Recently we received a report of one of our #LDV colour-ringed Whimbrel in Senegal - photographed there (image below) on the 4th February – this individual (white ‘28’), was originally ringed at the Wheldrake Ings roost last year on the 2nd May. This is our fourth Whimbrel to Senegal, with two to Mauritania, two to Guinea Bissau & one to Guinea. We’ve also had two on breeding grounds in Iceland & one breeding in Sweden, with passage birds seen in France & Spain.
Since receiving the record above, and our Whimbrel returning on spring passage, we are delighted to say that ‘white 28’ is now back on the reserve – great to know it has completed the first section of its journey before continuing on to Iceland.
Each year during mid-April, we look forward to the arrival of Whimbrel at the nationally important spring passage site at Wheldrake Ings – these birds use the reserve for a few weeks as a place to rest and feed during migration to their breeding grounds in Iceland, Sweden and Finland. Numbers often peak around 100+ at the end of April and the first few days in May, with the peak count occurring around the 1st/2nd May each year, with numbers quickly tailing off thereafter. We have been busy radio-tracking a recently tagged individual, with details of its movements to follow.
