Saturday 4th May 2024

Almost the polar opposite to yesterdays weather, the warm and sunny morning was quite conducive for watching migrants it seems. The first garden warbler of the year was recorded, at least 10 willow warblers were onsite, with a singing chiffchaff and the first singing blackcap for a few days and still more lesser whitethroats trickling through. Wheatear numbers were up again, to 8 birds at least, and we had a redpoll species fly south and a greenfinch treat us with a bit of song early morning. It's quite sobering that at a site that used to ring 2000 greenfinch a year, it's now a pleasant surprise to have a single bird singing.

V-Pug has two generations per year with the first being much smaller than the later emergence.

Birds Ringed: Blackbird 2, Blackcap 2, Chiffchaff 1, Garden Warbler 1, Lesser Whitethroat 2, Robin 1, Willow Warbler 7, Wren 1. 

Friday 3rd April 2024

Dull, windy and wet morning, hardly anything in the way of passing migrants. All the regular local species accounted for, with yesterdays jackdaw still hanging around as well. 1 wheatear on site, and 35 swallow south is the highest number we've had so far this year.

Iron Prominent lives on Birch and Alder so it's odd that they visit us here, as we have none of either. 

RINGING RECOVERIES

Willow Warbler ringed on autumn passage Old Weston, Cambridgeshire 24th August 2023 retraped 127 km away on spring passage at LBO 21st April 2024.

Blackcap ringed on autumn passage at Litlington, East Sussex on 14th September 2023 retraped 151 km away on spring passage at LBO 1st May 2024. 

Thursday 3rd May 2024

 

Handful of new Lesser 'throats in this morning. The first 2 Common Sands & 2 Little Terns of the year noted. Other migrants few & far between included single Chaffinch, Chiffchaff, Jackdaw, Mipit, Yellow Wag plus the lingering Tree Pipit. 11 Sanderling & 3 Turnstone on the beach in addition to the Ringed Plovers.

We failed to get a Yellow-barred Brindle last year so its good to get one today.

Ringing: 3 Lesser Whitethroat.

Wednesday 1st May 2024

 

First Slow Worm of the year.

Much more spring like although not many migrants on offer with 9 Swallow, 4 Wheatear, 2 Stock Dove, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Redpoll, Sedge Warbler, continental Song Thrush, Tree Pipit, Whimbrel & Willow Warbler. The Lesser 'throats & Whitethroats on site are quite likely settling down to breed.

Phtheochroa rugosana feeds on White Bryony and can be common here.

Ringing: 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Great Tit, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Willow Warbler.

April Ringing Totals 2024

241 birds of 25 species in April is up from last years total, though only by 40 birds. Willow warbler numbers are 3 times higher than April 2023, blackcaps are up by 20 birds and chiffchaffs down by 10. Just the usual yearly change in abundance really, though the fact that we had our two earliest willow warblers by a week and a day respectively is probably a sign of the warming times. A female siskin was the first ringed here in almost a year and a half, and the best we did during the current invasion, though we had steady amounts passing over during the month. 

Species	No. ringed
Willow warbler	72
Blackcap	59
Chiffchaff	33
Wheatear	14
Linnet	14
Goldfinch	7
Lesser Whitethroat	7
Blackbird	7
Whitethroat	5
Robin	4
Wren	4
Sedge Warbler	2
Grey Wagtail	2
Blue Tit	1
Great Tit	1
Siskin	1
Woodpigeon	1
Reed Warbler	1
Chaffinch	1
Coal Tit	1
Sparrowhawk	1
Redstart	1
Long-tailed Tit	1
Firecrest	1
Cetti's Warbler	1
Total	241

Tuesday 30th April 2024

A day full of promise . . . that didn't materialise. Despite promising onshore winds, the migrant passerines had obviously cleared out during the clear skies overnight. Wheatear numbers were down to 5, only one willow warbler was warbling late afternoon and the singing blackcaps had moved off. No sign of yesterdays whinchat. On the positive, a fledgling robin was only the second we've seen, and the first to be obviously independent. At least one blackcap was passing through and a reed warbler give a brief warble at the north end of the reserve. 

A milder night has at least prompted a handful of moth species to put in their first appearance of the year, including the Brimstone moth.

Birds Ringed: Blackbird 1, Blackcap 1, Robin 2.

 

Monday 29th April 2024

A blustery day, with few new birds in, but some still hanging around from yesterday. One whinchat, the tree pipit and the male redstart remained as did a few singing willow warblers and blackcaps. 3 whitethroat were new in and wheatear numbers increased to 26, easily our highest total for the year. A sedge warbler was new in and there are now two black redstarts singing near site, with a new bird heard in the docks. 

A hairy hawker dragonfly was the first dragonfly species recorded on the reserve this year. 

First Common Swift moth for the year is right on cue.

Birds Ringed: Sedge Warbler 1, Wheatear 3, Whitethroat 3, Willow Warbler 7. 

 

Sunday 28th April 2024

 

Change to a southerly via the east with some rain & showers before going around south-westerly brought some interest with 16 Wheatear, 6 Willow Warbler, 5 Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaff, 4 Lesser 'throat, 3 Swift, 2 Whinchat, 2 Whitethroat, Lapwing, Redstart, Ring Ouzel (different individual to yesterday), Swallow, Tree Pipit & Wryneck. 3 Sanderling & 2 Turnstone were near the point. Offshore observations pitiful with a couple of Gannet, Oyks, Whimbrel & a Curlew the sum of it. We only have roughly ten previous spring Wrynecks in the past 40 years although, no doubt, more passed through in the good old days when they were a relatively common breeder in the UK.

The number & variety of moths over the past couple of weeks has been exceedingly low with several nights failing to produce anything at all so it was good to get a couple of Silver Y which are probably indictive of the change in the wind direction.

Ringing: 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Whitethroat.