28th April - Rain through the night until c1300h, 28mm!!. Clearing and slightly warming, 10C, mod WNW

Shawell sandpit/Landfill area; early afternoon.

Two Shelducks, 4 Teal, 3 Little Grebes, 7 Red Kites, several ravens, 2 Buzzard.  

c10 each Swallow and House Martin.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Three Common Terns, Common Sandpiper, 100+ each Swallow and House Martin, 1 Sand Martin, 1 Swift.

Hobby, Red Kite, Cuckoo, 3 Goldeneye.

A Garden Warbler singing, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, Whitethroat. and Cetti's.

27th April - cloudy, mod NE, 9C, feeling pretty cold again, all day.

Lilbourne Meadows; morning.

A male Yellow Wagtail, a Little Egret, Shoveler pair, Starling collecting food, Stock Dove and Collared Dove.

Misterton; morning.

Goldcrest (f), Mistle Thrush, Blackcap and Chiffchaff singing.  Green Woodpecker 'yaffling'.

Husband Bosworth sandpit; afternoon.

Three Little Grebes, two Coot nests visible, drake Gadwall, 10 Tufted and a few Mallard.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Five Black and five Common Terns came in.

c200 Swallows and c100 House Martins, also a Swift.   Cuckoo singing.

Some shaky video clips...

26th April - cloudy, light NE, 9C

WIlley; A male Sparrowhawk flew over the street, 2015h.

Stanford reservoir; late afternoon.

Cuckoo singing.  

Two Red-legged Partridge on adjacent field, also male Linnet on hedgerow.

Four Goldeneye.  A good number of Swallows and House Martins feeding over the water.

25th April - Mostly cloudy, a few brief sunny spells, 10C, light NW. Still well below average temps!

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

Shoveler and Gadwall pair, 2 Mute Swans, 6 Teal, a Little Grebe and the Wigeon pair still here.

Heron Over, Gren Woodpecker calling, 3 Swallows over the water.  A single Yellow Wagtail.

Shawell Sandpit/landfill.

Oystercatcher 2, a Shelduck, Teal 4, c50 Swallows and c20 House Martins,

Single Red Kite and several Ravens over the landfill.

Two Greenfinches on the grass by the office.

I read a CR Lesser-black Backed Gull earlier in the month, here are the ringing details.

Ringed  30/6/23, Place Bath, Read at Shawell sandpit 0n 13/4/24 age 1st summer.

24th April - initially sunny, then cloudy and sunny evening, light N, 9C

Stanford Reservoir, afternoon.

Two Goldeneye, A Common Sandpiper, c50 Swallows and c20 House Martins.

Great-spotted Woodpecker drumming again.

A Willow Warbler singing a little.

23rd April - cloudy, mod N, 9C

Stanford reservoir, evening.

A Common Sandpiper on the dam, 7 Goldeneye, 2 Shoveler drakes, a Red Kite, a male Yellowhammer on field hedge behind car park, Great-Spotted Woodpecker drumming in new Covert.

c70 Swallows and c 50 House Martins.

22nd April - Light rain until later afternoon, cloudy, very light N, 8C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Two Redshank, a Common Sandpiper and a Yellow Wagtail on the dam, c25 Swallows and c50 House Martins otherwise nothing new.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

6 Swallows feeding.  Shoveler 2,Teal.

21st April - another cold night. Sunny periods, gentle NE breeze, 11C

Brandon Marsh; morning.

News of a Green-winged Teal this morning, so given I had missed two already I popped over.  It was busy feeding under Willows then decided to take a long siesta.  So, photo opportunities were very limited, just a distant record photo through the heat haze was possible

Misterton; afternoon.

Rather quiet, a Nuthatch calling, Blackcap singing.

Stanford reservoir;

A Common Sandpiper and Redshank on the dam.  

Chris had just spotted a Common Scoter seemingly asleep on the water with Tufties.  A 1CY male.

Otherwise just the regulars and the returned summer migrantds.

20th April - mod N, 11C. grass frost last night

Lilbourne Meadows; morning

Similar to yesterday, except Wigeon pair again, 15 teal, Gadwall pair, Blackcap singing, Grey Heron.

Lutterworth; midday

Mistle Thrush singing behind monument Chapel Bitteswell road.

