31st March - rain most of night. Cloudy, am, showers pm, 8C, cool NW

The fields are flooded, brooks and local rivers overflowing in to the fields - everywhere is water-logged.

Willey; the male Sparrowhawk was on the bird feeder at breakfast time. Later a Jay was in the Ash opposite the allotments before flying off over the fields.
Shawell lagoons; a look here before lunch, nothing new and fairly quiet. A Grey Heron,  4 Great-crested Grebes and a Cormorant were he best.

Cotesbach landfill area; after lunch a look here, after about an hour the rain was miserable and time to give up.  There were plenty of Gulls present in the quarry area,  Carl spotted a smart looking Caspian Gull, I then spotted a juv Iceland Gull.  I managed some poor distant record shots through the rain, and the fact it was always facing away in to the wind.  Earlier Carl had seen 2 2nd winter and 2 juv Iceland Gulls at the landfill, one likely being this bird.

30th March - touch of frost. cloudy morning, lshowers then rain later, breezy NE, 8C

Willey; a couple of Greylag Geese flew low over the village, westward, maybe on a local pond or lake.

Mere lane lake area; had a look here before lunch, not been for awhile.  A Chiffchaff was singing, also a Male Reed Bunting.  On the later a Little Grebe was ‘trilling’ and a pair of Mute Swans was building a nest.  skylarks were singing on the adjacent fields, a pair of Yellowhammers and a noisy Jay in the hedgerow trees.  A ‘finch’ flock was seen distantly, however when I got close they were not to be found, so remain unidentified, next time!

Pitsford Reservoir; after lunch I decided to visit the reserve area here, however as I neared the weather deteriorated becoming very breezy and heavy showers, so not ideal for spotting migrants - should any be around.  As it was I spent most time in a hide sheltering, there little on show on the water.  At the feed station area a good number of Tree Sparrows, Yellowhammers, Chaffinch and a Reed Bunting.  The Rooks were busy at their nests and a Coot was building in front of the hide on the choppy water.  Otherwise just the expected waterfowl and resident birds were on show.

29th March - ground frost, sunny initially, clouding over, then showers, wind SSE steady, easing, cool 8C

Willey; A couple of Red-legged Partridge were on the lawn early morning, not seen this speciei in the garden for ages, once one actually made a nest and laid eggs.  Just before mid-day a male Kestrel flew on to a telegraph pole along the Moors lane just outside the village.

Stanford reservoir; a look here after lunch, hoping for some Martins or a Swallow. In fact it was fairly quite, the weather not at all Spring like and disappointing.  There were 3 Shelduck, a pair together with the drake displaying to the female and another drake close by looking for his chance to get to the duck.  The only other new bird was a drake Shoveler.  Plenty of Goldeneye still out on the water.  No Pochard flock seen (as yesterday) apart from a drake at the bottom of the spillway where it has been for awhile now.  A couple of Red-legged Partridge flew off from the waterside rough area.

28th March - rain most of morning, showers, sunny spells pm, steady NW, 9C, often cooler

Willey; A Robin was collecting nest material and building in on of the sheds, I think using an old Blackbirds nest as a shell. At 1715h the Sparrowhawk was back sitting in the garden near the feeder.

Claybrooke Magna, a mixed flock of Fieldfare and Redwings were in an Ash tree along the Frolesworth lane this afternoon.

Froslesworth Manor lake; very cool wind blowing across the site keeping things out of site. Great-Crested Grebe and Tufted Duck were present, plus Canada and Greylag Geese. A couple of Yellowhammers and several Chaffinch were feeding on the old game cover area.

Stanford Reservoir; a look here this evening, generally quiet with only the regulars about. Wigeon numbers were lower, c100, maybe some have left for their breeding grounds.

27th March - light rain early, cloudy mostly, 10C, light SW

Willey; a couple of Redwing flew over at 0750h, and a couple a little later too. A male Sparrowhawk was sitting in the garden at 0750h, not seen one in the garden for ages.
Mid-morning a Chiffchaff was singing on the old railway track and a Nuthatch was calling plenty.  11 Goldfinch flew passed.

