Ringing: 2 Goldfinch, 2 Linnet, 1 Sedge Warbler.
Wednesday 22nd July 2026
Tuesday 21st July 2026
Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) with its now one-week-old chick, having unfortunately lost the other.
An overcast morning with a gentle breeze. Although seemingly quiet within the compound plenty of dispersing migrants found their way into nets as well as a good dose of young Linnets. Out on the reserve 3 Lapwing were on the beach early morning and a Black Redstart calling from the Fort again. 3 young Kestrels again near the point, let's hope that ring plover keeps hiding well!.
Seawatching produced South: 28 Sandwich Tern, 19 Black-headed Gull, 13 Cormorant, 5 Curlew
North:18 Sandwich Tern, 3 Mediterranean Gull, 2 Gannet.
Moth trapping: 30 Moth species last night - very quiet for this time of year potentially due to the drought conditions. Moth of the morning is the Marbled Clover, a nationally scarce species, far from annual here, that is having a good year with 10 of these recorded at this location this month. This moth can be seen during the daytime feeding on Viper's-bugloss, common across the reserve.
Marbled Clover (Heliothis viriplaca).
Bird ringing: 11 Linnet, 3 Reed Warbler, 2 Nightingale, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Great Tit, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Wren, 1 Whitethroat.
Monday 20th July 2026
Male Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) joins a Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) this morning out on the reserve, the Woodpigeon looks a little shocked.
A bright morning. Once again quiet within the compound with juvenile birds and the odd migrant starting to filter through with juvenile Reed and Sedge Warblers. A juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker also briefly visited the compound again. A family group of Kestrels were out on the reserve with between 2 and 3 young that have moved down from Felixstowe factory units. One juvenile Ringed Plover still surviving.
Seawatching produced; north: 4 Common Scoter, 4 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Sandwich Tern. South: 2 Oystercatcher, 1 Sandwich Tern. 3 Sandwich Tern remaining feeding offshore.
Moth trapping: Only 33 moth species last night. Pima boisduvaliella is moth of the day, a nationally scarce species living along the coast on flowering coastal plants such as Bird's-foot Trefoil.
Pima boisduvaliella.
Bird ringing: 1 Reed warbler and 1 Sedge Warbler.
Sunday 19th July 2026
Ruddy Darter.
Some movement with southbound 20 Sandwich Tern, 9 Oyks, 2 Curlew & Sand Martin with northbound 5 Little Egret, 5 Sandwich Tern, 2 Med Gull & Gannet. Only obvious migrant on site a Reed Warbler. Several young Kestrel have appeared.
Ringing: 1 Blackbird, 1 Great Tit, 1 Linnet.
Saturday 18th July 2026
Six-spot Burnet (Zygaena filipendulae) on Teasel.
Seawatching produced north movements: 8 Mediterranean Gull, 6 Sandwich Tern, 4 Common Tern and a Whimbrel. South movements: 8 Redshank, 2 Black-headed Gull, a Mediterranean Gull and a Sandwich Tern.
Moth trapping: 97 Species recorded between our 3 traps last night. Pick of the bunch is the two Eastern Bordered Straw moths, which are migrants from Southern Europe. Only recorded in Suffolk for the first time this year.
Eastern Bordered Straw (Heliothis nubigera).
Bird ringing: 2 Great Tit, 2 Reed Warbler.
Friday 17th July 2026
Carrion Crow (Corvus corone) adults are now in primary moult.
Sunny and and slightly less beezy morning. A Black Redstart was calling briefly from the fort early morning. Quiet within the compound with mainly juvenile birds including Cetti's Warbler, Goldfinch, Linnet, Great Tit, Lesser Whitethroat and 2 well developed Reed Warblers. Ring Plovers wandering around the reserve with chicks. Our first Green Woodpecker of the autumn late evening.
Seawatching today was slow despite the reduced wind: South; 17 Sand Martin, 2 Curlew, a Black-headed Gull and a Shelduck. 2 Cormorant towards the port. 4 Sandwich Tern and 2 Black-headed Gull remaining feeding offshore.
Moth trapping: 65 moth species recorded last night with it warm and breezy. Moth of the day is the Bedstraw Hawk-moth, with rarely more than 10 annual sightings in Suffolk, this immigrant species from Scandinavia, the Baltic states, and occasionally other parts of northern and central Europe, is mainly found by the coast in the Uk. They may breed in a number of places this year if a significant influx occurs.
Bedstraw Hawk-moth (Hyles gallii)
Bird ringing: 3 House Sparrow, 2 Goldfinch, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Linnet, 1 Reed Warbler.
Thursday 16th July 2026
Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) family with chicks between 2 and 3 days old.
