Saturday 12th August 2017

Generally a quieter day today, remaining overcast and the wind gathered pace during the morning. Migrants noted on the reserve were 10 Willow Warbler & 1 Reed Warbler which was singing in front of the observatory. At the point 36 Common Tern plus 12 going North & 1 Sandwich Tern. Offshore going South 19 Swallow, 16 Black-headed Gull, 3 Redshank & 1 Whimbrel.

As the autumn progresses species like Orange Swift are starting to appear.

10 birds ringed: Willow Warbler 7, Linnet 1, Robin 1, Whitethroat 1

Friday 11th August 2017

Calm continued again today, with good cloud cover to start the day which cleared by mid morning. A juvenile Whinchat (pictured) was the first of the autumn for Landguard seen at the point this morning and a Wheatear was in the same area. Other birds noted on the reserve this morning 7 Willow Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 1 Reed Warbler & 1 Sparrowhawk.
Feeding off the point 25 Black-headed Gull plus 6 going South, 3 Common Tern & 1 Sandwich Tern.
Passage offshore going South 10 Swallow, 6 House Martin, 5 Teal & 1 Little Egret, going North 28 Greylag Goose & 2 Oystercatcher plus 1 going South.

Small Ranunculus has colonised the site over the last 20 years but it is still infrequent in the moth traps.

12 birds ringed: Willow Warbler 5, Dunnock 2, Blackbird 1, Goldfinch 1, House Sparrow 1, Robin 1, Wheatear 1

Ringing Recovery

Whinchat ringed this spring13th May 2017 at Oostvaadersdijk, Ijsselmeerpolders, The Netherlands retrapped 273km away at Landguard four days later. This is only the fourth ever foreign ringed Whinchat to have been found in the UK and the first from Holland. Two previous British Whinchats ringed on autumn passage in the UK have been trapped in spring in The Netherlands suggesting that at least some British Whinchats travel through Holland on spring migration.

August litter pick

Litter Pick this Saturday 12th August 0930hrs start. Usual arrangements on Events page of www.lbo.org.uk

Thursday 10th August 2017

The rain on Wednesday afternoon continued into a night of heavy rainfall that only eased after first light this morning. Noted on the reserve were 12 Willow Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler at the observatory and 1 Wheatear was at the Butts pond.
It was much busier offshore with the highlight of the morning being 3 Arctic Skua going North, other passage going North 184 Common Tern plus 22 South and 11 feeding on the point, 44 Gannet, 27 Common Scoter, 11 Sandwich Tern plus 2 South and 3 on the point, 1 Fulmar plus 1 South & 1 Arctic Tern.
Passage going South 24 Oystercatcher, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Common Sandpiper & 1 Sanderling.
Coming in West off the sea 1 Golden Plover.
Very quiet in the moth traps today but was to be expected from the overnight wind and rain.

9 birds ringed: Willow Warbler 6, House Sparrow 1, Magpie 1, Sedge Warbler 1

Wednesday 9th August 2017

What started as a pleasant, if overcast morning, deteriorated by midday as the rain set in. However plenty of birds were about, both on land and at sea, as a good number of Warblers were feeding on site, including at least 15 Willow Warbler(above), 9 Whitethroat, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Reed Warbler and 2 Chiffchaff. Swallows and Sand Martins are on the move south, with 45 of the former and 5 the latter. Offshore max of 68 Common Tern feeding near point + 26 passing north and 19 south, along with 10 Oyster Catcher, ones & twos of Fulmar, Redshank, Whimbrel, Curlew, Golden & Grey Plover + a lone Avocet also going south. Lastly a Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was seen loafing in the Harbour.  

The moth traps were much quieter, although this Brimstone moth is always nice to see.

Ringed 17 birds: 8 Willow Warbler, 2 each of Greenfinch, Linnet and Whitethroat and 1 each of Lesser Whitethroat, Reed Warbler and Robin.

Tuesday 8th August 2017

A cloudy and calm start to the day, the direction and speed of the wind was difficult to evaluate. Noted on the reserve this morning 8 Willow Warbler, 3 Reed Warbler, 3 Wheatear & 1 Sparrowhawk. Going South over the reserve 2 Yellow Wagtail.
Passage going South offshore 22 Common Tern plus 23 feeding on the point, 11 Black-headed Gull, 9 Common Scoter, 6 Oystercatcher, 5 Whimbrel, 2 Dunlin & 1 Curlew.

With the size of the Landguard moth list to get 2 additions in a morning takes some doing. Glyphipterix schoenicolella and Ptocheuusa paupella both inhabit damp areas with the former being the rarer of the two in Suffolk.  (Postscript - after closer examination of the first named moth above it is probably G.equitella not as above but boy o boy this particular group are not easy !)

21 birds ringed: Willow Warbler 6, House Sparrow 3, Reed Warbler 3, Linnet 2, Robin 2, Whitethroat 2, Blackbird 1, Lesser Whitethroat 1, Wren 1

Monday 7th August 2017

A clear sky at the start of the day gave to a warm morning with increasing cloud cover as the day progressed. A few new migrants were noted at Landguard, on the reserve 25 Willow Warbler, 3 Wheatear, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Yellow Wagtail.
Going South offshore, 33 Common Tern plus 3 feeding at the point, 18 Swallow, 15 Oystercatcher, 7 Curlew, 6 Golden Plover & 1 Whimbrel. Going North offshore 11 Barnacle Geese.

Rosy Rustic is one of those autumnal species now turning up as the season progresses.

25 birds ringed: Willow Warbler 14, Linnet 6, Goldfinch 1, House Sparrow 1, Robin 1, Spotted Flycatcher 1, Woodpigeon 1.

Sunday 6th August 2017

Autumn migration has started with early returning Warblers and Hirundines beginning to head back south for the winter. Around 15 each of Willow Warblers and Whitethroats, along with lesser numbers of Lesser Whitethroat, Yellow Wagtails, Sand Martins and Swallows being on the move, although the family of Swallows around the fort are not yet ready, as the brood of 5 young(one of which above) have only fledged today.  

Much quieter in the moth traps overnight, although this Plain Pug, a Saltmarsh and tidal estuary dweller, may not have had far to come, but is a species we don't see too often here.

Ringed 9 birds: 4 Willow Warbler, 3 Robin, 1 Whitethroat and 1 Sedge Warbler.