Hilbre's magic spring continues.

With winds continuing from the SE we've still been getting good numbers of migrants turning up on Hilbre. It's been a really good spring so far and we are making the most of it! Blackcaps have been turning up in good numbers and there's been a steady trickle of Willow Warblers. We've caught several Whitethroats which are always nice to see - including this 2nd calendar year male (Euring age 5) below.

This one was aged as a 2nd calendar year male.

Star bird recently has been a male Whinchat that turned up early one afternoon and was feeding along  a fence line before eventually entering one of the heligoland traps. What a gorgeous little thing!

It was nice to see this bird in the hand as Whinchat is another of those species where populations have severely declined in the UK due to habitat loss. A summer visitor to these shores they are sub-saharan migrants and reseach is taking place in their wintering grounds to determine how habitat changes in these areas are affecting populations.