I began my day by looking on the sheep fields to the north of Messingham Sand Quarries nature reserve and the new workings nearby.
It was apparent as i got out of the car how cold it actually was,reading 4 degrees C on the car temperature gauge and evidence of a ground frost...typical spring weather i thought.
As i walked,the first migrants were heard in song and consisted of that repetitive song of Chiffchaff,the lovely fluty sound of a male Blackcap and the best of all, the gorgeous,sweet song of Willow Warblers.
The sheep fields were again,as on my last visit,alive with activity from the breeding waders,with singing and displaying Redshanks,Lapwings and Snipe.I searched intently trying to find a Wheatear or a Ring Ouzel on the short cropped grassy areas,but nothing apart from the locals.
On the 'New Workings' a single Ringed Plover,2 Pied Wagtail and a small flock of 4 Sand Martins fed in the dull morning light and i retraced my footsteps back to the car.
The short journey over to the reserve was soon completed and by this time it was wall to wall sunshine.
Close to the car park my first Sedge Warbler of the year was belting out his song and putting on a great display,with a 2nd close by which was more subdued.A quick look in the plantation as i waited for Dave to arrive,saw a nice surprise in the form of a pair of Brambling,with the male singing briefly as well,a nice addition to the days sightings.Also here was a single male Siskin singing his scratchy,wheezy song.
After i met up with Photographer buddies Matt Latham and Mark Johnson i wandered back to the car park and just as we were chatting,a cracking male Ring Ouzel just happened to hop into view,what a bonus!.I managed to get some record shots through the fence before he flew into a nearby Elder.This apparently,as i discovered later,is the first record of this species for the reserve,so a double whammy.This bird is no doubt part of the nationwide influx of this species,as birds are being deflected across the north sea with the easterly wind as they make their long journey from the wintering grounds in Africa.
I said my goodbyes to Matt and Mark as Dave and myself had a look at the Rouzel again before continuing our visit to this gem of a reserve.
Another 'First' for the year was added just past the first dipping platform,as last year,a singing male Reed Warbler in exactly the same spot,it would be amazing if it was the same bird.Further on and past the first bench another singing male Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler were both added to the notebook.
There were some nice sheltered,warm spots around the reserve today out of the North Easterly wind and a good selection of Diptera were seen,in particular Syrphidae.With Eristalis Pertinax,Eristalis tenax and the Bumble-Bee mimic Eristalis intricarius being seen along with Tachinid flies Gymnochaeta viridis and Tachina ursina.
Lepidoptera were at last putting in a decent appearance with my 'First' Brimstone(1 male),Green-veined White(1) and Speckled Woods(2) of the year,with other species consisting of Peacock(8) and Comma(2).
Back to the birds and another new species for the year in the form of two Common Tern watched chasing and displaying over their breeding site on Grebe lake.This species are always a joy to watch and are superb parents chasing every bird and animal in sight away from the breeding raft including Mute Swans,Otters and myself.
More of the same was observed around the remainder of the reserve,with some lovely areas of Marsh Marigold adding some welcome colour to the marshy areas and the Willows are now covered in flowers,a great sight to see.
So what a brilliant visit to this superb little reserve again and i travelled the short journey home feeling accomplished after another notebook full of useful records.
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| Singing male Sedge Warbler. |
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| Singing male Sedge Warbler. |
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| Male Ring Ouzel. |
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| Male Ring Ouzel. |
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| Peacock Butterfly. |
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