There was little doubt about April’s bird of the month, a ring-billed gull which dropped in briefly at Scorton Quarry. This rare American bird looks rather like a small herring gull but with a prominent dark band across its beak. This species had never been seen in Britain before the 1970s but there then followed a sharp rise in sightings. However, it has become rather scarcer again in recent years and it remains a genuinely rare bird in Yorkshire.

This was the first local record but unfortunately, it only hung around for a bare quarter of an hour and only two lucky observers saw it.

One or two other gull records also helped to enliven a rather poor April.

Most interesting of these was a glaucous gull seen at Scorton Quarry. This bird was carrying a ring designed to be read by a birdwatcher with a telescope, in this case “T:193”. A quick check on the internet showed this bird had been originally fitted with the ring near Peterhead in Scotland. It had then gone on its travels reaching as far south as Nottinghamshire before heading back to this part of Yorkshire, where it has been seen at Nosterfield as well as Scorton.

Other gulls sightings of note included Mediterranean gulls at Newsham and Nosterfield and both Iceland and little gulls at Lingham.

The strange spring continued with a cold and wet April significantly impacting on migration. At the time of writing, very few migrants had made it through with none of my village’s breeding swallows back on site. I hadn’t received one report of whitethroat or cuckoo by month end (other than theone calling in Barker’s toilets) and most other migrants were in distinctly short supply. And yet despite this, the first swifts were earlier than usual. with five birds in Croft and a dozen in Scorton on the 26th. Were these birds able to fly “over” the bad weather further south?

It wasn’t until the last day of the month that there was a really marked influx of migrants, with swallows in particular moving north-west in good numbers.

Wader migration was also hit with relatively few common waders passing through the local sites.

However, one species did occur in unprecedented numbers, the black-tailed godwit. The birds that pass through this area in spring are of the Icelandic race and numbers vary each year but this April saw some impressive figures with a stunning count of 234 birds at Nosterfield, the largest flock ever seen in the area. A further 142 were at Newsham ponds and 94 at Scorton.

Three sanderling were also seen at Scorton and there were green sandpipers at Newsham, Bolton on Swale and Ainderby Steeple.

Avocets continue to consolidate their position as breeding birds and there were sightings at four local waters. Among the four birds seen at Newsham ponds was one carrying a series of coloured rings. From the combination, it is likely this is a bird ringed in Norfolk between 1990 and 1993. If confirmed, this would make it the oldest avocet ever recorded.

Other sightings of note included hobbies at Nosterfield and near South Kilvington, a great grey shrike, which has returned to the Catterick Camp area, red kites near Masham and at redmire and the long-staying smew at Scorton Quarry.

Looking ahead to May, particularly after this strange migrant-free April, it could be very interesting as Northern breeding birds rush in to make up time.

Often one of the best months for rare birds I’d recommend checking the lovely shallow lake at Pepper Arden for a scarce tern or the ever reliable Nosterfield for a rare wader.

Bolton on Swale lakes, which had an enviable record for scarce sightings, receives much less coverage these days but would undoubtedly repay more regular watching and how about taking a quick look at Thornton Steward reservoir?

This site can be a little bleak but it has turned up some good birds over the years and is rarely, if ever, visited by local birdwatchers.

As always I’d love to receive your sightings of interesting birds at nick.morgan1@virgin.net.