Grafham Water - 27 April 2013

A cold northerly wind with prolonged squalls this morning some with hail but also some very bright sunny spells when oddly the air temperature was still low enough for breath to condense. 

A watch from 07.30 - 12.30 covering the shore from Marlow to Savages Creek and west from the Yacht club with a brief visit to the Dam. 

The squalls had grounded some migrants; c 30 Yellow Wagtails and 2 Wheatears were in fields above Sanctuary Bay with 21 Yellow Wagtails elsewhere and 3 Wheatears west of Mander; c 650 Swallows, 200+ House Martins and c. 80 Sand Martins were feeding and resting in the same area during the heaviest of the morning rain after which they left quickly to the east; a total of 4 Whinchats were new in and 8 Lesser Whitethroats were counted. 

1 Arctic Tern was in Sanctuary Bay during one of the squalls and there were c 15 Common Terns around; 4 Common Sandpipers were east of Hill Farm; Whimbrel were moving through with 13 in total (11, 1, 1) flying north through the squalls; 3 Bar-tailed Godwits also flew through north. 

 Hirundines resting during a squall