Cloak and Dagger

I really wanted to get to 100 species before the end of March so today I biked to a top secret location known to rather a lot of people, but which must, nonetheless, remain under wraps. There I was fortunate enough to add two species.

100 Little Ringed Plover
101 Peregrine

Swallow

Today started off very well with a Chiffchaff singing in the garden, first this year. Cycled into work via Orton Brick Pit and the Little Owl was showing well at Haddon. Failed to find the Glaucous Gull at Tanholt at lunchtime. Then loads of good birds at Ferry Meadows on the way home including about 100 Sand Martin and my first Swallow of the year. Little bonuses like Kingfisher and Snipe here resulted in my highest green day total this year - 65 species to show for about 50km riding today.

99 Swallow

Mandarin

Putting in loads of bike miles at the moment but the next tick came from the comfort of the bedroom. This morning a pair of Mandarin flew south along the river then turned back towards Nassington. Just before that two Ruddy Shelduck flew south as well. These were also seen at Ferry Meadows today and ended up on the Nene Washes by the end of the day. They aren't on the British list as yet, although if you ask me they are most likely to come from the large Dutch population so there must be a chance they will be on Category C5 before long.

98 Mandarin

Jay

It's quite possible I've overlooked Jay up to now, especially having spent a few mornings in Old Sulehay searching unsuccessfully for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. I don't remember coming across one before now in any case so the one by the river in Bluebell Wood this morning was good. There were also 3 Kingfishers noisily chasing each other around here for ages and a male Goldeneye on the river.

97 Jay

Sand Martin

A good selection of birds on the way into work this morning including 7 Sand Martins on Overton Lake, a few Siskins scattered about, Redpolls again near Orton Mere and at least 4 Chiffchaffs singing in various places. 47 species seen on the way in.

96 Sand Martin

Redpolls

A bumper haul this morning. I was a bit late leaving home so I decided to take the direct route via Ferry Meadows. A good decision and I ended up seeing 50 species on the way to work including a Water Rail calling on the reserve as well as the year ticks mentioned here.

The Redpoll flock was along the cycleway at Orton Water between the golf course and the railway. Several of the Lesser Redpolls were singing but the first bird I saw well was a female Mealy Redpoll feeding in a larch right by the track. Quite a pale bird with white, lightly streaked undertail coverts and whitish tramlines leading to a pale rump.

A Chiffchaff singing here was the second of the morning after another at Heron Meadow.

93 Chiffchaff
94 Lesser Redpoll
95 Mealy Redpoll

The addition of things like a Little Egret roosting on the island at Orton BP on the way home brought the day's total to 60 species just cycling to and from work.

Ringed Plover

Cycled in via Orton BP (which is due to produce a good bird any time now) and Crown Lakes. A vast levelled area between Crown Lakes and the Beebys Brick Pits is littlered with flooded pools and will certainly be worth checking once migration is under way. I'll make do with the Ringed Plover that was on there this morning.

The Little Owl was again on his favourite willow along the Billing Brook near Haddon this morning.

92. Ringed Plover

Cycled home via the gull roost at CEGB but failed to find anything other than the five common species. However birds seen on the way home did contribute towards a pretty large day list of 62 species - only one less than the day I biked out to the Nene Washes. It will be interesting to see what a full day on the bike could produce in May.