Bright and sunny from the get go with a relatively strong breeze from the NE.
Seawatching produced 2 Cormorants towards the river and 4 Sandwich Tern feeding offshore.
Moth trapping: 66 species species identified between our 3 traps last night. Todays moth of the day is the Twin-Spotted Wainscot, this moth is another reedbeds specialist species that disperses down here occasionally. The moth has fewer than 100 annual records each year in Suffolk, potentially due to the lack of people moth trapping in its primary habitat.
Twin-spotted Wainscot (Lenisa geminipuncta)
Bird ringing: 3 Linnet, 1 Blackbird, 1 Goldfinch, 1 House Sparrow, 1 Starling.
Wednesday 15th July 2026
Stinking Goosefoot Chenopodium vulvaria is up, despite the drought conditions.
Hot & breezy with very few migrants. 12 Black-heads went south with northbound single Curlew & Sandwich Tern. Two pairs of Ringos are in the process of hatching with a couple of day old chicks running around.
Ringing: 1 Goldfinch, 1 Great Tit, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Linnet.
Tuesday 14th July 2026
Starting cloudy but then clearing late morning. Another brief visit from a Greater Spotted Woodpecker mid morning within the compound. Stinking Goosefoot is now out on the reserve.
Seawatching produced 2 Sandwich Tern, 2 Black-headed Gull and a Whimbrel south. Northbound: 3 Sandwich Tern only. Hirundine movement consisted of 9 Swift north only.
Moth trapping: 89 moth species identified in our 3 traps last night - a slight increase from the previous night with it being warmer and less windy around the traps. Pick of the bunch will be the second site record of Monochroa lucidella, with the previous one 23 years ago. This moth is a specialist of wetlands and coastal habitat and has fewer than 100 records annually in Suffolk - Suffolk Moths.
Monochroa lucidella.
Bird ringing: 3 Whitethroat, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Linnet, 1 Blackbird, 1 House Sparrow, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Robin.
Our first dispersing juvenile Reed Warbler of the year today, with its post Juvenile moult coming through.
Monday 13th July 2026
An overcast and windy morning. A Peregrin over the reserve mid morning and also 3 Greenfinch within the compound. A dull Back Redstart continues to call from the fort.
Seawatching produced 18 Common Scoter, 10 Gannet, 8 Sandwich Tern, 2 Mediterranean Gull, a Common Gull, a Curlew, a Little Tern and an Oystercatcher North. South: 10 Teal. 7 Common Scoter on the sea and 6 Black-headed Gull West.
Moth trapping: 43 Species between our 3 traps last night - quiet due to the wind and cooler night. Moth of the morning is the Oak Eggar with its impressive size and colour. The moth earns its oak title from the shape of its cocoon, mimicking an acorn despite nor the caterpillar or adult feeding on oak trees. The larvae feed on shrubs including heather.
Oak Eggar (Lasiocampa quercusare) impressive beasts.
Bird ringing: 4 House Sparrow, 2 Herring Gull, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Dunnock, 1 Linnet.
Sunday 12th July 2026
Bright n' breezy. With the wind coming off the North Sea it should be chilly but the sea temperatures are several degrees higher than they should be for the time of the year so it feels more like a sirocco wind. Of note 4 Black-tailed Godwit flying north which is a species we failed to record in 2025 despite them being one of the commoner waders on the estuaries behind us. Also worth a mention southbound 20 Teal & northbound 3 Sandwich Tern, 2 Common Scoter & 2 Gannet. Yet another Great Spotted Woodpecker visited suggesting that they have had a decent breeding season locally. Black Red singing on the Fort early morning with it, or another one, on the reserve later.
Ringing: 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Whitethroat.
Saturday 11 July 2026
Starting clear but then turning overcast, giving a nice break from the unrelenting heat for the first day of the countys hose pipe ban. A Juvenile Sedge Warbler ringed 6 days ago here was recaught here today, showing this individual using the site to fatten up. A Greenfinch was seen in the compound and 2 Lesser Whitethroats were heard across the the reserve.
Seawatching produced 25 Common Scoter, 11 Sandwich Tern, 4 Little Tern, 1 Gannet, 1 Kittiwake and 1 Curlew north. 10 Black-headed Gull and 3 Common Scoter south. 7 Sandwich Tern, 4 Little Tern and a Common Tern feeding on the shorelines. 9 Cormorant flying towards the port and then turned around and heading back out to sea.
Moth trapping: A quiet morning owing to the strong wind last night. 88 moth species recorded by our 3 moth traps. Pick of the bunch today is the Lamoria zelleri (Sandhill Double-spot), a nationally scarce species on coastal mosses that we have an established population of.
