Tuesday 23rd June 2026

Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula), 8 Adults present on the site today and this one chick (shown above) that is now certainly looking adult like, really promising to see this individual get to this stage. 

Starting the day with sporadic showers, then clearing to give a bright sunny morning. 3 Sandwich Tern over east and a Sanderling out on the beach on the reserve. 2 Mediterranean gulls flying around the river mouth.  

Seawatching produced 8 Teals south. 3 Common Scoter north. An Oystercatcher south and then flying up the river. 

Moth trapping: 126 species across our 3 traps, a slight increase of recent daily counts, owing to a cloudy night keeping temperatures high.

 Today's moth of the day is the Varied Coronet, a fairly recently colonizing species, since the 1940s, it is classified in the recent Atlas of macro moths in Britain as common, however we haven't seen it in 10 years!, they occur in calcareous grassland and gardens and feed on Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus) and Bladder Campion. We are likely seeing dispersal of these more unusual species due to the current good weather for moths on the wing looking for new habitats. 

Varied Coronet  (Hadena compta) - Our first one in 10 years

Bird Ringing: 1 Chiffchaff, 1 House Sparrow. 

Monday 22nd June 2026

 

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna)

A bright and breezy morning with a small number of passage birds within the compound including 2 new Chiffchaff and a Blackcap. Out on the reserve we have our 4 pairs of Ringed Plover with a chick now almost adult sized.

Moth trapping: 92 Species across our 3 Traps. Moth of the day is the Scarce Silver-lines, a first for Landugard, an immaculate looking moth that flies from June to August. Caterpillars feed on Oak and Silver birch - species not present in large numbers at Landguard!. 

Scarce Silver-lines (Bena bicolorana)

 

Bird Ringing: 2 Blue Tit, 2 Dunnock, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Linnet, 1 Robin. 

Sunday 21st June 2026

 

Summer solstice at 0924 hrs this morning after which its all downhill - it's being so cheerful that keeps us going. Maybe we need to tap into the Opium Poppies on the reserve !

Very few sightings of Black Redstart recently so 2 together this morning was a bit unexpected as they were both first-summer plumaged males that were having an altercation & are breeding in the adjoining dock area. One a fairly standard "paradoxus" morph with the other a "carii" morph that looked "female-ish" but was a far bigger bird than the other one, with no signs of a brood patch, so must be a male. Males take no part in incubation in this species. Otherwise it's dispersing baby birds including single Great Spotted Woodpecker & Grey Wag.

Moth traps hectic. Celypha rosaceana is today's chosen one as it likes it here down here by the seaside.

Ringing: 2 Black Redstart, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Great Tit, 1 Robin, 1 Wood Pigeon, 1 Wren.

Ringing Recoveries

Chiffchaff ringed LBO 2nd April 2026 retraped Deer Park Croft, nr. Avoch, Highland, Scotland 719 km away on 17th April 2026 will be on spring passage at LBO & possibly on the Black Isle also or near its potential nesting area ?

Blackbird ringed LBO 4th November 2017 with the ring only found with a metal detector 42 km away 11th September 2025 at Heveningham, Suffolk so circumstances of its demise unknown.

Saturday 20th June 2026

 

Baby bird time of the year with dispersing youngsters visiting on their juvenile wanderings. Chiffchaff have never bred here but do so as close as Langer Park. Other youngsters visiting included 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker & a Grey Wag. Going past southbound 4 Curlew & an Oyk in limited observation time. 3 Sanderling were on the beach at high tide pm.

First site record of Portland Ribbon Wave. which is a species first noted in Suffolk only a couple of years ago & may well be contemplating colonisation.

Busy moth traps with several species originating in coniferous woodland turning up that we don't get down here very often including the first Rhyacionia buoliana for nine years & only the third this century.

Ringing: 3 Blue Tit, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Great Tit, 2 Wren, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Dunnock.

Friday 19th June 2026

Carrion Crow with chick, right, (Corvus corone) almost as big as the adult. 

A clear day, with little wind, a mix of species present with a Greater Spotted Woodpecker once again visiting.. and fully exploring the reserve right to point on the sea brake!. 1 Reed Warbler also out on the reserve. Essex Skipper have now been seen yesterday afternoon and this morning near the manor road car park. 

Seawatching produced 2 Curlew south, 1 Cormorant west. 

Moth trapping: 104 Species across our 3 traps. Pick of the moths is the Lilac Beauty, formerly an infrequent visitor, it has now more recently become annual, occurring in small numbers. The adult folds its upper wing tips in an interesting way to mimic a leaf (shown in the picture - not seen in many moth species. The caterpillar feeds on honeysuckle (Lonicera) and privet (Ligustrum).  

Lilac Beauty (Apeira syringaria)

Bird Ringing: 7 Blue Tit, 2 House Sparrow, 1 Linnet, 1 Whitethroat.   

Thursday 18th June 2026

Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), all juveniles, with one of individuals we ringed in the cottage box, seen in the middle of the group, coping well with independent living. 

Starting clear but then clouding over and then breaking late morning again, quite humid and not too much wind. 66 Swift south over the reserve early in the morning with a Swallow and House Martin also heading south. Inside the compound a Greater Spotted Woodpecker was seen and heard flying around as well as two Coal Tit. A male Black redstart was once again calling from the fort.

Seawatching produced: 22 Black- headed gull and 11 Curlew, 4 Sandwich Tern, 2 Common Tern, all south.  

Moth trapping: 107 Species across our moth traps, owing to the calm and warm night. Today's moth of the day is the Pine Hawk-moth - an occasional visitor to our site considering it lives less than 1km away as the crow flies at the Customs House on pine trees, adults feed on Honeysuckle.      

Pine Hawk moth (Sphinx pinastri)

Bird ringing: 4 Blue Tit, 2 Blackcap, 2 Coal Tit, 2 Linnet, 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 House Sparrow, 1 Robin.