Yes, after a weeks searching first Willow Warbler on the Carr this morning but singing 100 yards away in the wood in grey, bleak, windy conditions so no great joy of spring was engendered. I had to search through my archives to find an image of said species with hedgerow in the state of bloom that it is currently so possibly goes some way to explaining the late arrival. Normally I get a WW on the day or day after they start being reported in the county but JPD at Swallow Pond had one on the 8th and has had multiple counts since.
This prompted me to update my arrival date spreadsheet with Birds in Northumberland 2012 records, a year on which arrival of the early species was also delayed by weather conditions with Sand Martin, Swallow, Wheatear, Wood Warbler and Willow Warbler all arriving on the latest date recorded since the records started in 1994. Willow Warbler generally arrives in the first week of April with five years having birds in March the earliest being 25th in 1999. 11th April 2012 was the latest so we were getting close this year.
Watch out in Northumberland this week as the rush could start which is highly likely as I'm snowed under with work and unable to get out as much as I want! PC list ticking along at 82 to date with Sheldduck and Feral Pigeon along with WW added today.
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