Saturday 18th February 2017

The first Fulmar of the year put in an appearance heading south this morning. Also on the move offshore southbound 3 Red-throated Diver, 3 Shelduck, 3 Oyk & 2 Brents with northbound 12 Red-throats & 4 Common Scoter. Overhead 2 Skylark went south on the way back to their breeding grounds. At least 900 Cormorants went out to sea fishing early on but some may have been missed. The Blackbird above with the white feather on the left side of his head has been here for several years holding territory.

Friday 17th February 2017

Good to hear a Songie singing by the gate first thing as they have been silent up to now. Other signs of spring include regular sightings of small numbers of Linnets in recent days and the pair of Peregrine becoming more obvious. Heading south this morning 151 Barnacles, 68 Golden Plover, 48 Brent, 5 Oyk, 3 Shelduck, 2 Red-throated Diver with northbound 36 Brent & 7 Brent. Offshore singles of Guillemot, Great-crested Grebe & Red-throat were sat on the sea visible in nice calm conditions. Land birds on the move were 2 Skylark south plus a Mipit heard but not seen. The Purple Sandpiper was on the point early on & 1,570 Cormorants were counted going out to sea to fish. The Golden Plover are worth highlighting as the early morning movements that have been noted in recent winters have not happened over this last winter.

February Litter Pick

Litter Pick this Saturday 18th February 2017 0930hrs start. Usual arrangements on the events section of www.lbo.org.uk

Thursday 16th February 2017

It's getting light to early in the morning these days with 2,060 Cormorants counted going out to sea fishing heading over the car park from 0645 to 0655hrs just as I arrived on site. A Guillemot paddled past the point on this mornings walkabout was characteristically still in winter plumage whereas those around the breeding colonies in England at the moment are in full breeding plumage suggesting that those wintering around here are possibly not English stock. A Skylark calling over the site just before this blog was written was today's migrant of a species that is one of the first to return to their breeding grounds in the spring (unfortunately Skylark has not nested at Landguard this century).

Wednesday 15th February 2017

75 Barnacle Geese went south & later in the morning 68 went north. Also on the move 670 Cormorant went out fishing with southbound 5 Brent, 2 Oyk, Red-throated Diver & a Shag just off the beach plus northbound 15 Brent, 10 Common Scoter, 7 Red-throats & a Great-crested Grebe. A Guillemot was on the flat calm sea. 2 Shelduck and 2 Ringed Plover on the reserve are an indication of the milder conditions and after the first Greenfinch record of the year yesterday 4 were present today. It's difficult to get excited about Greenfinch but after the cataclysmic decline in numbers its good to see some. The only white-winged gulls seen this morning were Med Gulls.

Tuesday 14th February 2017

First winter Glaucous Gull offshore early on and an adult Iceland Gull in the harbour around 8am for a while. 3 Greenfinch were the first of their kind noted this year which is a kind of sad for what was until recently an abundant species down here. Finally a Fieldfare on site is worth a mention.

LANDGUARD BIRD OBSERVATORY WARDEN 2017

Landguard Bird Observatory require a seasonal warden from mid-March to mid-November 2017. Applicants need to be competent at bird identification and as a minimum requirement have a BTO bird ringing "C" permit plus a mist net endorsement. For further information and a job description please e-mail landguardbo@yahoo.co.uk

Monday 13th February 2017

Glaucous Gull performed well this morning following a tug out then coming in behind a container ship with this tug behind it then going out again behind the Stenna Britannica. As the appearances are now somewhat erratic I am not sure how many Glauc's we have had this year considering the numbers in the country this winter. Apart from that a Stock Dove was a first for the year & the Rock Pipit was along the riverbank. The first Collared Dove nest of the year was found but it is thought that they have already failed in previous nesting attempts over the last six weeks.

Sunday 12th February 2017

A single Fieldfare is today's migrant on another day of poor visibility and the occasional wintry shower. A handful of Brents went up & down the coast, a Teal flew inland & the Rock Pipit was along the riverbank. It seems to be the same seagulls in the car parks in the moment and if anyone needs to practice their gull identification one can sit in the car with the heater on with some scraps of bread and they come to you with some of them so close one doesn't need any binoculars - just avoid the View Point at midday as the car park gets full and plenty of folks wandering about.