.05am when they flew off north east. 2 Dunlin, 4 Common Sandpiper, 2 LRP and 5 Redshank were present. A Grasshopper Warbler was reeling at the west end this morning, other migrants included 6 Wheatear, 14 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Garden Warbler and a Hobby was seen a few times this morning. Up to 5 Common Tern were present over the day.

On arrival this morning I caught the back end of 22 small waders heading out to the north. Frustratingly I couldn’t get enough on them to ID, but they were probably Dunlin. A Whimbrel was present between 12.15-1.54pm when it flew off north. 9 Dunlin, 3 Ringed Plover, 4 LRP, 3 Common Sandpiper and 5 Redshank were also present. A single Common Tern, 4 Yellow Wagtail and 250 Swift were noted.

The first Hobby of the year flew over the Scott hide at 1.05pm. A Whimbrel dropped in on the north shore around 10am for half an hour before continuing east. A Dunlin flew thru this afternoon, also 4 Common Sandpiper, 2 LRP, 5 Redshank and 7 Oystercatcher were present.A single Arctic Tern was present from mid morning, also 5 Common Tern were noted. Whitethroat have increased to 8, other migrants included 4 Sedge Warbler, 3 Reed Warbler, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Wheatear and 50+Swift. A Little Egret flew west at 8.15am. 2 imm male Goosander were present early morning.

I arrived at 7.15am with an air of anticipation of what today could produce. The weather conditions appeared ideal. by midday all to show for our efforts were 1 Arctic Tern and 3 Common Tern. Then at 12.25pm Terns began to drop out of the sky. Within the next half an hour 2 parties dropped in totaling 62 Arctic Tern, 6 Common Tern and 8 Little Gull including 2 adults and 6 1st summer birds. By 3.30pm most had cleared out leaving just 4 Arctic Tern, 1 Common Tern and a 1st sum Little Gull this evening. Surprisingly there was no wader passage noted today. Other birds of note included 20 Swift, 4 Sedge Warbler, 3 Whitethroat, 3 Yellow Wagtail.

A single Common Tern was perched on the rafts. 2 Whitethroat were present with 1 below the dam and the other by the West End Hide. The male Wheatear and 1 Yellow Wagtail were on the north shore plough. 6 Swift dropped in during a shower at 5.30pm. 2 LRP, 4 Redshank, 1 Common Sandpiper and 5 Oystercatcher were at the west end. 60 Gadwall, 38 Teal, 5 Wigeon and 2 Goldeneye were counted.

At last the first Whitethroat of the year was below the dam. Also new in was a Garden Warbler singing by the Gazebo hide. A single Dunlin was on the north shore, also 3 LRP, 2 Common Sandpiper and 4 Redshank were present. 2 Goldeneye, 5 Wigeon and 2 Pochard were noted.

A Grasshopper Warbler was reeling in a bramble patch below the dam this morning. A Whimbrel has been reported at the west end this afternoon. A single Arctic Tern dropped in this afternoon also a Common Tern. The male Wheatear remains on the north shore plough, also 3 Yellow Wagtail were present. 1 Ringed Plover, 3 LRP, 4 Redshank, 5 Oystercatcher and 4 Common Sandpiper were at the west end. There was no sign of any Goldeneye today. Also of concern, is there still isn’t any sign of Whitethroat yet. This is by far the latest I’ve gone without seeing one at Belvide.

A few new bits and pieces today. An imm/fem Marsh Harrier flew through to the south east at 6.55am. A Sanderling was at the west end, also a Greenshank dropped in at 3.25pm. 1 Ringed Plover, 2 LRP, 4 Redshank, 5 Oystercatcher and 4 Common Sandpiper were also present. A male Wheatear, 3+ Yellow Wagtail and 1 White Wagtail were on the north shore plough. 36 Teal, 5 Wigeon, 5 Shelduck, 3 Goldeneye and 2 Pochard were counted. Sedge Warbler photo by Martyn Pitt

Common Sandpiper have increased to 7, also 2 LRP, 2 Redshank and 4 Oystercatcher were present. A male Wheatear was on the north shore plough. 3 Yellow Wagtail, 1 White Wagtail, 2 Sedge Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler and 4 Willow Warbler were noted. A female Goosander flew north. 6 Shelduck and 3 Wigeon were counted.

The lock to the car park gate has been fixed and back in operation.

Several Yellow Wagtail were present today with birds dropping in to feed then carrying on. A White Wagtail was in front of the west end hide briefly. 3 Wheatear were at the west end including 2 males. 2 LRP, 3 Redshank, 3 Sedge Warbler and 2 Reed Warbler were noted. A Peregrine flew over.

The favourable weather conditions blew in the first Black Tern of the year that was present until 11.40am when it flew off. Also 4 Arctic Terns and 3 Common Terns flew thru during the morning. A male Wheatear was on the north shore plough. Other migrants included 2 Yellow Wagtail (Photo by Roger Clay), 3 Sedge Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 150 Swallow, 70 House Martin and 30 Sand Martin. 4 Pochard, 5 Wigeon and 2 Peregrine were noted. 2 Curlew, 2 LRP and 5 Oystercatcher were at the west end.