Honey Hill; afternoon.

Two Ring Ouzels were found today.  In hedge and feeding in Bean field, alas no photos possible.

Three Whitethroats, Buzzard, Stock Dove singing, Green Woodpecker, Linnet, Skylarks.

Private site

Two Short-eared Owls hunting,

Whitethroat and Lesser Whitethroat.  Chaffinch collecting nest material.

19th April - mod-fresh WNW, 10C, mostly cloudy

Honey Hill; morning

Went in search of the Ring Ouzels, no luck.

Red Kite, Green Woodpecker, Chiffchaff.

Soar Brook Lake, afternoon.

Three Oystercatchers, lots of 'piping'.

Not much else, a Mallard pair, Tufted drake (maybe duck on nest?), Mute Swans 2.

Lilbourne Meadows, afternoon.

Teal 2, Shovelers, Gadwall 1.

Two Yellow Wagtails, Goldfinch pair,Lesser Whitethroat singing, Kestrel, Goldfinch pair, 5 Little Egrets.

Private Site

Short-eared Owl hunting

18th April - sunny spells, mod WSW-W, 12C. Light rain evening

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Very similar to yesterday, except two Wigeon were present feeding and a Lesser Whitethroat was singing in then hedge.

Stanford reservoir; evening.  unpleasant conditions and feeling cold in light rain.

c70 Swallow and c10 Sand Martins feeding low over the water.

Twp Common Sandpipers on the dam, one female Goldeneye.

17th April - sunny spells, mod-fresh NW, 12C but feeling cold

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Drake and Female Goldeneye, c10 each Swallow, Sand and House Martins.  Little song from the Warblers, apart from Chiffchaff, Blackcap and a Sedge Warbler.

Two Common Sandpipers on dam.

Two Shelducks and Lapwing again on inlet field pools.

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

Eight Teal, 6 Shovelers, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, two Little Grebe, Canada and Greylag Geese.

Goldfinch and Song Thrush singing.

16th April - mod-fresh/gusty WNW, 10C, wintry showers arouns

Honey Hill; early afternoon.

A check here for Ouzels, but none.  A Kestrel and Buzzard.

Stanford reservoir;

No sign of the Ferruginous Duck.

Two Shelducks and Oystercatchers on the inlet field pools.  A single Goldeneye.

15th April - strong- gusting WNW, 10C, wintry showers at times, feeling cold

Stanford Reservoir

Chris found a Ferruginous Duck, a drake, near the dam this morning. Fortunately still present when I got there 1330h.  I believe only the forth record here, the last record was 1997!

A couple of distant record photos.

A Common Sandpiper, Two Teal, Little Egret. a good number of Swallow and House Martins I.

14th April - mod SW, 14C, sunny spells

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon

Shoveler 12, Teal 4, Gadwall 1, Canada 8, Lapwing displaying, Stock Dove 2, Meadow Pipit.

Two Roe Deer.

Shawell sandpit/Landfill, afternoon

Two Little Grebes, 11 Teal, Buzzard, Ravens c40. Red Kites 3.

13th April - mostly cloudy, hazy sunshine, mod-fresh SW, 17C

Willey; 

Two Canada Geese on barn field first thing, these have been seen around various fields or flying over a while now.

Shawell Sandpit/landfill; morning.

A Jay in the old house area, Blackcap pair in the spinney. Stock Dove singing in the spinney.  A House Martin over the pool.

12 Teal, c25 Tufted, 4 Gadwall, a Little Grebe, a Common Sandpiper.

Rutland Water; Egleton Lagoons 1-4. Afternoon.

Female Long-tailed Duck, Goldeneye female,  (L3), A Little Ringed Plover, 3 Avocets, 2 Greenshanks, Redshank, ad Yellow-Legged Gull (L4).

Many Sand Martins, Osprey, Marsh harrier, 2 Curlew, 3 Arctic Terns (L1).

12th April - cloudy, hazy sun. mod-fresh SW, 17C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Still rather quiet due to the wind.  Two Goldeneye, 2 Gadwall, 2 Yellow Wagtails, Grey Wagtail pair and a Pied Wagtail.  Two Common Sandpipers on the dam.  Two Ravens over.  

