3rd April 2009

Cycled to the lakes during the afternoon, but 2 Greylag Geese, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldcrest and 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, as well as a Peacock butterfly (my first for the year), all at Terry's Pool were the only notable sightings.
Jonathan Yardley visited Earlswood during the evening and saw a Swallow on wire by The Lakes train station, 1 Willow Warbler and 2 Chiffchaffs around Terry's Pool together with 2 Nuthatches; and also had a really close view of a Grass Snake swimming.
The Willow Warbler seems to be the first for Earlswood this year, and it's interesting that the arrival date last year was exactly the same as this year. The Grass Snake sighting appears to be very unusual, as it's currently the only definite record of a reptile at Earlswood that I've come across (though I seem to remember being shown a snake skin that had been found there during the early 1990s when I was an infant).
I wouldn't like to say what the next migrant bird species will most likely be. As I more-or-less said earlier, Osprey is possible. White Wagtail have also occurred on a number of occasions in recent years, mainly in April, the most recent being 08/04/2008. A Sedge Warbler was reported at nearby Cheswick Green last month on the 29th, but this species isn't often reported at Earlswood. Otherwise, two species that are very likely to occur at the lakes within the next few weeks are Common Tern and Common Sandpiper.
M.P. Griffiths