Saturday 27th December 2025

 

Wind chill is getting tedious. Thousands of dead Bristlenose Starfish + assorted other species washed up along the tideline at the moment. 309 Cormorant went out fishing early on but very few other sightings this morning.

Friday 26th December 2025

 

229 Cormorant headed out fishing plus 152 in from the south & 109 in from the north to the feeding grounds. Offshore movements restricted to southbound 16 Brent, 7 Red-throated Diver & 4 Shelduck with northbound 14 Brent, 7 Kitts & 4 Red-throats. Chaffinch is quite possibly the female seen sporadically in recent days.

Ringing: 1 Chaffinch.

Thursday 25th December 2025

 

ENE force 7 - 8 with an accompanying naughty little wind chill. Offshore tedious looking into bright sunshine with southbound 7 Wigeon & northbound single Common Scoter & Red-throated Diver. Single Woodcock flushed off the reserve by one of the many loose dogs running amok.

Ringing: 1 Blackbird.

Wednesday 24th December 2025

 

Biting north-easterly wind we have become not used to in recent times. Southbound 23 Brent, 13 Shelduck, 5 Teal, 2 Pintail & 2 Red-throats with northbound 31 Brent, 5 Red-throats, 2 Gannet & Goldeneye with 138 Common Gull offshore the best count of the winter so far. Couple of new Blackies turning up is suggestive of some late migrants coming in off the continent in these winds. 

Ringing: 3 Blackbird.

Tuesday 23rd December 2025

 

Dull cooler morning with the breeze going easterly bringing 2 Lapwing onto the reserve. Southbound 12 Teal, 7 Wigeon, 5 Common Scoter, Brent & Red-throated Diver with northbound 17 Red-throats & 3 Common Scoter. Single Chaffinch & Starling are both firsts for several days. 3 Turnstone & Rock Pipit at the point.

Ringing: 1 Blackbird.

Monday 22nd December 2025

 

Benign winter's morning. Southbound 19 Brent, 9 Teal, 5 Common Scoter, 4 Red-throated Diver, 4 Wigeon & Eider with northbound 4 Red-throats. 3 Turnstone & Rock Pipit on the point, 4 Mipit on the reserve, 3 Long-tailed Tit in the compound & Firecrest on the ridge north of Left Battery.

TERRY HOLLAND R.I.P.

 TERRY HOLLAND    1944 - 2025

Sad news this morning that Terry has passed away. Terry was a regular at LBO a couple of days a week in his retirement until this spring when declining health eventually curtailed his regular visits. He will be missed by all. R.I.P.

Ringing Recovery

Sedge Warbler ringed LBO 18th September 2025 found in a car grille (not fresh) 950 km away at Miossens-Lanusse, Pyrenees-Atlantiques, France 4th December 2025 will have been on migration at both localities but failed to cross the road successfully & should have been in sub-Saharan Africa by December. 

Sunday 21st December 2025

Dull, murky, misty morning for the winter solstice making the day feel even shorter !  147 Cormorant went out fishing. Southbound 141 Brent, 121 Teal, 29 Wigeon, 11 Pintail, 8 Red-throated Diver, 7 Shoveler & a Tufted Duck with northbound 38 Brent & 7 Red-throats so a few more ducky-goosey things on the move than recent days. 4 Turnstone & Purp on the point plus 2 Sanderling on the beach early on.