A Lapwing on inlet field.

11th April - Mostly cloudy, mild, 18C, light SW

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

Surprisingly quiet.

Four Goldeneye, 7 Yellow Wagtails on the dam briefly.

Walton; evening.

A Kestrel over the field, a Great Spotted Woodpecker called from hedgerow trees, singing Collared Dove and Starling on house/buildings

10th April - rain from mid-morni g until mid-afternoon, blustery SSW wind, 10C, feeling cold.

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Pretty awful conditions which was keeping things in cover.  A few Teal, Shovelers and a Little grebe.

9th April - rain first thing, then occasional sharp showers, strong gusty W wind, easing evening, 10C, feeling cooler.

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

After seeing a Whitethroat, the highlight had to be a Purple Heron found by Chris Hubbard, fortunately while I was there and a call from him was able to get me on it

Most of the views were of it just inside the reed bed, also a short flight view.  Photos were difficult but I digiscoped some record shots anyway.   Only the second site record.

8th April - cloudy,, light SW, 15C. Light rain evening

WIlley;

Still the two Swallows today.  Mistle Thrush and Son Thrush singing well.

Started my annual Rookery count for SP58, about a third done and numbers so far similar to last year.  We shall see when all are counted, but with the mild winter there should have been no extra mortality during that period.

Peatling Parva, evening

Green Woodpecker 'yaffling', Goldcrest singing and a Tawny Owl calling.

7th April - brisk-strong, sometimes v gusty, SSW, 17C, sunny intervals pm

Willey;

First two Swallows back, feeding around the Sheep first thing (last year first was on the 18th, which is late).

Lilbourne Meadows; afternoon.

Two Wheatears on the pasture, feeding.

On the pools a single Shelduck, a Little Grebe pair (nest material), c15 Teal.  A Curlew heard.

Stanford reservoir;

Two Yellow Wagtails, a pair Grey Wagtails.  Single Goldeneye (f) and drake Pochard (not seen any for awhile). A Little Egret and Grey Heron.

57 Woodpigeons feeding on the inlet pasture field.  A Lapwing on the field pools.

6th April - Brisk-strong, gusty at times, mostly cloudy, 17C

Shawell Sandpit; morning

c30 Ravens, a Red Kite, Oystercatcher pair, c10 Teal, a Little Grebe.

Middleton Lakes; afternoon.  Very windy

A escapee Red-breasted Goose with the Greylags/Canada Geese.  A Sand Martin battled the wind.

Shelducks, Oystercatchers, Gadwall, Shoveler, Teal (but didn't find the Green-winged Teal).

5th April - fresh-gusty SW, 15C, mostly cloudy

Stanford reservoir; evening

Two Swallows, 4 Goldeneye, a Lapwing inlet field pools, Red Kite over and a single Red-legged Partridge on the entrance drive.

4th April - light rain early. mostly cloudy, light SW, 14C

Stanford reservoir; afternoon.

A Common Sandpiper on the dam (spotted this morning by C Hubbard), first Spring record here.

Several Blackcaps singing now, plus Chiffchaffs.  Otherwise, just the regulars, including 4 Goldeneye.

3rd April - rain last night. Cloudy, some drizzle am, mod-fresh at times westerly, 13C

Lilbourne Meadows; evening.

A quick look this evening, still 9 Wigeon hanging -on, 8 Shoveler, 6 Teal, 4 Gadwall, 3 Little Grebes.

A Chiffchaff and Song Thrush singing.

2nd April - sunny spells, light SW/S, 15C, light rain and cooler from 1800h

Stanford reservoir; evening

Eight Little Egrets flew over dam at 1835h to roost site nearby.

I each of Little Grebe, Common Gull  and Goldeneye (f).

1st April - rain early, then sunny spells, mod SW, 15C

Shawell sandpit/landfill; morning

No tipping over Easter so little Gull activity, a Little Grebe pair, Mute Swan pair, two pairs Canada Geese, c40 Tufted Duck, 15 Teal.

Green and Great-spotted Woodpecker heard.  A female Blackcap hawking insects from the hedge.

Eyebrook Reservoir; afternoon.

A drake Garganey was way-out on the water with Teal.  

A male Stonechat.