Marvelous May

Nipped out for a couple of hours walking around Gröthögarna this sunny morning. Whitethroats have arrived in force now, many males singing on the walk round. A light passage of tree pipits and barnacle geese was evident overhead. A singing thrush nightingale was a pleasant year-tick and out on the marsh a pair of cranes were bugling. Stopping for half an hour at Norra Ängalag produced a few waders - whimbrel (1), common sandpiper (1), green sandpiper (2N), greenshank (2) and turnstone (1). In a nearby bush my first BK sedge warbler of the year chattered away. Walking back to the car I muttered to myself that I had deserved an ortolan or a wryneck, when I looked up to see a wryneck perched up on a juniper! Nice one.

In the afternoon Mrs B and I headed out to check Ranarpsstrand. It looked quiet but a thorough check of the offshore rocks produced some great birds. The stars were a superb pair of garganey, only my second BK record (the first also at Ranarpsstrand). A single avocet flew in and started to feed - another BK year-tick. Also here gadwall (2), shoveler (3), whimbrel (6), common sandpiper (1) and yellow wagtail (9). Driving round Stora Hult we stopped to admire a migrating osprey at Lervik. Stora Hult was quiet, a few red-necked grebes offshore and a gang of 12 sand martins. No rotting seaweed on the beach so we walk south off-patch to Vejbystrand and check the beach there. More weed means more birds - two avocets, two common sandpipers and six more yellow wagtails.