Lamoria zelleri (Sandhill Double-spot)
Bird ringing: 4 Linnet, 2 Great Tit, 2 House Sparrow, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Starling.
Friday 10th July
Common Blue (Mythimna straminea).
Warm with a slight SSE breeze. A Black Redstart calling from the fort and an early morning visit from a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. A Lapwing also flew over the reserve first thing.
Seawatching produced a handful of movements: including 22 Common Scoter, 5 Black-headed Gull, and 2 Sandwich Tern north. South: 4 Oystercatcher and 3 Sandwich Tern.
Hirundine movement was small with 4 Swift North and 3 South, 2 Swallow North.
A mix of insects in flight with Emperor, Southern Hawker and Migrant Hawker dragonflies and butterflies including Brown Argus, Common Blue (pictured above), small white, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Large and Small White, Small Copper and Holly Blue.
Moth Trapping: 97 species last night caught in our 3 moth traps. Pick of the day is the Southern Wainscot, another species wandering in the heat, from its usual reed bed home.
Southern Wainscot (Mythimna straminea).
Bird Ringing: 4 House Sparrow, 3 Linnet, 2 Dunnock, 1 Blackbird, 1 Starling.
Thursday 9th July 2026
Jersey Tiger moth (Euplagia quadripunctaria).
Once again warm and sunny with little breeze to start off with. A Peregrine Falcon was calling from near the port and then circled over the observatory. 7 Ringed Plover out on the reserve with our most recently fledged chicks having not been seen for multiple days so likely predated. A Black Redstart appeared in the observatory feeding on spiders, prompting me to keep a few nets open, sure enough it did indeed make a second visit to the ringing room however this time getting a ring!.11 Sandwich Tern were seen feeding near to the beach.
Seawatching produced 26 Black-headed Gull, 6 Mediterranean Gull, 5 Sand Martin, 3 Curlew and an Oystercatcher, all south. No movement north.
Moth trapping: 90 species present across our 3 traps last night. Todays pick of the bunch is the Jersey Tiger moth (Euplagia quadripunctaria) - pictured at the top of the page. The moth was first recorded here seven years ago, the moth is now ubiquitous in the Felixstowe area.
Bird ringing: 3 Linnet,1 Black Redstart, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Great Tit, 1 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 1 House Sparrow, 1 Woodpigeon.
Wednesday 8th July 2026
Another hot one. Basically baby birds & dispersing juveniles including 3 Song Thrush & Great Spotted Woodpecker. 3 Swallow flew south & the regular Black Red singing on the Fort.
Ringing: 3 Linnet, 3 Song Thrush, 2 House Sparrow, 1 Blackbird, 1 Blue Tit, 1 great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Robin, 1 Wren.
Tuesday 7th July 2026
Warm and sunny, with a W wind. Loads of dragonflies on the wing and some birds!. A Black Redstart calling again from the fort and a Coal Tit again drifting down from Felixstowe as well as a Greater Spotted Woodpecker. Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies and Emperor Dragonfly all on the wing as well as the second wave of Brown Argus butterflies.
Seawatching produced 10 Black-headed Gull, 6 Mediterranean Gull and a Curlew south. 4 Sandwich Tern and an Oystercatcher North. 2 Common Tern and 2 Shelduck south and towards the port.
Hirundine movement included 41 Sand Martin and 11 Swallow, all south.
Moth trapping: 124 species caught last night in our 3 traps. Todays pick of the bunch is this unassuming moth, the Fen Wainscot, noteworthy due to it being a Reedbeds specialist that occasionally blunders down here.
Fen Wainscot (Arenostola phragmitidis).
Bird ringing: 4 Great Tit, 3 Linnet, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Goldfinch, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Lesser Whitethroat.Monday 6th July 2026
Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) seen first thing today around 4am, an irregular visitor to the site with the area being so dry.
A small amount of cloud first thing, with it then clearing and wind slowly picking up from the NW. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker seen flying around the compound as well as anouther Coal Tit. Black Redstart calling from the fort once again with anouther individual seen out on the reserve.
Seawatching produced 5 Black-headed Gull, 4 Mediterranean Gull, 2 Curlew and 2 Oystercatcher South. 2 Oystercatcher North only.
Hirundine movement included 17 Sand Martin, 13 Swallow and 4 Swift south.
Moth trapping: 107 Species of moth caught in our 3 traps last night. Most of note out of the selection was this Sallow moth, mainly as the moth is recorded as emerging at the end of August, making this one 6 weeks early!.
