The week started where last week ended with spring migrants with me seeing/hearing my first returning Chiffchaff of the year at my work patch on Monday 21st, this bird happens to be the earliest recorded here by 4 days. With a warm start to the week more Butterflies were out with me seeing more Commas this week along with Peacocks and Tortoiseshells, see My Patch highlights.
We ended up on Friday 25th at Pugneys Country Park [ Link ] on a family walk and of course the bins/camera had to come along. There were a few birds of note about Goldeneye, Great Crested Grebe, Kingfisher, Tufted Duck, Reed Bunting, another Chiffchaff, we couldn’t get in the hide due once again to vandalism and repair work so because of this we stood near the other hide along the banking between the two lakes watching Great Crested Grebes doing the courtship display and Goldeneyes when all of a sudden up sprung a splendid Male Smew, we watched this bird for ten minutes or so before carrying on walking towards the far end. It was here we finally spotted another returning migrant Sand Martins first one then two then a dozen or so, a very similar bird to the House Martin put brown in colour with a white under belly and with no white rump, it was then time for tea
Drake Smew
Pugneys List [in no order] :- Black Headed Gull, Lesser Black Backed Gull, Great Black Backed Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Mute swan, Mallard, Teal, Tufted Duck, Shelduck, Smew, Goldeneye, Moorhen, Coot, Bullfinch, Long Tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Great tTit, Pied Wagtail, Rock/Feral Pigeon, Woodpigeon, Robin, Wren, Blackbird, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Kingfisher, Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Reed Bunting, Sand Martin
Huddsbirder 