Report from 27 to 31 march

Species variety is very high currently; in the last few days we saw almost eighty bird species, and over one hundred in the month of March. In spite of this, we still manage to complain and moan about the low numbers of individual birds, especially passerines. Perhaps our expectations are too high? Most of the waterfowl have left over the last few weeks: there are less than one hundred Teal – a mere 1/20th of what we counted in January – and the same can be said of the Mallards, some of which may be nesting not too far from here, while others have likely headed north.

The impoundments host about forty Black-winged Stilts, along with small flocks of Garganey and Spotted Redshank. Dozens of Green Sandpipers still remain, while Common Snipe and Ruff are thin on the ground – normally, we see hundreds of the latter at the end of March. Newly arrived migrants this week included Linnet, Wryneck, Alpine Swift, and the first pair of Common Terns visiting the colony. The most interesting of all was a Whimbrel, a species never seen here before in over two decades of observations. Alas, it only put in the briefest of appearances.

The Glossy Ibis, on the other hand, seems to enjoy it here, and has been present for two weeks.