Cotesbach Landfill; a look here in the afternoon produced a juvenile Iceland Gull among the other Gulls.

26th March - sunny intervals, light WSW, 12C

Willey; the Goldcrest was singing frequently in the Church large Yew tree, with Goldfinches showing interest in the Horse Chestnut where they often nest. At least 4 Tree Sparrows, a Coal Tit, 5 Chaffinch, 3 Yellowhammers plus other usual were visiting the feed station.

Shawell lagoons, a brief look here this afternoon, usual candidates, 85 Wigeon was good, and 5 Great-crested Grebes - lots of territory/pairing going on.

Stanford reservoir; now we have lighter evenings and it was reasonably pleasant a look here for evening migrants.  Two Lapwing were displaying at the inlet end, there display, whooshing wings and calls is always a great sight to see. All was peace and quite, then all the Gulls and Ducks went up from their roosting, I soon heard - then saw why - 2 very low RAF C130 Hercules flew directly over the reservoir southward, also over Chris who was nearby.  Eventually, the birds settled back down and I continued searching through the Gulls.  Whilst doing so I noticed 4 Sand Martins flying over the water feeding, my first for the year.  The Gulls were 95% Common and 5% Black-headed Gulls, even by the time I left no'large' Gulls had come to roost.  I presume they have decided to go to Draycote Water.
I counted 21 Goldeneye this evening on the reservoir.

(Photo C Hubbard)

25th March - sunny periods, mild, 13C, light northerly

Stanford reservoir; an afternoon visit on the first proper Spring-like day.  I spotted my first Comma butterfly, and Brimstone had been reported by others.  plenty of Lesser Celandine were in flower today too.

In the morning Chris had seen 6 Common Scoter, fortunately there were still here this afternoon, unfortunately they were distant to digiscope and roosting, and inactive.

On the dam a Redshank and Dunlin were resting. Some wader passage today, Chris also had Curlew this morning.

 

Two Goosander, plenty of Wigeon, Gadwall, Pochard, Goldeneye and ~60 Teal were on the reservoir too.
Pied and Grey Wagtail were also on the dam.  A Chiffchaff was feeding in the bushes along the river by-pass.
Three Ravens were having a dispute overhead near the inlet.  Skylark was singing on the fallow filed, 6 Fieldfare flew over and a few Redwing were in the bushes near the inlet gate.   A pair of Reed Bunting were chasing each other.

24th March - light rain early am, then cloudy, some drizzle pm, 9C, light NE

Willey; 2+ Redwing were in the trees next to the back field pond first thing.    A Kestrel was sitting in road side Ash sapling on coal pit lane near the cross-in-hand -roundabout.

Cotesbach; checked the Sandy lane area in the morning, fairly quiet, but the Shelduck pair was present, these seem to range from here to Shawell lagoons and Stanford reservoir.

Cotesbach landfill area; after lunch I had a call from Carl that he had found an adult Iceland Gull in the quarry area.  It was still present when I arrived, unfortunately is was mostly asleep among other Gulls.

 A Grey Heron flew in and disturbed the Gulls, the Iceland flew off in the direction of Draycote Water with other Gulls.

A Red Kite flew over and a pair of Buzzards were nearby.

Shawell lagoons; a look here next, there were Gulls here and on the central bank among others a juvenile Iceland Gull was found, this wandered about before flew off in the direction of the landfill area.

Carl spotted a .'near' adult Caspian Gull too on the shoreline.

Also, at the lagoons birds included c200 Wigeon, 3 Lapwings, 5 Great-crested Grebes, including the pair nest building, a Teal pair, Tufted Duck and Canada geese, 6 Mute Swans, a Cormorant and a Green Woodpecker..

23rd March - mostly cloudy, light westerly, 10C

Willey;  A busy day.
A Grey Heron as at the back field pond 0900h.  Later ~25 Redwing flew SW passed the village.

