Saturday 26th November 2011

A Swallow going south is quite probably our latest ever autumn record by a day or two. A Black Red was the first of it's kind seen for a while & a trickle of Goldies are still going south. Also new in a couple of Lesser Redpolls. 13 Snow Bunts are still with us on the beach with at least 15 Turnstones & 3 Sanderling on the shore. The leucistic Starling has reappeared today for the first time in a while. Offshore its quiet with a Guillemot the only thing of note.

Friday 25th November 2011

It actually rained here from 0620 to 0730ish - not a lot - but it was definitely rain. Joking apart, if this drought carries on it's heading towards a record dry year. Bird wise a bit of a struggle. No sign of any new migrants in today so it's left to the stuff that's normally here at this time of the year. 6 Meds, Peregrine plus a couple of Red-throated Divers & Kitts offshore are about the only things worth a mention.

Thursday 24th November 2011

Not sure what time in the morning Snow Buntings get up but they were calling a good hour before daylight this morning. I suppose when you are born & bred in the lands of 24 hour daylight this darkness malarkey is just a bit of an inconvenience. 13 present & accounted for this am. New birds in comprised of a Fieldfare with a handful of Skylarks & Mipits still going south overhead. Not a lot of time spent starring out to sea but a couple of Red-throated Divers noted plus a Merg south. Yesterdays Chiffchaff is still with us as a couple of Purps & a Rock Pipit on the point.

Wednesday 23rd November 2011

An adult pale phase Arctic Skua siting on the beach near the point stayed with us all morning. Along the river bank 11 Turnstone & 2 Sanderling with 2 Purps on the point. 13 Snow Bunts on the beach today mostly feeding along the strand line. In the bushes a new Songie, Chaffinch & Chiffchaff (getting late for new Chiffchaffs). Little going over with the highlights being 41 Starlings, 19 Goldies, 3 Skylark, 2 Lapwing & a Rook. 2 Peregrines were flying around the cranes early on before moving off up river to cause some chaos.

Tuesday 22nd November 2011

Mild but murky start degenerating into fog with some spots of rain by mid-day. Bird wise it's a bit yawnsville this morning with the only new migrants in the bushes being singles of Blacky & Chaffinch. Snow Buntings are on the beach somewhere as they can be heard calling from the observatory, but with the fog no-one has had the enthusiasm to go out and round them up yet. The moth traps were far more interesting yielding our 1st ever record of Red-headed Chestnut. This migrant has appeared in Suffolk on half a dozen previous occasions so it was probably only a matter of time before we recorded one - and a particularly stunning individual it is to !

Monday 21st November 2011

2 Swallows going south is starting to get seriously late. A handful of Goldies still going south and a couple of new Blackies in the bushes. Apart from this 2 Purps on the point, male Peregrine on the nearest dock crane and 15 Snow Bunts on the beach. By the numbers of records of Snow Bunts so far this winter i get the impression that they have had a good breeding season, as we know from previous experience that most of the birds that come this far south are birds born this year.

Sunday 20th November 2011

A Golden Plover was calling in the fog & moved off when the fog cleared. Short-eared Owl on the reserve also went inland as more people arrived on the reserve with the fog going. 12 Snow Bunts on the beach this am are looking resplendent in the sunshine. New arrivals today in the bushes limited to a new Robin & Chaffinch but, then again, we are getting to last knockings as far as autumn migration is concerned. In the afternoon another Short-eared Owl appeared - will they ever stop coming as this autumn has shattered all previous records for this species.