The flooded Anderby Marsh has continued to draw in lots of wading birds (17 wader species) and wildfowl during March. This time last year the marsh rarely attracted more than five species of wader. Peak counts over the month were 4 shelduck, 86 gadwall, 189 teal, 453 wigeon, three pintail, five shoveler, 300 golden plover, grey plover, little ringed plover (22^nd), two avocet (21^st), 16 redshank, spotted redshank, 216 lapwing, 200+ dunlin, two oystercatcher, ringed plover, nine sanderling, ruff, 84 black-tailed godwit, two bar-tailed godwit, seven snipe, 65 curlew, two knot, Mediterranean gull, yellow-legged gull, four little egret, water pipit and a grey wagtail. Now that the marsh is increasing in depth as well as extent the first diving ducks are being recorded with a pair of pochard and up to four tufted duck present. It is estimated that the deepest area of the marsh is now over two foot deep!

Goosanders remained on Chapel Pit all month with numbers varying on a daily basis from 2-5 including a nice male for a couple of days. A first-winter kittiwake was an unexpected sighting here on the 21^st March.

On the National Trust’s Sandilands Nature Reserve were again daily sightings of short-eared owl and also a water pipit overhead on the 3^rd. The first signs of spring were evident mid-month with a plethora of bird sound from the skylarks and meadow pipits.

Cetti’s warbler and marsh harrier are now back on territory with a total of 12 and three pairs respectively.

The male marsh harrier south of Anderby Creek really is a stunning bird and can be mistaken for a hen harrier at a quick glance. It is thought to be a mature bird appearing almost silver in flight.  

Four bearded tits were seen well at Huttoft Pit on the 8^th. It is encouraging that these birds continue their residency since first arriving in October. Hopefully they will remain to breed in the area following lots of reedbed management in recent years.  

A good spell of south-westerly winds on the 10^th produced the first visible migration session of the spring and featured 345 chaffinch, a single brambling, 56 siskin and a woodlark. These big movements of chaffinches have become a regular feature of early spring in recent years. They are thought to be of Scandinavian/northern European origin, following the line of the east coast to Kent for the shorter sea crossing on their return migration, avoiding the long arduous flight across the North Sea. Consultation with fellow migration enthusiasts on the south coast have confirmed this with sightings of many thousands of birds making the sea crossing in Kent.  

March was an excellent month for red kite migration over the Lincolnshire Coastal Country Park with 11 birds noted (one on 10^th, six on 14^th, one on 21^st, two on 25^th and one on 28^th). Red kites seen on the east coast in spring are thought to be of northern and eastern European origin, having spent the winter in the UK, they will be departing back to breeding grounds on the continent. They could potentially be following in the same flight path of the chaffinches for that shorter sea crossing.

Unusual species during the month included three garganey on the Anderby Marsh on 16^th with another pair on the 31^st, a great white egret south over Anderby Creek on 25^th, a first-summer Iceland gull south over Wolla Bank on 29^th and a firecrest also at Wolla Bank on 22^nd.

Non-avian highlights

Two bottlenose dolphins were seen heading north at Chapel Observatory on 1^st March. Sightings of these marine mammals are becoming more frequent in recent years especially in East Yorkshire. They may start to be annual visitors to Lincolnshire this is now the second consecutive year they have been recorded. 

The first grass snake of the year was recorded swimming along Huttoft Pit on 18^th March. A ‘ball’ of several grass snakes were also recorded at Chapel Pit on 20^th March.    

The first butterflies of the year were recorded in the middle of the month with red admiral at Huttoft Pit, small tortoiseshell and peacock at Chapel Six Marshes.

Toads and frogs were evident during the month. Numerous toads were heard croaking from a number of locations throughout.

Top five species - April

1. Cuckoo – the first birds usually appear back in the area in late April. Anderby Creek is an excellent area to hear/see them, especially around the Round House tower.
2. Sedge warbler – one of the most numerous birds present during the summer months, you will undoubtedly hear their warblers notes form the reedbed areas throughout, having spent the winter in sub-Saharan Africa they return to the UK in mid-April.
3. Harbour porpoise – look out for these cetaceans from any area of sea on calm days. They often appear for only a fraction of a second but tend to surface numerous times in quick succession.
4. Spring beauty – these spring flowers can be seen carpeting the dunes along the coastal footpath. They are most prolific between Wolla Bank and Anderby Creek.
5. Short-eared owl – spend an evening at Huttoft Car Terrace and look out over the Sandilands Nature Reserve for hunting birds. The rough grassland hear is also good for Barn Owls.