22nd March - sunny spells, 10C, light esterly

Shawell Lagoons; I had a look here late afternoon, many Gulls present, nothing out of the ordinary though.  A couple of Redwing and Long-tailed Tits in the boundary hedge.
Still waiting for migrants here.

21st March - sunny periods, 9C, but NW wind 12mph feeling cool.

On a trip to Frolesworth this morning I spotted a couple of female Kestrels sitting at different locations on road side wires.  Good to see they survived the recent cold and snow.

Stanford reservoir; a look at Stanford reservoir after lunch hoping for an early migrant.  An Oystercatcher was on the dam and a Green Woodpecker called nearby.  The usual wildfowl were on the water, I counted 14 Goldeneye, a Grey Heron was at the waters edge.  4 Bullfinch were seen, 2 pairs, one male was singing at one location.  Goldcrest -2 were with Long-tailed Tits in the boundary hedge.  A single Jay and Fieldfare were near the point hide.  Plenty of tree Sparrows at the feed station and 5 Stock Doves.

In all 43 species were seen but no earlier migrants.

20th March - cloudy, a few sunny intervals, short shower late afternoon, 6C, light Northerly

Willey; a busy day.  A small mixed flock of Redwing and Fieldfare noted this morning.

19th March - frost last nigh -2C. brisk NE wind, feeling like -4C, sunny intervals 5C

Shawell lagoons; I had a quick look at the sand quarry next to the landfill where gulls rest, however the wind was very fierce here and few Gulls were hanging around so I moved to the lagoons.
Quite a few Gulls were here, but nothing out of the ordinary. On the north lagoon 2 Great-crested Grebes appeared to be building a nest in the reeds.  If they do it will be the first record here, more seriously for them is that the water may recede as Spring progresses, so I'm not sure if they will be left high and dry - we shall see.  A Little Grebe was on the south lagoon.  c220 Wigeon were present, a bit flighty as 2 red Kite circled over, but they only flew from one lagoon to the other. Tufted Duck, Mallard, 18 Teal and 13 Canada geese were also present.

On the way back c60 Fieldfare flew over, eastward, near the 'Moorbarns' on the A5.

18th March - winter still biting, snow last night, cold keen easterly, cloudy, -1C, feeling much colder like -7C

Willey; the feed station was busier again today, with at least 10 magpies and 2 Pheasants, plus the usual Tits, Finches and Yellowhammers.  The Nuthatch visited, likely confused as only a couple of days ago the male was singing in sunshine.  A small  flock of Fieldfare, ~25, and a little later Redwing, ~15, flew in to the trees of the old railway track.

Stanford reservoir; the reservoir was not frozen, but the ground had snow cover and mostly frozen, apart from water birds very little else was about.

 Wigeon ~150, Gadwall ~80, plus Pochard and Tufted were the most numerous,  7 Teal, 6 Goldeneye, 5 Great-crested Grebe, 5 and 10 Canada and Greylag geese flew in.  A male Kestrel flew passed and a green Woodpecker was calling.

Last weeks warm spell encouraged signs of Spring, like these Thorn flowers, now suffering the cold.

17th March - cold east wind, cloudy and light snow, 1C

Winter returned during the night.

Today a very cold feeling day with strong wind at times, 20mph+, giving a wind chill about -8C.  Light short snow showers not settling.  

16th March - sunny periods, mild12C, light SE.

Willey; a lovely day, a few bees and other insects seen, Incredible that winter returns tonight.

While atttending to a lambing at 1840h a Barn Owl flew passed, from the church yard area round our paddock, which was a nice sight to see.

15th March - sunny intervals, light ESE, 12C

Willey; pleasantly mild for most of the day, resident birds busy sorting out territories and partners.  A mixed flock ~30 Redwing and Fieldfare moved over SW.

A very cold weekend, possibly with snow, is forecast, with easterly weather again!!

14th March - cloudy, light SE freshening pm, 10C

Willey; a busy day but I did check out my feed station that is still attracting several Yellowhammers, Chaffinch, House and tree Sparrows, along with Blue, great and 2 each of Coal and Long-tailed Tits.  a small mixed flock of Redwing and |Fieldfare landed in the trees nearby. A Goldcrest was singing in the nearby Church lane.

