Recent Recoveries

Lesser Redpoll ringed Landguard 22/10/2013 controlled 533km away in South Lanarkshire on 14/02/2015 which is interesting in that it has stayed up north last winter. Dunnock ringed Landguard 04/07/2014 found dying 4km away in Harwich on 18/10/2015 which is a fairly typical movement for a juvenile Dunnock ringed here in the summer months - although more adventurous than most in that it flew across water. Goldcrest ringed 10km away at Bawdsey Hall 01/10/2015 was retrapped here 2 days later which illustrates how some of these species just slowly meander down the coast after arrival on our shores.

Saturday 31st October 2015

The new Goldcrests keep coming with at least 40 on site today contributing to a record autumn for this species - surely numbers will thin out soon ? Amongst a small trickle of other migrants were 18 Redpol, 5 Redwing, 3 Woodcock, 3 Brambling, 2 Rock Pipit, 2 Blackcap, Short-eared Owl, Black Redstart, Firecrest & Wheatear. Vis mig included southbound 82 Siskin, 71 Goldfinch, 15 Brambling, 15 Skylark, 3 Swallow & Lapwing with offshore 952 Brents, 68 Teal, 36 Wigeon & 2 Shelduck. The mild conditions are conducive to migrant moths with 2 Delicate, 2 Silver Y, Scarce Bordered Straw, Gem, Rusty-dot Pearl & Rush Veneer in today's haul.

40 birds ringed: 27 goldcrest, 3 lesser redpol, 3 blackbird, 2 goldfinch, 1 blackcap, 1 robin, 1 song thrush, 1 house sparrow, 1 woodcock.

Friday 30th October 2015

Greeted with a rather strong south south easterly wind this morning and a damp and dreary morning, several migrants were still evident on-site from yesterday and a few new arrivals.

New migrants today came in the form of 258 Brent Geese, 129 Teal, 104 Wigeon, 83 Common Scoter, 17 Gadwall, 3 Shelduck, 2 Red-breasted Merganser, 5 Cormorant, 5 Common Gull, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 4 Dunlin, 2 Curlew, 2 Woodcock, 1 Knot, 1 Oystercatcher, 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, c.15 Blackbird, c.20 Goldcrest, 1 Firecrest, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Redwing, c.10 Robin, 5 Meadow Pipit, 1 Rock Pipit, 63 Siskin, 14 Goldfinch, 8 Greenfinch, 6 Redpoll, 3 Chaffinch, 1 Linnet, 3 Swallow, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Short-eared Owl and 2 Long-tailed Tit.

This Vapourer moth was caught this morning, a day flying moth and hopefully the first of many to come in the coming weeks.

Ringing: A slightly smaller catch today than previous days with 2 Goldcrest ringed.

Thursday 29th October 2015

A strong southerly air flow greeted us this morning with a small new arrival of migrants present on-site.

New migrants today came in the form of 91 Brent Geese, 41 Wigeon, 26 Teal, 6 Gadwall, 1 Shelduck, 1 Goldeneye, 14 Cormorant, 6 Mute Swan, 1 Ringed Plover, 32 Meadow Pipit, 2 Rock Pipit, 186 Goldfinch, 33 Siskin, 16 Chaffinch, 3 Brambling, c.15 Goldcrest, 1 Firecrest, c.15 Robin, 1 Chiffchaff, c.20 Blackbird, 6 Redwing, 2 Mistle Thrush, 1 Fieldfare, 1 Song Thrush, 16 Skylark, 1 Wheatear and 1 Black Redstart.

A lovely Brambling alighted briefly on-site.

Ringing: 10 birds ringed during the morning which included 5 Goldcrest, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Blackbird, 1 Goldfinch and 1 Robin.

