Saturday 5th October 2013

An overcast day with a slight northwest breeze. Good numbers of migrants were on the move south and included 5 Grey Wagtail, 49 Meadow Pipit, 19 Pied Wagtail, 57 Swallow, 23 Chaffinch, 128 Goldfinch, Skylark, 3 Siskin & House Martin. Grounded migrants included 15 Robin, 2 Redwing, 6 Chiffchaff, 2 Firecrest, Lesser Whitethroat, 9 Blackcap, 5 Wheatear and a Moorhen. Offshore passage was quiet with the only birds noted being 3 Barnacle Geese, 17 Black-headed Gull, 6 Common Gull, 2 Grey Heron and 4 Brent Geese all heading south along with another 6 Brent Geese heading north. Migrant moths this morning included 2 more Four-spotted Footman and a Clancy's Rustic.

Clancy's Rustic - photo by Tim Bagworth

 

 

42 Birds Ringed; 20 Meadow Pipit, 6 Chiffchaff, 6 Blackcap, 3 Song Thrush, 2 Robin, and single Sparrowhawk, Dunnock, Goldfinch, Collared Dove & Greenfinch.

Friday 4th October 2013

A breezy day with showers from mid morning. Very quiet today with only 2 Blackcap, 2 Firecrest, 7 Chiffchaff, 7 Wheatear, 3 Redwing, Redstart, 3 Whinchat, Whitethroat & Goldcrest noted. Overhead 15 Swallow, 2 Grey Wagtail & a Hobby all headed south. Offshore 1 Gannet, 1 Red-throated Diver and 16 Brent Geese headed south with another 6 north. In the moth traps another Four-spotted Footman was caught but a male this time.

Four-spotted Footman - photo by Tim Bagworth

 Ringing; 2 Chiffchaff & 1 Song Thrush.

Thursday 3rd October 2013

A strong easterly with rain in the early afternoon. Migrants grounded today were 10 Song Thrush, 12 Robin, 3 Brambling, 2 Redpoll, 4 Chiffchaff, 3 Firecrest, 2 Whinchat, 3 Redstart, 1 Goldcrest and the first Redwing of the autumn, whilst overhead 19 Swallow and 12 Goldfinch flew south. Offshore 31 Brent Geese, 14 Teal, 6 Pintail and 11 Wigeon headed south. The highlight in the moth traps was a female Four-spotted Footman.,

Four-spotted Footman - photo by Tim Bagworth

 

 

25 Birds Ringed; 5 Greenfinch, 5 Blackcap, 4 Robin, 3 Firecrest, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Chaffinch, 2 Dunnock, 1 Blackbird & 1 Song Thrush.

Wednesday 2nd October 2013

A very strong south-easterly this morning. The morning started well with a Grasshopper Warbler and a Brambling (3 in total) on the first net round along with a few Robins (15 in total). Other migrants today were 3 Chiffchaff, 10 Song Thrush, 3 Blackcap, Ring Ouzel, Merlin, 3 Redstart, 3 Wheatear, 7 Swallow, Hobby south and 3 Skylark south. Offshore 233 Brent Geese, 5 Wigeon, 4 Teal & 1 Common Scoter all headed south, whilst 2 Little Gull & 5 Gannet headed north, an Arctic Skua headed south then north close in.

20 Birds ringed; 7 Robin, 5 Song Thrush, 3 Brambling, 2 Blackcap and single Chiffchaff, Chaffinch & Grasshopper Warbler.

Tuesday 1st October 2013

A strong north-east wind today and sunny for most of the time. A few migrants were located today - 3 Redstart, 4 Wheatear, single Whinchat, Goldcrest and Firecrest, the latter two being the first of the autumn. Passage over head was slow with 9 Siskin and 9 Swallow heading south the only notable birds. Passage offshore included 795 Brent Geese, 102 Wigeon, 2 Shelduck, 2 Gannet, 3 Grey Heron, 4 Pintail and a Pomarine Skua all heading south, whilst heading north were 4 Brent Geese, 7 Wigeon, 4 Gannet, 2 Common Scoter, 1 Kittiwake and a Hobby.

12 Birds ringed; 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Greenfinch and single Blackcap, Grey Wagtail, Robin, Goldcrest & Chaffinch.

September Ringing Totals

400 birds of 34 species were ringed during the month, including our second Jack Snipe.

Sparrowhawk	3		Sedge Warbler	2
Jack Snipe	1		Reed Warbler	4
Woodpigeon	2		Wren	3
Collared Dove	2		Blackbird	1
Great Spotted Woodpecker	1		Song Thrush	7
Blue Tit	8		Spotted Flycatcher	2
Great Tit	7		Robin	16
Coal Tit	1		Redstart	1
Sand Martin	1		Wheatear	4
Swallow	3		Dunnock	3
House Martin	17		House Sparrow	1
Yellow-browed Warbler	1		Grey Wagtail	6
Chiffchaff	66		Meadow Pipit	62
Willow Warbler	23		Chaffinch	13
Blackcap	36		Greenfinch	73
Lesser Whitethroat	3		Goldfinch	14
Whitethroat	8		Linnet	5

Monday 30th September 2013

A sunny day with strong wind from the east-south-east. The only migrants noted today were 5 Chiffchaff, 1 Redstart, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Whinchat, 4 Wheatear, 1 Snipe, 1 Hobby heading south and an Osprey also heading south. Offshore 39 Black-headed Gull, 580 Brent Geese, 253 Wigeon, 10 Pintail, 4 Common Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser and 24 Teal headed south and 17 Brent Geese, 1 Kittiwake and 2 Shelduck headed north. A Golden Twin-spot in one of the moth traps this morning was a nice surprise.

Golden Twin-spot - Photo by Tim Bagworth

Ringing; 5 Greenfinch, 3 Robin, 2 Chiffchaff & 1 Song Thrush.

Sunday 29th September 2013

A sunny day with a strong east wind. Few birds were about apart from the 3 Golden Plover, 4 Wheatear and a Whinchat. Offshore southerly passage included 54 Teal, 307 Brent Geese and 232 Wigeon.

Ringing; single Woodpigeon & Song Thrush.