Friday 26th July 2024

A far more interesting day than most this month. First 4 juvenile willow warblers were moving through and 2 black redstarts were out on the reserve. Other warblers were making themselves known with 6 lesser whitethroats, a juvenile whitethroat, a Cetti's and chiffchaff also recorded, not great numbers yet but makes a change from the previous weeks of mediocre observations. Two juvenile blackbirds were also welcome visitors, as the number of fledged young we've encountered at all this year is not even in double figures. Wren juveniles are still popping out of the scrub, and a young robin was probably dispersing from up in town.

A brown hawker dragonfly was the first record of this species this year and a female emperor was ovipositing into the observatories emplacement pond, hopefully we'll have some juveniles emerge next year.   

Ground Lackey is a nationally scarce species from saltmarsh, which regularly visits.

Birds Ringed: Blackbird 2, Great Tit 1, Robin 1, Willow Warbler 2, Wren 3. 

 

Thursday 25th July 2024

Another wet and windy day, though yesterdays black redstarts remained at the fort and a willow warbler was in the observatory compound, the first of autumn. 3 black-tailed godwits flew south along with 4 curlew, and a whimbrel.  

We failed to get a Codling moth last year, a species which is an apple tree pest.

Wednesday 24th July 2024

 

Don't see many Brimstone in their second emergence.

3 Black Red by the Fort are the first of their kind since 4th May which suggests breeding somewhere nearby in the dock. A juvenile Song Thrush was the first one we have seen this summer. A Jay is only our second ever July record. 3 Sanderling were on the beach & a Turnstone on the point. 

Dusky Thorn turned up here for the first time five years ago.

Ringing: 2 Blackbird.

Tuesday 23rd July 2024

A cooler morning, interspersed with rain, didn't produce much, but then it is July. A little egret flew south, and 20 sanderling and 2 turnstone were on the jetty after a few days of just one. The starling flock is building up and still making use of the large pond that keeps appearing on the reserve every time there's a drop of rain. 

First Webb's Wainscot of the year which may have emerged from the observatory pond. 

  

Monday 22nd July 2024

A quiet day on the bird migration front was outshone by the moth observations. Sanderling numbers built up to 22 on the beach today and 10 common and 23 sandwich tern were active along the shore in front of the obs, the most terns we've seen for a while. Another common sand was sharing the jetty with a single turnstone. 

The first site record of Sparganothis pilleriana was totally unexpected.

Birds Ringed: Goldfinch 3, Great Tit 1, Robin 1, Starling 1.  

Sunday 21st July 2024

 

After a bright sunny start overcast conditions soon set in with a belt of annoying fine drizzle mid-am. Southbound 80 Black-headed Gull, 9 Common Tern, 8 Med Gull, 5 Whimbrel, 4 Swallow, 3 Curlew & 3 Oyk with northbound 15 Common Scoter, 4 Meds, 3 Swift & a Gannet. 6 Sanderling, on their way from Greenland to West Africa, were on the beach & a juv Yellow-legged Gull was in the river. Yet another juv Cetti's & Grey Wagtail with no idea where the young Grey Wags are originating from at this juncture as autumn passage doesn't get going, in this species, before the tail end of August.

Euspilapteryx auroguttella is a tiny tot living on the Perforate St. John's Wort which we have a plethora of this year.

Ringing: 2 Wren, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Dunnock, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Whitethroat.
 

Saturday 20th July 2024

Another sticky and humid morning. A great spotted woodpecker paid us a brief visit as did a juvenile coal tit. A med gull joined 40 black-headed gulls going south. Also moving south were a few hirundines: 19 swallows and 2 sand martins, and a handful of waders: 6 whimbrel, 1 curlew and 2 oystercatcher. A juvenile blackbird was the first we've seen in several weeks, and still more young wrens and dunnocks are emerging from the scrub.

Two Cydia fagiglanda this morning were unexpected as we only have 3 previous records and two of those were last century. It's a beech mast specialist. 

Birds Ringed: Blackbird 1, Coal Tit 1, Dunnock 1, Wren 2.