Saturday 2nd June

Very quiet morning with only 1 Chiffchaff ringed since 03:30. A few Terns still hanging around and some Kittiwakes, a couple of Common Scoter, a Fulmar and Brent Goose on the move. The Serin is still here roving the reserve.

Friday 1st June 2012

9 birds were ringed this morning a Reed Warbler and 3 Blackcaps being the only migrants. The long staying Serin was performing well and moving throughout the reserve calling all morning. Fairly quiet elsewhere with the usual bunch of gulls interspersed with the odd Common and Little Tern off the point. Still a few hirundines moving through as well as a couple of Oyks, a Great-crested Grebe and a Tufted Duck offshore. Invertebrates today included Brown Argus, Small Copper, Common Blue, Small White and Red Admiral butterflies and an Emperor Dragonfly.

May 2012 Ringing Totals

May turned out to be a very productive month with good numbers of warbler coming through even towards the end. A total of 482 birds were ringed during the month with Whitethroat topping the bill at 91 birds. This is the highest May ringing total since 2004 when 510 birds were ringed and more than twice last years may total of 209 birds. There have been a number of highlights during the month including the first Serin to be ringed at Landguard, the Wryneck and Wood Warbler earlier in the month, the Greenish Warbler last weekend and the 3 Marsh Warblers in almost as many days. Full totals are below....

Whitethroat	91		Firecrest	3
Blackcap	79		Chaffinch	3
Willow Warbler	61		Starling	3
Wheatear	47		Wren	2
Chiffchaff	33		Swallow	2
Spotted Flycatcher	23		Goldfinch	2
Linnet	21		Marsh Warbler	2
Reed Warbler	16		Song Thrush	2
Lesser Whitethroat	15		Wood Warbler	1
Garden Warbler	12		Long-tailed Tit	1
Robin	11		Serin	1
Great Tit	8		Greenish Warbler	1
Greenfinch	7		Pied Flycatcher	1
Dunnock	6		Blue Tit	1
Blackbird	6		Black Redstart	1
Redstart	5		Siskin	1
Sedge Warbler	4		Wryneck	1
Meadow Pipit	4		Sparrowhawk	1
Woodpigeon	4		Total	482

Thursday 31st May 2012

Slim pickings on the ringing front today with a Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and a couple of new Greenfinches. The female Serin was seen once more early AM as well as 5 Turtle Doves, a Cuckoo, A Pale-bellied Brent and 2 Marsh Harriers heading South. A few Swallows, Swifts and House Martins trickled through over the morning and Harbour Porpoise and an Emperor Dragonfly were the highlights of the non-avian observations.

Wednesday 30th May 2012

The female Serin showed up again this morning having not been seen since Monday last week. Still a couple of new Whitethroats & Blackcaps showing up in the bushes that need to get a move on if they are going to breed this year. A male Red-breasted Merganser went south along the beach line having presumably done the business & abandoned the wife. A Lapwing on the reserve may also be the start of the autumn migration for this species. Also on the move going south 22 Swallows, 6 Goldfinch, 5 House Martins, Whimbrel & Great-crested Grebe plus 8 Brents going north. Hobby & Fulmar also noted flying around during the morning with the number of young Starlings on site showing a welcome increase. Moth traps picking up a greater variety in recent days including a Dark Sword Grass this am.

Tuesday 29th May 2012

8 birds ringed this morning with slightly cooler conditions. A third Marsh Warbler was a nice surprise early very AM, and a few new Whitethroats and Spotted Flycatchers were Welcome. Juvenile Linnets numbers continue to increase with a few of these finding nets also. Sandwich, Little and Common Tern were all seen offshore,along with 11 Common Scoter, 8 Barnacle Geese and a Fulmar. Grey, Yellow and Pied Wagtails all made an appearance throughout the morning too. A pair of Harbour Porpoise were again seen in the estuary, presumably the same pair hanging around from a few days ago?

Little Tern (Allan King)

Monday 28th May 2012

Another clear hot morning but still with more visible nets a few birds were caught. A dose of new warblers were in including a couple of Blackcap and Garden warbler, a Chiffchaff and a least 4 new Whitethroats. The highlight of the morning came in the form of a Dutch ringed Marsh Warbler, which appears to be the first of this species to be recovered in the UK from that scheme. The Brent geese continue to move with 157 seen going out, amongst the a Pale-bellied bird. Little else on the move apart from a couple of Med Gulls, a Greenshank, a few Common Tern and a single Little Tern

Sunday 27th May 2012

No sign of the Greenish or Marsh Warblers today. A few new birds had moved in with New male Firecrest, Chiffchaff and Reed Warbler ringed. A few more Four-spotted Chasers around the obs and a lone Hairy Hawker. Elsewhere quite quiet with a roving Siskin, a Sandwich Tern and a passing Peregrine being the highlights. 40 More Brents were seen heading North early on, most of which have presumably left the local estuaries for their breeding ground by now.