Summer migrants Already!!!

There have already been a few early returning summer migrants in Britain over the past week.

• 2 garganeys- Bucks on the 21/2/14
• 3 Sand martins- Southern Ireland on the 22/2/14
• 1 swallow- Somerset on the 23/2/14
• 3 sand martins- Dorset on the 25/2/14
• 1 Osprey- Probable individual over Northumbaland on the 25/2/14
• 1 sand martin in Devon on the 28/2/14

Overwintering birds or other recent birds

• A hoopoe has been sighted for a week in Ireland
• A whitethroat in Cambridgeshire sighted on the 28/2/14 and the past few days
• Siberian lesser whitethroat overwintered in Tynemouth (proved by DNA)
• Other unknown species of lesser whitethroats overwintering
• An overwintering swallow has been in the E sussex area for most of the winter
• A willow warbler was also in East Sussex sighted occasionally.

The BIG question is, When will we get our first Wheatear?
They usually, along with sand martins, arrive in the first few weeks of March so it shouldn't be too long before they arrive.