The last two snipe of the winter were recorded on April 7th. Chiffchaffs and blackcaps have now been joined by whitethroats from their African winter quarters, and a willow warbler was singing close to the Marshes on April 17th. Swallows and cuckoos are trickling into the county but are yet to reach Hambrook.
A pair of great crested grebes (below) were on Tonford Lake on April 7th, and three weeks later one bird was still on view, raising hopes that its mate could be sitting on a nest out of sight. On April 28th 45 starlings were feeding in Tonford Field, a sure sign that their eggs have hatched, and that they now have a demanding family to cater for.
A distant parakeet was heard on the far side of the river on April 7th, so perhaps the bird that haunted the Marshes for several months is still in the area. On three days this month a greenfinch was heard at the edge of the Marshes; having suffered a serious decline over the past 17 years, caused by the protozoan disease, trichomonosis, there are now faint signs of a recovery.
