Old Moor Sofa

An update on the number of species recorded in the Old Moor area this year, at the end of February the total was 113.

A further 11 species were added in March as follows - Knot on 3rd (114), Water Pipit on 3rd (115), Sandwich Tern on 10th (116), Sand Martin on 13th (117), Bar Tailed Godwit on 18th (118), Wheatear on 18th (119), Kittiwake on 23rd (120), Common Scoter on 26th (121), Black Tailed Godwit on 26th (122), Yellow Legged Gull on 29th (123) and finally Osprey on 31st (124).

At the end of March 2015 the total was 112 and at the end of March 2016 the total was 122 therefore a lot better than 2015 but very similar to 2016.

A further eight species were seen up to the end of March in those two years but not seen this year - Red Necked Grebe, Black Necked Grebe, Egyptian Goose, Mandarin, Red Crested Pochard, Caspian Gull, Rock Pipit and Blackcap.

After the better than average February, March was more like "back to normal" but the Firecrest stayed with us until the 16th and the Yellow Browed and Hawfinch were last seen on the 21st. The biggest surprise of the Month was the Sandwich Tern at Broomhill on the 10th being the earliest ever seen in South Yorkshire. Again the weather at the end of the month certainly held up our summer visitors with very few migrants about and no records of Little Ringed Plover, Willow Warbler, Swallow or House Martin. As with last month and now even a bigger surprise still no Blackcap sightings this year!

For comparison some other inland sites totals are as follows:- Swillington Ings, West Yorkshire (127), Upton Warren, Worcestershire (100) and Potteric Carr, South Yorkshire (111).