Is it safe to say spring has arrived yet? It certainly felt like it today!  Indeed I saw my first swallow of the year yesterday on Sheldon Moor near Chelmorton and another in the village this morning on my way to work. Walking into Bakewell at lunchtime the grey wagtails and dippers were very active on the river and I saw my first willow warbler of the year today as well…. Migrant birds are finally getting through after the winter-like weather of late. 

News from around the country…..In recent days eight bodies of a rare breeding bird; the Stone Curlew, have been found in fields near their breeding grounds in Suffolk.  Many migrant birds having made the treacherous migration route back from Africa have arrived and found little food available in the cold weather. Furthermore, some of our wintering species such as fieldfares, redwings and waxwings have delayed their return to their breeding grounds in Scandinavia.

It has certainly been a hard spring for wildlife in general, the lack of insects in the cold weather has affected not only birds, but likely bats as well, coming out of hibernation to find little food to build up their depleted reserves. So with the weather improving, things should  now be looking up.

On the subject of birds, a friend of mine texted me today from Flamborough in East Yorkshire reporting a male Baikal Teal having turned up there this morning. It was seen flying in-off the sea with two wigeon and later relocated on a pool at Northcliffe. A major rarity, if it turns out to be a genuine vagrant rather than an escape! This migratory duck winters in areas of China, Japan and South Korea and breeds on the edge of the tundra in swampy forest pools in eastern Siberia. This attractive species is commonly kept in wildfowl collections, so having it accepted as a bonafide vagrant will be tricky, but it will undoubtedly attract a lot of birders and twitchers, while it remains.

Just before posting this a Tawny Owl was calling from the trees around Sheldon House.