Thursday 16th April 2026

Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) feeding on the peninsular 

A fairly bright morning with a light SW, some ominous shower clouds towards the port at times. A small number of migrants were present, with a Siskin singing within the observatory fence, our first Hobby of the spring seen distantly heading north over the port. 3 Wheatear and 8 ring plover were present on the peninsula and 7 Swallow where seen migrating through. A Painted lady butterfly was also seen outside the ringing room.

Sea watching produced a Whimbrel, 13 Black headed gull, 2 Oystercatcher and 2 Shelduck, all south. Just 2 Gannet north.  

Moth trapping: 1 Moth present, a Swallow prominent, owing to another windy night.    

Bird ringing: 9 Blackcap, 2 Great tit, 2 Goldfinch, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Linnet, 1 Song thrush, 1 Willow warbler.  

   

Wednesday 15th April 2026

 

Looks like we might end up with a site record five pairs of Robin breeding this year.

Small handful of migrants including 6 Chiffchaff, 6 Wheatear, 3 Blackcap, 3 Swallow, 2 Mipit, 2 Willow Warbler, Whitethroat & Yellowhammer. Offshore movements almost non-existent. Despite the dull conditions a Painted Lady appeared late morning.

First Shuttle-shaped Dart of the year, which should soon become the commonest moth in the traps in the spring.

Ringing: 3 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Great Tit, 1 Linnet, 1 Yellowhammer.

Tuesday 14th April 2026

 

One of, hopefully, a pair of Skylarks (Alauda arvensis); the last recorded successful breeding was last century, so fingers crossed for this spring changing that!

 A completely cloudless morning with a gentle breeze from the South. You would have thought ideal conditions for migration, however few birds seen during sea watching; with 1 Sandwich tern, 4 Mediterranean gull and a Cormorant heading north. 5 Swallow, 3 Mediterranean gull and 3 Shelduck all heading south. 4 Wheatear remain present on the peninsula. Signs are looking good for the choice of nest site for two pairs of Ring plover.       

Moth trapping: Once again few moths with the temperature still dropping overnight on clear nights. 1 Angle shades and a Double-striped pug in a total of three traps. 

Angle shades (Phlogophora meticulosa), another dive into the scientific name reveals Phlogophora (Greek): Derived from phlogos (flame) and phora (to carry/bring), referring to the flame-like or fiery pink-and-brown markings on its wings.

Bird ringing: 4 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Pied Wagtail. 

Monday 13th April 2026

 

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopuson) on the beach early in the morning. A little delve into the scientific name; it derives from Greek and Latin, with numenius meaning a "new moon" (referring to the bill shape) and phaeopuson "dusky foot". 

An almost windless morning, with a very slight SW, starting cloudy then brightening up for a short while before becoming overcast. A Whimbrel was present along the shore line first thing, with a Collared dove and a Greater spotted woodpecker present in the compound later. 5 Wheatear remain on the peninsular.    

Sea watching produced the first 2 Sandwich tern of the spring heading north, with a Teal also heading north. Birds moving south included; 25 Black-headed gull, 6 Barnacle geese, 5 Swallow and 2 mediterranean gull. With 6 Cormorant heading out to sea.     

Moth trapping: Only 2 moths present, the first for spring V pug and an Angle shades moth. Interestingly, the larvae of the V pug prefer feeding on the flowers rather than the leaves of their food plants, including Elder, Bramble, Dog-rose, and Hemp-agrimony.  

First V pug (Chloroclystis v-ata) of the year

Bird ringing: 5 Blackcap, 3 Whitethroat, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldfinch, 1 House sparrow, 1 Linnet, 1 Wren.

Sunday 12th April 2026

 

Still the odd Mipit passing through.

A healthy arrival of at least 16 Wheatear on a windy morning plus the first Lesser Whitethroat of the spring. Other migrants include 10 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Whitethroat, Reed Bunting & White Wagtail. Southbound 14 Swallow, 4 Canadas & 2 Sand Martin with northbound 24 Barnacles & 2 Common Scoter.

Moth catches still pathetic with just two in total this morning including the first Agonopterix arenella of the year.

Ringing: 6 Blackcap, 3 Wheatear, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Wren.

Saturday 11th April 2026

 

Silver Y (Autographa gamma) - about two weeks earlier than most years. A little look into the scientific name: gamma is Greek for the letter Y.

A windy overcast morning with wind blowing from the SE. Very few migrants passing through, with ringing saying it all, with mostly retrap Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs from yesterday. A Redpoll was seen early in the morning in the compound, and a Whimbrel on the beach, 5 Wheatear remain on the peninsula. 

An easterly wind can be promising for blowing migrants closer to the shore, however today few were seen, with 7 Black-headed gull, 5 Swallow, 2 Whimbrel and an Oystercatcher flying south. Just 2 Cormorant moving North.  

Evening sea watching, whilst keeping an eye on tent traps for Wheatear, produced 6 Black-headed gull, 3 Mediterranean gull and a Curlew all heading south.  

Moth trapping: 3 moths, in a total of 3 traps, somewhat not surprising with the strong winds overnight. One of them being our first Silver Y of spring. The Silver Y is probably the most common immigrant moth in the UK, numbers tend to build in autumn, as the breeding population from spring migrants is swelled by further migration.    

Bird Ringing: 3 Wheatear, 2 Linnet, 1 Chiffchaff. 

A male Wheatear. Great to be catching these large winged individuals, with all 5 Wheatear caught to date this spring having wing lengths above 102 mm, making them all likely to be of the Greenland subspecies, making their way back up from Africa - one of the longest transoceanic crossing of any passerine - sub species leucorhoa.  

Friday 10th April 2026

 

One of our resident pair of Common turnstone (Arenaria interpres)

A cold morning, with the wind initially coming from NW, however dropping steadily and then changing to ESE by late morning and now a SSW. A reasonable number of migrants present around the peninsular, with 8 Wheatear, a Whitethroat and a singing Willow warbler. A Buzzard was notably seen circling, with very few seen in this area.     

Fine viewing out to sea produced 93 Black-headed gull, 8 Common gull, 7 Swallow, 2 Mediterranean gull and a Common scoter flying south. 5 Swallow and a Common scoter flying north.  

Moth trapping: The Oak-tree pug takes the limelight, with it being first for spring, although very tatty... with more of the usual with Quakers, and a Swallow prominent again.  

Ringing: 6 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 3 Linnet, 1 Willow warbler, 1 Wheatear.