Wednesday 28th October 2015

Most of the morning was spent peering out into the rain, where we occasionally saw flocks of Brent geese and ducks of various species moving south through the gloom. The Brent Goose total came to 4644 although we invariably missed many more in the murk. Also seen were 173 Wigeon, 100+ Teal, 9 Tufted Duck, 6 Red-breasted Merganser,(5 of which were on the sea for a while), an Eider, 2 Gadwall, 9 Pintail and 3 Goldeneye. On site a number of thrushes began to drop in, although as yet not in large numbers, also 1 Wheatear, a Black Redstart, at least 1 Firecrest still amongst the Goldcrests and 1 Chiffchaff.

Ringing between the rain totalled 20 birds, 9 Blackbird, 7 Goldcrest, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Dunnock and a Wren.

Tuesday 27th October 2015

Another arrival of new birds to keep us entertained including 60 Goldcrest, 40 Blackbird, 10 Redwing, 7 Song Thrush, 3 Fieldfare, 3 Firecrest, 3 Rock Pipit, 4 Mistle Thrush, 3 Brambling, 3 Black Redstart, 1 Wheatear & 1 Merlin. Vis mig included south bound 221 Starling, 43 Goldfinch, 33 Siskin, 20 Skylark, 19 Mipit & 2 Swallow. Offshore heading south 1,194 Brents, 86 Wigeon, 73 Teal, 19 Common Gull, 7 Eider, 6 Common Scoter, 5 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Curlew, 1 Mallard & Oyk. Finally yesterdays Pallas's Warbler is still with us.

58 birds ringed: 30 Goldcrest, 13 Blackbird, 4 Wren, 2 Song Thrush, 2 Chaffinch, 1 Starling, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Great Tit, 1 Brambling, 1 Goldfinch.

Monday 26th October 2015

At this time of year, any wind direction from the east can provide rather decent autumnal birding, scarcities and rarities and today was exactly one of those days with a good arrival of migrants of our Scandinavian variety.

Dawn broke and it was evident that there had been a decent fall over night as today produced 150+ Goldcrest, 3 Firecrest, 1 Pallas's Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, c.30 Blackbird, 16 Redwing, 3 Fieldfare, 3 Song Thrush, c.25 Robin, 40 Goldfinch, 35 Greenfinch, 22 Chaffinch, 18 Linnet, 8 Brambling, 6 Redpoll, 2 Siskin, 11 Skylark, 6 Meadow Pipit, 3 Black Redstart, 2 Woodcock, 2 Coal Tit (continental race).

A stunning Pallas's Warbler turned up in a net mid morning and showed on and off throughout the day. The last one was ringed way back in 2008 at the observatory so a very welcome visitor.

Sea watching produced 150 Brent Geese, 10 Wigeon, 6 Teal, 5 Turnstone, 1+ Snipe, 1 Dunlin, 1 Purple Sandpiper, 3 Mediterranean Gull and 2 Great Skua.

Ringing: 152 birds were ringed during the day from dawn until dusk which included 115 Goldcrest, 10 Blackbird, 8 Robin, 3 Firecrest, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Chaffinch, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Wren, 1 Dunnock, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Brambling, 1 Redwing, 1 Woodcock and 1 Pallas's Warbler.

Sunday 25th October 2015

Clocks changed with a colder morning & less birds ! Worth a mention moving southbound 39 Goldfinch, 19 Skylark, 14 Wood Pigeon, 12 Chaffinch, 8 Greenfinch, 6 Linnet, 4 Swallow, 2 Siskin, 2 Redpoll, 2 Reed Bunting, Brambling plus 2 Woodlark that flew over the observatory and may have pitched in briefly on the reserve. Two Short-eared Owls were on the reserve most of the morning with one departing inland over the docks inland. Grounded passerines were thin on the ground but included the usual suspects for the time of the year with a very small number of new Blackbird,Goldcrest, Blackcap & Chaffinch on site plus a brief visit by 18 Long-tailed Tit.

10 birds ringed: 4 goldcrest, 2 wren, 2 greenfinch, 1 blackbird, 1 chaffinch.