I’ve been keeping records of which birds are singing in which weeks for the last dozen or so years at Shingle Street and a clear pattern has emerged. I’m attaching a little chart illustrating this, which you could check to see what you should be particularly listening out for at any time of the year. I’ve only included those birds that sing regularly here and their usual song-periods. There are lots of exceptions involving birds just passing through, rare visitors or residents occasionally singing at untypical times. I have notes on all these if anyone is interested, but for the sake of simplicity have not incorporated them into this table.
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Dates for summer migrants
Every spring and summer migrant birds return to Britain to breed, having made the long and perilous journey from their winter quarters in Africa. These annual movements are part of the deep rhythms of the natural world and from time immemorial they have served humankind as markers of the year’s seasons.
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Cuckoo
24 Apr 2015
At 8pm I heard my first cuckoo calling in the meadows west of Shingle Street. The wind had changed today and it felt much warmer. More swallows. Heard a lesser whitethroat in the gorse bushes
Celia
Stone curlew
27 April 2015
Peter Kennerley reported to me a most unusual observation this morning: a stone curlew that flew up from the concrete track south of the Martello and seemed to land on the shingle bank somewhere. This was clearly a bird of passage, but to where? They do nest in Breckland on sandy heaths there and I've sometimes wondered whether they might do so on Hollesley Heath one day ... I am green with envy to have missed this spectacular bird, having left SS just yesterday!
Jeremy
Otter day
25 Apr 2015
A few more migrants including wheatears (you can tell them by their white rumps – the bird's name is derived from Old English meaning 'white-arse'). But by far the highlight today was seeing two otters in broad daylight, one of which was just snuffling along through the reeds between the twin banks a few yards away from me. Magic.
Jeremy
News today
24 Apr 2015
New birds in today included lesser whitethroat and yellow wagtail. We also had another survey training session – on reptiles and amphibians – and we did discover one lizard!
jeremy
Groppers
23 Apr 2015
Chilly first thing with a persistent NE wind depressing bird song, but there are now two grasshopper warblers singing near the Sluice, so a second one must have come in overnight. Later in the day it warmed up and several swallows were swooping around and singing over the line of houses.
Jeremy
First cuckoo
22 April 2015
Bang on cue, the first cuckoo early this morning. Their arrival is beautifully coordinated to get here just after the reed warblers they parasitise (and they came yesterday!). Soon you'll be hearing them later in the day too. Several cetti's warblers singing too. A good place to hear those is near the Sluice and it's an unmistakably loud and explosive song, 'Tea, will you get the tea, will you get the tea', which reminds me it's time for breakfast ...
Jeremy
Dawn
21 Apr 2015
A very early morning start paid off with lots of singing sedge warblers at the Sluice and a grasshopper warbler reeling away nearby. The latter very interesting since they are quite rare but I have heard them here before and it may possibly stay to breed. I also saw a fine male ring ouzel perched up on a bush (this is the species that brought crowds here last week, but I had this one to myself) – this bird will be heading north to the Pennines or Scotland.
Jeremy
Warblers
20 Apr 2015
Yes, sedge and reed warblers in today, as predicted (nature is so punctual!). Also a buzzard overhead near the Sluice and a water rail squealing in the ditch there – these visit in winter and are very hard ever to see but I'd be surprised if they ever breed here, though you never know.
Jeremy
