APRIL and late March proved to be an outstanding period for local birdwatchers, with a number of excellent sightings.

Drinkfield Marsh, a small nature reserve in Darlington, was an amazing magnet, attracting a pair of Penduline tits from southern Europe, the first local record of this species, followed later in the month by an equally rare Arctic redpoll from northern Scandinavia. Both birds attracted good numbers of birdwatchers.

To add to the growing list of new species for the area, a possible Dartford warbler was reported in a garden near Northallerton.

Nosterfield, the premier local bird reserve, did its best to fight back, with a black kite reported flying north near here on 30th. This followed two possible sightings of, presumably, the same bird earlier in the month. This striking bird of prey has been seen on only one previous occasion in this area, near Kepwick in 1975; this was the first record for Yorkshire. The species is spreading north through Europe, so the number of spring sightings of birds overshooting to Britain has increased in recent years, but they remain very rare this far north.

Other bird of prey sightings of note included ospreys at Nosterfield and Great Langton, at least two different red kites in the area, a marsh harrier in Colsterdale, merlins at a number of nonbreeding sites and most intriguing, an unidentified all-dark falcon seen briefly in flight near Warlaby.

Commoner migrants were also on the move, with late March seeing the early arrival of some visitors, including widespread swallows by the month end, but the cold weather in early April slowed migration significantly. It was not until the warmer weather around Easter that we saw a notable influx of migrants, but most of the expected species had arrived by the month end, including the first house martin at Thornton le Street on the 14th and swift at Richmond on the 22nd.

The only reports of cuckoo I have received so far are a bird at Morton on Swale on the late date of the 27th and one near Colsterdale the following day. Wagtails and pipits were also on the move, with up to six white wagtails seen at Nosterfield and Bolton-on-Swale and blue-headed wagtails at Nosterfield and Ainderby Steeple.

For the fourth April in succession, there was an arrival of rock pipits at Nosterfield, with up to seven birds reported, and this flock included two water pipits. This species had never been recorded in the area up to 2004, but now appears to be a regular spring migrant through the area.

What has also become a feature of April birdwatching is a strong passage of black-tailed godwits. The highest numbers were at Nosterfield, with a maximum count of 42, but birds were seen at a number of other waters, including 15 at Bolton-on-Swale. Other wader records included up to six greenshank, a whimbrel, two knot and a bar-tailed godwit.

Other sightings of note included a pair of garganey, two different Iceland gulls, at least three little gulls, an Arctic tern and a common scoter at Nosterfield, a flock of 50 crossbills near Over Silton and a black-necked grebe at Ainderby Steeple.

Finally, one piece of early May news, at the time of writing, a superb summer-plumaged longbilled dowitcher, a very rare visitor from North America, has been found on quarry workings near Nosterfield.