It’s that time of year when we can pass from the depths of winter to mild spring weather in the space of a few hours. A wintry look was provided by the splashy fields hosting up to 58 black-headed gulls and 22 mallard, though the gulls’ darkening hoods signalled which season we are heading towards.
Other signs of longer days and a strengthening sun were the presence of a chiffchaff on the embankment on February 21st and perhaps the same bird singing there on the 28th, while a great spotted woodpecker has been drumming in that area for the past couple of weeks.
This is also the time of year when snipe numbers decrease, as the birds head back to breeding areas in the UK or abroad; numbers have slipped back from 21 on February 12th to 13 on the 28th.
The parakeet has definitely abandoned the embankment, but a sparrowhawk put in one of its rare appearances. Our other main raptor, the kestrel, has been a regular visitor for the past four months, encouraging us to look into the logistics of installing a nestbox on a pole in a quiet part of the Marshes.
Two birds of note were both seen on February 7th, a stonechat (left) and a water rail. From 2013 to 2018 one or more stonechats were a fairly regular feature of the winter months, but this was only the third record in the past three years. Despite its small size, its habit of perching atop dead stems of dock, teasel and other plants that are just a few feet tall makes it relatively conspicuous.
The water rail was spotted briefly, as it scuttled along the Whitehall stream; this is the rather small flow, not much more than a ditch really, that is crossed by a short bridge on the riverside path between the embankment and the footbridge to the park and ride. Secretive doesn’t really begin to describe this bird, which is far more often heard squealing than actually seen. Belonging to the same family as the moorhen, which it resembles in general shape, it spends its life amongst rank vegetation in damp areas, and our records are sufficiently sparse for it to be unclear whether this reclusive bird is resident, a winter visitor, or little more than a vagrant.