The westerly winds from the last few days have been pushed away by approaching high pressure over the atlantic to the south-west. Northerly winds are mediocre for my patch but not so for the south coast, so the 29th March should have been productive. On my arrival back home from Birmingham last night I logged onto the Portland website to see what was recorded and sure enough a reasonable haul of birds were seen including 200 swallow and 60 wheatear. Steve Waite kindly emailed me with news from the River Axe in Devon. Evidence of cross channel migration was apparent here too with Swallows in and their first Sandwich Tern. For Weston, migrants are dispersed by the time they reach the Bristol Channel so only a Wheatear and 3 Chiffchaffs were found at Brean down on 29th and completely typical. I'll be watching the forecast closely as wednesday/thursday look good for an influx.

Settled weather over britain eventually gave way to a low that came in from the north west. It's arrival was signified by increasing winds and some cloud and rain that became thinner the further south it got. Typically, new arrivals from the continent although reduced already have ground to a near halt. It was however the strong wind gave an opportunity to see what was passing through out to sea. A sea watch from Anchor Head, Weston produced a few Kittiwakes and Fulmars. The best arrival was a couple of Little Gulls at Weston sewage works. Chew Valley Lake and Cheddar Reservoirs also recorded Little Gulls.

I can't see any fall conditions in the next few days so it's a time for waiting now. The low with us currently looks set to be replaced by another bringing more unsettled weather and winds with a north to north-west bias. I'll be keeping a closer eye on the forecast this time so as not to miss the next influx...

The flood gates have been open for four days now and as expected the arrivals are still coming but thinned out. The first Cuckoo recorded in Kent today. Garganey, Wheatear, Ring Ouzel, Sand Martin, Little-ringed Plover have been widely reported along with small numbers of Swallows in the last two weeks. 3 Hoopoes have turned up all on the west side: 2 wales, 1 Ireland. Yesterday saw a few Whooper Swans on the move of which 3 adults hung around my local patch at Weston sewage works. 11 sand martins dropped in but were only present for 20 minutes before heading off north. Favourable winds and clear skies are typical for short stayers where your patch can change every half an hour with new birds.

After 11th March, high pressure building over northern europe eventually moved north towards southern britain. As it continued north to the north sea an easterly air flow was created providing classic fall conditions on 17th. Unfortunately I missed the change in forecast and didn't get out to reap the benefits. Realising afterwards, a heavy work load prevented me from slipping out to check my local patch. The easterlies continued into the following day but the movements didn't appear as productive by 9:00am when it was time to go to work. Conditions looked good with low cloud rolling in over night bringing reduced visibility. Only Crossbill, Wheatear, Chiffchaff, 6 Siskin, 100 Meadow Pipit and 50 Linnet were recorded as migrants on Brean Down. At weston sewage works Tufted Duck numbers have nearly trebled with 27 birds present.

The westerly winds have stemmed the flow of migrants into the country slowing things down a little. The forecast is for another low pressure to hit bringing fronts from a more southerly direction on saturday. This could bring some more birds in. I'll be checking the metcheck website for corrections tomorrow when a more accurate forecast comes out. On my local patch, gulls have been on the move. Tthree Iceland Gulls have been found amongst the movers in avon and somerset. Duck numbers have been quickly changing too with short staying arrivals in the week of Tufted Ducks and Pochards. Siskins have also been on the move lately with birds cropping up throughout the county at feeders along with small parties moving along the coast.

Things are starting to get underway now with multiple sightings of Sand Martin and Wheatear along the south coast. Things kicked off with two sand martins in sussex on friday 27th and House Martin spent its second day in northamptonshire. From there, more sand martins cropped up in kent, gloucestershire and the isles of scilly on 28th. 1st march brought 3+ wheatear on portland with singles in at least two other southern counties. Light winds, warm weather and partly cloudy through most of england and wales seemed to have done the trick. The Herring and Lesser black-back Gull movement seems to be taking off but common passerines in general are still not that noticeable with only Stonechat and a few Meadow Pipits on the move. Unsettled conditions coming off the atlantic will put any more new arrivals on hold for a few days as strong westerly winds and rain come in from the north west.