Good news, Paul C has seen the Barn Owl - so it survived the cold weather.

13th March - broken cloud, sunny intervals, 10C, light Westerly

Shawell Lagoons; managed a short check here and quarry, still no LRP or Sand Martins, reports are coming-in widely dispersed across the country, but still very early so soon I expect they will appear around here.   Many hundreds of Gulls but no white-wingers seen.

Willey; 1850h, a Tawny Owl flew passed towards the Church cemetery,

12th March - Oh what a wet day, light NW, 8C

Willey; a Goldcrest again was singing this morning in the Church Yew, several Song Thrushes and a Blackbird had a go singing too.  Mid-morning a Mistle Thrush was heard briefly to the east of the village.  A Green Woodpecker was heard several times during the day.  The Pied Wagtail was on the roof again, singing first thing, but no mate seen yet.  A couple of Canada Geese flew over probabaly breeding on a local lake or pond.

11th March - mostly cloudy, 11C, SE wind light, brisk pm

Stanford reservoir.  On the way I had a quick look at Shawell sandpit for Little-ringed Plover, absent but a adult Yellow-legged Gull was present.  Along the lane after Shawell a Red Kite was hunting over the fields.

At the reservoir the recent heavy rain had stirred the water up and was looking quite mucky, however the ducks seemed to find there was plenty of food and were feeding busily.  About 300 Wigeon, c60 Pochard, good numbers of Tufted and Gadwall, 4+ Goldeneye.  Three Goosander, one a male, were also present. At least 20 Cormorant were on the water or in trees.
A pair of Grey Wagtail were feeding on floating weeds near the dam, on the dam an Oystercatcher was feeding - the fist returning bird of Spring.

10+ Tree Sparrows at the feed station with Chaffinch, Blue, Great and a Coal Tit.  On the ground at least 2 rats - food for the Barn Owls.   A Jay and Stock Dove flew passed. On the adjacent fallow field at least 20 Lesser Redpoll were feeding and several Skylark were singing.  A pair of Bullfinch were in the hedgerow, also 4 Long-tailed Tits were involved in some for of territory dispute.

Willey;  at 1630h a single Curlew flew passed the village NE, called once.  Hope this means the (near) local birds will return and successfully breed.

10th March - quiet a bit of rain last night. mostly cloudy, light southerly, showers pm, mild 13C

Cotesbach; a quick look at the Sandy lane pools this morning. 8 Teal were on the pools, along with a pair of Canada Geese, another pair flew in causing some commotion. Chaffinch and Greenfinch were singing, otherwise fairly quiet.

Willey; my feed station is now much less attended that the cold weather has gone.  5 Tree Sparrows, single Yellowhammer and Chaffinch, a male Great-spotted Woodpecker but a good number of Blue and Great Tits.
A Goldcrest was singing in the Church yew.

Long Lawford; a Bewicks Swan has been present with a flock of Mute Swans (46), so after lunch I went to see if it was still present, it was.

While there a flock of 19 Golden Plover flew over NE.  c150 Fieldfare were around and several Skylark were heard singing.

Shawell lagoons; a look here next, hardly any Gulls were present.  20 Tufted Duck, a Mallard pair, 6 Mute Swans and 3 great-crested Grebes were present. A drake Shelduck was on the central bank, I wonder where the female is, maybe sitting on eggs.

9th March - cloudy am, showers later pm, light SW, 8C

No obs.
I've not heard any Mistle Thrushes singing locally around the village yet this year.

8th march - showers/light rain am, a few sunny spells pm, 7C breezy west.

Willey; 4 Stock Doves were in the barns to the east of the village, their usual location.  Otherwise things seemed fairly quiet out and about.  c25 Redwing flew out of the paddock hedge and headed off mostly northward.

7th March - cloudy, sunny spells, wintry showers late afternoon, light SW, 8C

Willey;  A busy day with helping lambing, but good to be able to get new lambs out in to the fields now the weather is more like Spring.