Sallow moth (Cirrhia icteritia)
Bird ringing: 4 Linnet, 2 Robin, 1 Blackcap, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Dunnock, 1 Great Tit, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Wren.
Sunday 5th July 2026
Gatekeeper's are now out.
On the move 4 Shelduck flying directly out early doors are probably heading for Waddenzee to moult. Southbound 5 Sand Martin, 3 Swallow, Curlew & Oyk. A juvenile Little Egret came straight in off & inland. Juvenile Sedge Warbler was the first of the autumn, a tad earlier than expected but with the climate changing birds habits are changing. A couple of juvenile Song Thrush in recent days will have been reared fairly locally. Black Red still singing. 4 young Ringo's chicks on the beach that were a week old now look like its down to one. The big chick has not been seen since Thursday at 36 days old so will have fledged to pastures new.
Ringing: 6 Linnet, 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Song Thrush.
Saturday 4th July 2026
Whitethroat (Curruca communis).
A Sunny morning with winds increasing from the west. Quite within the compound. Starlings are starting to build up in numbers with around 250 seen out on the nature reserve and our Ringed Plover chicks are still running around the beach area. The Black Redstart remains calling from the fort.
Seawatching produced: 5 Black-headed Gull, 3 Dunlin, 3 Mediterranean Gull and a Curlew southbound. A Sandwich Tern north.
Hirundine movement included 25 Sand Martian, 12 Swift and a Swallow all south.
Moth trapping: 86 Moth species recorded between our 3 traps this morning. Todays pick of the bunch is the Digitivalva pulicariae (pictured below), this moth is a rare species in Suffolk with two previous records here. The larva mine into common fleaban and form inflated brown/whitish blotches - UK Moths.
Digitivalva pulicariae.
Bird ringing: 3 Linnet, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Whitethroat.
Friday 3rd July 2026
With the majority of birds ringed today being Linnets (Linaria cannabina) here's a potentially proud father.
A bright sunny morning, once again quite within the compound with a Chiffchaff singing and the Black Redstart on the fort. A Grey Wagtail briefly flew over and turned around and headed back to Felixstowe. A Reed Warbler was calling from behind the 'Aggregate Yard' near our river entrance onto the site. All 4 of most recently fledged Ringed Plover survive. Dragonflies on the wing include Emperor, Southern Migrant Hawker and Norfolk Hawker.
Moth Trapping: 88 moth species between our 3 traps last night. Moth of the day is the Dewick's Plusia, this moth is an immigrant that is attempting to colonise Suffolk, with the moths first county record coming from Landguard in 1997. In 2018 there was an explosion of records in Suffolk and then in 2021 confirmed breeding by a Larve case found in Ipswich. The larvae feed on common nettle and yarrow as well as other herbaceous plants including lavender in Suffolk. - Suffolk moths.
Dewick's Plusia (Macdunnoughia confusa)
Bird Ringing: 3 Linnet, 2 House Sparrow, 1 Blue Tit, 2 Dunnock, 1 Great Tit.
Thursday 2nd July 2026
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba) seen out on the reserve.
An overcast morning with the wind picking up and cloud clearing by noon. Quite early in the morning within the compound, but a few young birds emerging with our first juvenile Song Thrush being caught in the Heligoland trap and ringed. Out on the reserserve all 4 of our recently fledge chicks survive. Black Restart calling from the fort late morning.
Seawatching produced south movements: 30 Bar-tailed Godwit, 23 Swift, 14 Black-headed Gull, 10 Sand Martin, 7 Curlew, 6 Common Scoter, 4 Sandwich Tern. 2 Mediterranean Gull and an Oystercatcher north.
A mix of insects around with our first Migrant Hawker seen at the front of the observatory, notably early in the summer. Common Blue, Small Copper, Comma, Peacock, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Small White and Painted Lady all out on the wing.
First Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) of this spring.
Moth Trapping: 75 moth species across our 3 traps last night. The Gold Triangle is a species that lives on dry vegetable matter, the moth is not annual, appearing roughly two out of every three years at Landguard.
Gold Triangle (Hypsopygia costalis).
Bird Ringing: 3 Blackcap, 2 Linnet, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Dunnock, 1 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Lesser whitethroat, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Woodpigeon.
Wednesday 1st July 2026
Migrants include southbound 9 Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Swallow, 3 Curlew, 2 Swift & Sand Martin. Mistle Thrush is still here otherwise it's baby bird time with several dispersing juveniles heading off on their own.
Ringing: 2 Blackcap, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Dunnock, 1 Linnet, 1 Pied Wagtail.
