13 April 2012

After a long Easter weekend away visiting family and then straight into the early shift at work this was my first visit to Westport in a week, being spring migration it's not a good time to go missing, luckily I didn't miss to much although a Shelduck a few days ago is still a year tick I need at Westport.

It was a very misty start to the morning but with clear skies about and a drop in temp overnight their was a light frost on the ground, their was a very light E wind, visit from 06.16 til 08.55.

As I entered the park the first of ten Chiffchaffs could be heard singing and the first of six Blackcaps, a single Mistle Thrush was on the playing field and a couple of Pied Wagtails flew over the boating lake, on the main lake, 20 Mute Swans plus another two in the reserve and 27 Tufted Duck, but no Great Crested Grebes and it looks like the pair of Goldeneye have now departed, near the sidings the first of three Willow Warblers was singing, a Greenfinch and two Chaffinch were also around here, in the reserve three Willow Tit were together along the railway path.
Back along the main lake and a group of three Moorhens were having a right scrap over territory.

Three adult Black-headed Gulls were on the main lake with a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls of which small numbers were going through heading NW, all of which were adults.

It was really quiet around Westport with very little of the commoner species around, as I made my way back along the canal side of the main lake I could hear a Reed Bunting calling from further along but never saw it, I went back to the grass bank and immediately picked up my bird of the day a Common Sandpiper on the boating lake, Richard Sutton had seen one the previous day but it was my first of the year and also had me wondering were are the Little Ringed Plover this year?