The afternoon wintry showers gave some dramatic skys and rainbows.

6th March - cloudy morning, some sunny spells pm, 7C, light SW

Willey; several small parties of Fieldfare and Redwing flew over during the day, mostly northerly.

At 1645h I noticed several magpies gathered on the field behind the church, then a few more, in all 20 Magpies gathered in a group, a little jostling between them before dispersing after about 10 mins.  Gathering like this often occur in early Spring, not sure why.

5th March - light SE, a few sunny spells am, cloudy pm, light showers later, 8C

Willey; this morning 3 Lapwings were on the fields to the east, hopefully more survived the recent cold weather.  A Green Woodpecker was ‘yaffling’ in the nearby wood, often nests here. Four Greenfinch were atop the bushed at the 'pin-fold'.

Mid-morning the Buzzards we’re back in the sky circling and sorting out their territories.
A check on the feed station and area after lunch, the usual candidates, 10 Tree Sparrows, I had hoped the numbers would have increased further but I doubt it will now.  Long-tailed Tits, Nuthatch, Male Great-Spotted Woodpecker and the other usual species were in good numbers again.
A mixed flock, c50, of Fieldfare and Redwing flew over low northward, probably to local fields.

Rooks are back at their nests in the Long Spinney, lots of repair and building to do yet.  We’ll see if the numbers nesting has been affected by the cold weather and early year winds that damaged the small upper branches where nests are built when I do a nest count in April.

4th March - No frost last night. cloudy, very brief sun breaks, warmer 7C, light SE

Willey; at last a rise in temperature and a slow thaw.  A busy day helping lambing, waiting to turn some out on to pasture once the snow has cleared.

Filled my feed station up at 1700h, still Blue, Great, Coal and Long-tailed Tits visiting for food, plus a Nuthatch.

Good to hear at least 1 Tawny Owl calling at 1930h from the old railway track trees.

3rd March - -2 last night, morning broke misty 0C, little wind, a little thawing 1C during the day remaining cloudy/misty, NE wind light pm

Willey; we are one track for an increase in temperature and thaw over the next few days, not too soon either.  This morning I had to go the Lutterworth, on a low garden hedge and in trees on the first housing area there were  c70 Fieldfare feeding very actively.

Similar birds as yesterday at my feed station today, a Pheasant and Coal Tit were additional.  even though weather was still poor today it didn't stop a Great Tit singing late afternoon.  Richard T. says his garden and feeders are very busy too, especially with many Long-tailed tits and Blackbirds.

Feeding areas are so important when we suffer such a cold snowy weather period like this.  Similar reports of busy garden feed areas from all over the country. No doubt many birds, like Owls, Kestrel, Lapwing and Snipe have been hit hard.



 

2nd March - -6C last night. Cloudy am, very fine snow pm, -3C, brisk NE- wind chill -8C

Willey; the very cold and snowy weather continued today, the brisk NE biting through and causing some drifting of snow.  I found some apples and put out at my feed station - soon to be eaten by the thrushes and corvids.

A new bird visisting today was a male Reed Bunting that also visited the nearby farm buildings as well as other food areas. Other birds included Nuthatch, Long-tailed Tits, 2 Fieldfare, 1 Redwing, 1 Song Thrush, several Blackbirds, Dunnock, Robin, House Sparrows, 10 Tree Sparrows, several Yellowhammers and Chaffinch, 2 Greenfinch, at least 6 magpies and c10 Jackdaws.

1st March - -8C last night. Today brisk NE, wind chill -10C, fine dry snow most of the day, freezing all day.

Willey;  a most awful day, very cold and the wind blowing snow around.

The severe winter weather is now causing many birds to approach human habitation close and new species attending feeders.  I have several Fieldfare and more birds at the feed station.
Paul C picked a dead Snipe up from his field gateway.  Birds are entering buildings and cattle and other animal buildings looking for food.

Three Whooper Swans turned up at Stanford Reservoir today (Chris H), seems they have been moving around in the last couple of days with other turning up at Rutland Water.