3 male Wheatear were on the north shore plough. Other migrants included 4 Yellow Wagtail, 1 White Wagtail, 2 Sedge Warbler and 2 Reed Warbler. 2 LRP, 2 Redshank, 4 Oystercatcher and 6 Snipe were noted. The male Brambling was still at the Woodland feeding station. A Water Rail was in front of the Scott hide. 9 Shelduck and 5 Wigeon remain.

An Osprey flew through at 9.40am. The first Sedge Warbler of the year was in front of the Andrew Chappell hide. Other migrants included 2 Reed Warbler, 8 Willow Warbler 1 male Wheatear, 2 Yellow Wagtail and 2 White Wagtail. Shelduck have increased to 18 which has equaled the most recorded. 22 Goldeneye, 5 Wigeon and 3 Pochard were counted. The male Brambling was again at the woodland feeding station.

A male Brambling (photo by Martyn Pitt) was showing well at the woodland feeding station. A noticable increase with Willow Warbler today with 14 counted. Other migrants included 2 Reed Warbler, 1 male Wheatear, 1 Yellow Wagtail and 1 Swift. 2 LRP, 2 Redshank and 11 Snipe were at the west end. A Lesser Redpoll flew north also a Peregrine was noted. 5 Wigeon, 4 Shelduck and 19 Goldeneye were counted.

Today saw one of those moments that makes local patch birding worthwhile and special. Just after 2.30pm I was sat in the Scott hide with Bernie Smith and Nigel Talbot, when Nigel picked up a raptor coming in from over the dam and heading straight at us. From the jizz it was obvious the bird was a Harrier. As it came closer you could see it was a Ringtail, but what happened next totally blew us away. The bird came directly above the reed bed in front of the hide, which is no more than 20 yards away and showed an obvious dark neck boa, which highlighted a creamy neck collar. The underparts were rufous brown and unstreaked. Immediately I shouted PALLID HARRIER as it then drifted west south west and was quickly lost to view as it flew behind some willow trees. We all looked at each other, totally gob smacked at what we’d just witnessed. A few minutes later we found out that Roger Gibb had been watching the bird below the dam and had taken some record shots. If accepted, this will be a first for Staffordshire. The photos by Roger Gibb below at least show the 4 primary fingers to rule out Hen Harrier. Also the plain body can be seen. Hint of the dark boa just visible but the colour tones don’t do the bird justice.

To date there have been 29 accepted records in Britain. It is a species that had true mega rare status up until the mid 90′s when there hadn’t been a record since 1954? Since 1995 there has been a surge in sightings with several bird recorded in the UK last year.

Other new for today included an early Swift this morning. The first Reed Warbler of the year was in front of the Scott hide. The male Redstart was still below the dam. A male and female Wheatear was on the north shore plough.

A smart male Redstart was below the dam this afternoon. 1 Yellow Wagtail and 2 White Wagtail were on the north shore. 3 Common Sandpiper, 3 LRP and 3 Redshank were noted.

A Yellow Wagtail, 1 White Wagtail and a male Wheatear were on the north shore plough. 3 Common Sandpiper were on the dam, also 2 LRP, 2 Redshank, 5 Oystercatcher and 9 Snipe were noted. 8 Shelduck, 52 Teal, 4 Wigeon and 14 Goldeneye were counted.

3 Yellow Wagtail were on the north shore, also a male Wheatear. 4 Common Sandpiper were present with 3 on the dam and 1 on the north shore. 1 Dunlin, 2 LRP, 2 Redshank, 5 Oystercatcher and 8 Snipe were noted. 60 Sand Martin, 20 Swallow and 5 House Martin were counted. Wigeon are down to 4, Goldeneye are down to 15. 7 Shelduck and 17 Greylag Geese were counted.

A fairly productive day starting with a Sandwich Tern that flew thru to the north at 9.40am. Next was an Osprey that flew NNW at 1.20pm and then a female Merlin perched briefly before continuing north at 3pm. A Ringed Plover flew thru this morning, also 1 LRP, 5 Oystercatcher, 2 Redshank and 1 Curlew were noted. A male Wheatear was on the north shore plough. 40+ Sand Martin, 10 Swallow and 5 House Martin counted. An immature Peregrine was seen this morning. The Water Rail was seen from the Scott hide.

The Car Park gate lock isn’t working at present so leave the gate open for now. It will be possibly fixed this evening.

A single Common Sandpiper on the dam was the first of the year. Also new was a Yellow Wagtail on the north shore. A male and female Wheatear were on the north shore plough. Not too many hirundines considering the weather, which included 40 Sand Martin and odd House Martin and Swallow. 2 LRP, 2 Redshank and 4 Oystercatcher were noted.

Todays WeBS count produced 60 Goldeneye, 364 Tufted Duck, 72 Teal, 14 Wigeon, 15 Shoveler, 38 Gadwall, 66 Mallard, 3 Shelduck, 234 Coot, 5 GC Grebe, 2 Little Grebe, 20 Canada Geese, 7 Greylag Geese, 25 Mute Swan and 2 Cormorant. Migrants today included 18 singing Chiffchaff, 4 Willow Warbler, 10 Blackcap, 40 Sand Martin, 10 Swallow, 10 House Martin. 1 LRP, 3 Redshank, 5 Oystercatcher and 6 Snipe were noted.