June 2026 Ringing Totals
Mistle Thrush (Turdus viscivorus)
Blue Tit come out on top this month, with Chiffchaff being knocked down to 5th place - they've held strong from March!. We have to go back to June 2019 with 364 birds to beat this months total of 260 birds ringed, a comparison with these totals and 2023 with 258 birds, reveals a drop in the Linnet abundance with 156 in 2019 and 108 in 2023 respectively. Both years (2019 and 2023) 16 Blue tits were ringed, this year appears to have been good for their young output and therefore contributing to this years increase in birds ringed. It's been a good month ringing here, with interesting highlights including Marsh Tit and Mistle Thrush (shown above) a moulting female, both species infrequently occurring at Landguard.
We also ringed our first Ringed Plover chick after a spell of no success in the past few years as well as a juvenile Black Redstart - a nice treat showing they have indeed bred locally and maybe our bird singing on the Fort was not in vain!.
Tuesday 30th June 2026
Blackbird (Turdus merula).
An overcast morning, providing a break from the recent heat. Mostly baby birds within the compound with these accounting for the most part of the ringing totals. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker heard distantly and a Black Redstart calling on the Fort. Our three youngest Ringed Plover chicks survived their first full day out on the reserve, fingers crossed for the coming weeks.
Seawatching included most passage south with; 107 Black-headed Gull with 1 Juvenile mixed in .... at least one pair has been successful!, 54 Curlew, 19 Oystercatcher, 2 Whimbrel, 2 Cormorant, a Bar-tailed Godwit, a Common Tern and a Teal. 1 Sandwich Tern north.
Moth Trapping: Agate Knot-horn (Nyctegretis lineana) is a red data book species that we have noted on only a handful of previous occasions. The caterpillar larvae feed on Common Restharrow, pupating in a silken tube beneath the host plant. The species is restricted to the east coast of England. - Suffolk Moths.
Agate Knot-horn (Nyctegretis lineana).
Bird Ringing: 7 Linnet, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Robin, 2 Goldfinch, 2 House Sparrow, 1 Blackcap, 1 Dunnock, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Wren, 1 Whitethroat.
Monday 29th June 2026
Juvenile Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis), note the lack of any head markings with black and red seen on adults.
A sunny morning with a moderate NW wind. We had another 3 Ringed Plover chicks hatch over the weekend. 2 Reed Warblers calling from around the compound. A Black Redstart remains calling from the fort. Essex Skipper present near the car park end of the reserve at Manor Road. A Mistle Thrush was seen down on the reserve and then ringed later on in the morning.
Seawatching produced 3 Black-headed Gull and a Whimbrel south only.
Moth Trapping: 77 moth species caught in our 3 traps. Today's moth of the day is the Light Crimson, with the second site record of this underwing today, following on from one in 2025. One of the moth's strongholds is in the New Forest, the caterpillar feeds on Oak and the species is considered as Near Threatened on the IUCN red list.
Light Crimson underwing (Catocala promissa).
Bird Ringing: 5 Dunnock, 2 Blackcap, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Mistle Thrush, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Wren.
Mistle thrushes have been elusive at Landguard and on the most part are recorded as wandering Juveniles, so today's bird, a moulting adult female was quite a surprise when ringed.
Sunday 28th June 2026
Ringing: 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 House Sparrow
Saturday 27th June 2026
Ringing: 2 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Dunnock, 1 Linnet, 1 Sedge Warbler.
Friday 26th June 2026
Blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus)
Humid from the outset with only a slight breeze and a slight haze to make it slightly colder. However an interesting morning of observations with a Spoonbill flying north over the observatory and a pair Little Tern flying along the river towards the port. 1 Lapwing was present on the reserve.
Seawatching produced 4 Black-headed Gull and 1 Curlew south. 2 Sandwich Tern and a Mediterranean Gull north. 1 Oystercatcher south and then towards the port.
Moth trapping: 126 Species of moths caught in our 3 traps last night, once again a warm night, less wind. Today's moth of the day is the Poplar Lutestring despite all the poplar trees here, the moth has only occurred on a handful of occasions, as the name suggests the caterpillar feeds on poplar. There are three races of this moth in the UK.
Poplar Lutestring (Tethea or)
Bird Ringing: 3 Blue Tit, 2 Linnet, 2 Whitethroat, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Greater Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Redstart.
First summer male caught today in our mist nets, this individual had commenced its post breeding moult, which is unexpected at this location, suggesting could have bred/attempted to breed in the local area and the bird might possibly hang around the area with a reduced flight capability for the duration or part of its moult. Our first autumn record is the 3rd July onwards. Very few pairs nest in Suffolk with the closest confirmed breeding areas being in the heathland around Woodbridge ministry of defence.
Redstart (Phoenicurus phoenicurus)
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