Saturday 18th April 2026

Red kite (Milvus milvus) -  appearing to be in active wing moult, making it a juvenile from last year or a bird not breeding this year. 

A cloudy start to the day with a slight bit of drizzle in the air, produced a small dose of migrants, Including; a Black redstart, a White wagtail, 6 Lesser Whitethroat and the group of Wheatear have increased to 12 individuals. Early morning a pair of Raven where seen flying north over the port and a juvenile Red kite was observed flying south late morning directly over the ringing room. A hedgehog was spotted running under a building while opening nets - but the photo is not worth showing as it was still quite dark.     

 Hirundine migration:  A steady flow of Swallows over the reserve, with 10 south and 4 north (birds that have likely overshot) and our first sighting of House martins this spring, with 2 flying south. A Sand martin was also seen flying South.     

Sea watching produced 21 Black headed gull, 14 Mediterranean gull, 4 Barnacle geese, 2 Jackdaw and a Common gull heading south. An Oystercatcher only observed flying North. 

A freshly dead porpoise washed up on the shore, likely from being struck by a boat, makes a tasty breakfast for the local herring gull.  

Moth trapping:  4 moths present, with a Shuttle Shaped dart again, Angle shades, Swallow prominent and double striped pug. 

Our first Large red damselfly (Pyrrhosoma nymphula) of this spring, seen in our heligoland trap - our first damselfly to be recorded this spring.   

Bird Ringing: 7 Blackcap, 5 Willow warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Lesser whitethroat, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Wheatear, 1 Common whitethroat, 1 Sedge warbler, 1 Robin. 

Friday 17th April 2026

Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) nesting near the cottage. 

A cloudy but pleasant morning with hazy sunshine at times and a strengthening SSW wind. A Brambling was seen calling within the compound early morning and departed to the south. A small increase to 8 Wheatear on the peninsula and 13 Swallow were observed passing through. A Reed warbler was also heard near the butts.  

Seawatching produced 31 Black-headed gull, 6 Mediterranean gull, 4 Barnacle Geese and a Whimbrel all south. Seen flying north; 9 Mediterranean gull, 3 Teal, and a Common Scoter       

A Holly blue butterfly was seen flying around the back of the ringing room, high up in the canopy, this being our first for spring. The holly blue is unique among butterflies in the British Isles for having a two-food-larvae-system, with this spring emergence having fed on Holly, while the summer emergence feed on Ivy flower buds.   

Our first Holly blue butterfly (Celastrina argiolus) of spring 2026.

Moth trapping: Angle shades, Common plume and Silver Y present only. Surprisingly low biodiversity considering a slightly warmer overcast night. 

 Bird Ringing: 5 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Linnet, 1 Long-tailed tit, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Willow warbler, 1 Woodpigeon.  

Ringing Recoveries

Blackcap ringed Iken, Suffolk 21st September 2024 retrapped 30 km away at LBO 4th April 2026 on spring passage.

Blackcap ringed Levington, Suffolk 20th August 2025 retrapped 9 km away at LBO 9th April 2026 could well be a bird bred on the Felixstowe peninsula coming back this spring.

Chiffchaff ringed Hilbre Island, Wirral, Merseyside 28th April 2025 retrapped 346 km away at LBO 13th April 2026 looks like it may well be a bird whose natal area is in Northern Britain that migrated up the west coast last spring & up the east coast this spring. It is our first Chiffchaff to or from Merseyside (or Cheshire if one uses proper county boundaries).

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, 2 Linnet, 1 Chiffchaff, 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.