Bird
Notes columnist Julian Hughes of RSPB Cymru reveals what birds have been
spotted in the past week and lists 13 upcoming wildlife events
23:16, 18
FEB 2019
This
week’s plume of warm air, originating in the Sahara Desert, looks set to bring
early migrant birds to Wales.
A Swallow
feeding last Friday over gardens in Morfa Bychan, near Porthmadog ,
was exceptionally early, almost a month earlier than the first records in 2018,
when arrival was delayed by bad weather in Spain and the “Beast from the East”.
Further
Swallows were spotted across the UK over the weekend.
Friday’s
Swallow was followed by the first Sand Martin in North Wales on Saturday
at Morfa
Nefyn , joint earliest in Britain this year, along with one at New
Brighton in north Wirral.
Sand
Martins are usually mid-March arrivals, while House Martins typically get to
North Wales in the first days of April, but I wouldn’t be surprised if one is
reported here this week; several House Martins were seen in southern England
over the weekend, with two making it as far as northern Scotland.
These
early arrivals will need to track down early-emerging flying insects, so the
best place to look is over freshwater pools where non-biting midges hatch from
the water.
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