I really expected today to be a day when something good would turn up: wind from the south east should be very productive at this time of the year. As usual my expectations were not met but there were enough new birds to keep me going and I have even greater expectations for tomorrow.
I visited Årnestangen and Nodre Øyeren. The ice has completely melted now and the water level is extremely low. I have never seen the water this low and there are huge areas of mud exposed which are starting to attract waders. Hopefully the water level will remain low through May although it would be nice if it rose a bit such that the birds are not so distant.
There are still large numbers of Teal - I had 1800 in total with 13 Pintail and a few Wigeon amongst them. Waders were not in large numbers but there was some variety: Wood and Common Sandpiper and Ringed and Little Ringed Plover were new for the year as was Willow Warbler. I've still not seen any Swallows but they will surely turn up in the coming days.