Was at Fowlmere for 5am with Tom and Sam to help with the Wildlife Explorers Dawn Chorus event. Unfortunately a cold wind and heavy rain made it difficult, but I at least recorded the following, with at least one of the children getting views of most of it:
Cetti’s Warbler – heard only.
Nightingale
Fox – one cub.
Turtle Dove
Grasshopper Warbler – heard only.
I then went to Amwell on my own and in torrential conditions, just about saw a Skua. It was claimed as a Pomeraine but unfortunately, the views I had were inconclusive and I considered it to be a probable Arctic Skua. However, it was later seen further down the Lea Valley at KGV, were bizarrely it came out as a Pom, but was later changed to an Arctic!
Edit (03/05'/2010) : Sent in reply to query from Lee Evans:
“I'd be very surprised if it wasn't the same bird, particularly as I wasn't convinced it was a Pom' anyway! I only picked it up at the far end of Amwell and it was continually going away from me. Conditions were appalling and I wasted valuable seconds trying to get my 'scope on to it which turned out to be useless anyway as it was steamed up. However it did turn slightly when past the far island and it didn't appear to have the bulkiness or the heavy chest of Pom', and also appeared long winged. I couldn't do better than put it down as a Skua sp., probably Arctic, but I was told it was a Pom'. Given the views, I wasn't in a position to disagree.
I later met Bill Last and told him about the Skua, and that it was apparently a Pom', but said I didn't see it well enough to claim it and had a slight doubt about the identity. Later Mick Illet (I think) phoned Bill to say there was a Pom' on KGV and so we assumed it to be the same bird. He later called me to say the Pom' was actually an Arctic.
As I say, I couldn't do any better than Skua sp, probably Arctic, and if it had indeed been a Pom', certainly could not have 'ticked' it on the views I had. As you say, two birds in the Lee Valley in May would be an amazing coincidence.”
Also seen at Amwell:
Common Tern x 10
Garden Warbler
Redshank x 2
Hobby x 3
Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Common Sandpiper
Yellow Wagtail
Linnet x 4
Cetti’s Warbler x 2 (heard only.)
Finally I had an evening walk around Shepreth L-moor where two Grey Partridges were recorded.
