Saturday 18th June 2016

A blustery morning with scattered rain showers proved to be a rather dreary day at the observatory with very little of note.

Notable species include 6 Swift heading North and 3 Goldfinch milling around the site. A Hobby flew through early am and with 18 Little Tern, 6 Common Tern, 4 Cormorant, 4 Curlew, 2 Oystercatcher and 1 Mediterranean Gull all out to sea - that's about it for today.

This Privet Hawkmoth turned up in our moth traps this morning.

Ringing: No birds ringed today.

Recent Ringing Recoveries

Goldcrest ringed here 4th October 2015 was retrapped 234km away at Castricum, The Netherlands on 31st March 2016. Redwing ringed here 24th March 2016 found freshly dead after it hit glass 1039km away at Nerstand, Sigdal, Buskerud, Norway on 18th May 2016. Lesser Whitethroat ringed here on 18th September 2015 was retrapped 7km away at Walton-on-the-Naze, Essex on 4th June 2016.

Friday 17th June 2016

Greeted with thick and heavy cloud throughout most of the day, followed by heavy downpours in the afternoon and into the evening. A few new arrivals..

Totals of 21 Swift, 10 Curlew, 3 Cormorant, 3 Goldfinch, 2 Black Redstart, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Meadow Pipit, 1 Fieldfare, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Swallow, 1 Fulmar, 1 Common Gull and 1 Sandwich Tern were noted.

This Poplar Kitten moth turned up in our moth traps this morning and a real beauty.

Ringing: 15 birds ringed today including 4 Ringed Plover, 3 Starling, 3 Linnet, 2 Robin, 1 House Sparrow, 1 Wren and 1 Greenfinch.

Saturday Litter Pick

Litter pick this Saturday 18th June 0930hrs start. Further information on the events page of www.lbo.org.uk

Thursday 16th June 2016

Warmer winds from the south did give us a rather beautiful day. However, a slightly quieter day today at the observatory with just one very unusual exception ... This Fieldfare turned up just after dawn and a very unusual record for this time of year as these birds will now be breeding over in Scandinavia.

Other birds of note include at least 2 singing Lesser Whitethroat, 15 Common Whitethroat with the first fledglings of the year that appeared this morning. Also, 1 singing Chiffchaff, 6+ Goldfinch, 5 Swallow, 4 Swift and 1 House Martin.

Offshore - 10 Curlew, 9 Common Tern, 4 Little Tern and 3 Cormorant on the move.

The nature reserve is looking rather beautiful at the moment with an array of plant life, including this Common Broomrape.

Ringing: 11 birds ringed this morning including 4 Linnet, 3 Greenfinch, 1 Starling, 1 Robin, 1 House Sparrow and 1 Fieldfare.

Wednesday 15th June 2016

With only about 30 Serins ever ringed in the whole of the UK, it was a surprise to catch this female with a brood patch. With the number of records here at Landguard in the last few years, speculation is increasing over the possibility they may be breeding somewhere nearby.

Apart from the Serin the only migrant on site was a Spotted Flycatcher, Offshore 1 Curlew south, a small number of both Little and Common Terns are feeding close inshore and 2 more, or possibly the same 2 Avocets flew over.

7 birds ringed; 1 each of Serin, Spotted Flycatcher, Pied Wagtail, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Linnet.

Tuesday 14th June 2016

The torrential downpours overnight and into the early hours of this morning, despite the hope of something half decent turning up, the observatory was rather quiet today, albeit sodden.

Sightings include 12 Common Tern (above), 10+ Swift, 9 Curlew, 9 Goldfinch, 5 Little Tern, 3 Sandwich Tern, 3 Cormorant, 2 Mediterranean Gull, 2 House Martin, 2 Swallow, 2 Avocet, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Jackdaw, 1 Kittiwake and 1 Black Redstart.

This beautiful Cream-spot Tiger moth turned up in our moth traps this morning - what a stunner!

Ringing: 3 birds ringed this morning including 1 Goldfinch, 1 Dunnock and 1 House Sparrow.

Monday 13th June 2016

A change in the wind today brought a productive array of species to the observatory.

Observations include 172 Swift, 11 Common Tern, 9 Curlew, 6 Goldfinch, 4 Little Tern, 4 Swallow, 4 House Martin, 4 Sandwich Tern, 2 Mediterranean Gull (below), 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Siskin and 1 Gannet.

Scalloped Hazel put in an appearance for the first time since 2012, (above).

Ringing: 14 birds ringed today including 5 Linnet, 2 House Sparrow, 2 Dunnock, 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Great Tit, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Greenfinch and 1 Chiffchaff.

Sunday 12th June 2016

Spring has largely ground to a halt and it's mainly baby bird time of the year. Autumn passage consists of south 28 Swift, 8 Curlew & an Oyk. Two Grey Wagtail sitting on the point will be dispersing Juveniles. Moth traps picking up. Anerastia lotella is a nationally scarce moth that likes this sort of habitat so appears in the traps occasionally.

7 birds ringed: 3 Dunnock, 2 Blackbird, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Linnet