Saturday 7th October 2017

Mute Swan coming into the estuary this morning. 

Strong wind but with a little more South in the Westerly, the seawatch was more productive today.
Noted on the reserve, 40 Goldfinch, 30 Chiffchaff, 30 Linnet, 10 Goldcrest, 6 Blackcap, 4 Song Thrush, 2 Pied Wagtail,  1 Ringed Plover, 1 Sparrowhawk & 1 Wheatear.
Vismig going South, 414 Goldfinch, 40 Linnet, 19 House Martin, 18 Swallow, 8 Meadow Pipit, 8 Redpoll, 2 Skylark, 1 Greenfinch, 1 Pied Wagtail & 1 Rock Pipit.
Offshore going South, 373 Brent Goose, 201 Wigeon, 93 Dunlin, 36 Shelduck, 35 Knot, 23 Teal, 6 Black-headed Gull, 5 Common Gull, 3 Gadwall, 3 Grey Plover, 3 Tufted Duck, 2 Pintail, 2 Ringed Plover, 1 Mallard, 1 Oystercatcher, 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Snipe, 1 Turnstone,
Going North offshore, 45 Gannet, 2 Common Scoter & 1 Arctic Skua.
Coming in off the sea going West, 3 Redwing, 1 Grey Heron & 1 Mute Swan.

Very few moths due to the wind. The Brick is an autumnal species occurring in small numbers. 

34 birds ringed: Chiffchaff 18, Goldcrest 5, Blackcap 4, Lesser Redpoll 4, Song Thrush 2, Blackbird 1.

Friday 6th October 2017

One of the three Stonechat seen in the Butts pond area today.

Strong Northwesterly wind and clear sky for this morning. Plenty of birds moving through, noted on the reserve, 40 Goldfinch, 40 Linnet, 20 Chiffchaff, 12 Greenfinch,  5 Pied Wagtail, 4 Blackcap, 4 Meadow Pipit, 3 Goldcrest, 3 Stonechat, 2 Wheatear, 1 Coal Tit (Continental) 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Redwing, 1 Snipe & 1 Sparrowhawk.
Vismig going South, 640 Goldfinch, 51 Chaffinch, 46 Linnet, 44 Redpoll, 42 Meadow Pipit, 33 Swallow, 29 Greenfinch, 8 Skylark, 5 Grey Wagtail, 5 Pied Wagtail, 4 Reed Bunting & 1 Brambling.
Offshore passage going South, 6 Cormorant & 1 Common Scoter. Going East out to sea, 30 Cormorant.

16 birds ringed: Chiffchaff 4, Blackcap 2, Great Tit 2, Lesser Redpoll 2, Wren 2, Blue Tit 1, Chaffinch 1, Goldfinch 1, House Sparrow 1.

Thursday 5th October 2017

 A Great White Egret flying over the reserve this morning is the sixth site record for Landguard.

Strong wind and occasional, but heavy, showers this morning. Vismig quieter today than previous mornings, but Great Skua and Great White Egret are not a feature of many mornings at Landguard.
Noted on the reserve 60 Linnet, 50 Goldfinch, 16 Meadow Pipit, 15 Robin, 10 Chiffchaff, 5 Greenfinch, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Sparrowhawk, 2 Wheatear, 1 Redwing, 1 Song thrush & 1 Stonechat.
Following the coastline South, then turned inland to go West, 1 Great White Egret. Vismig going South 161 Goldfinch, 19 Swallow, 13 House Martin, 12 Meadow Pipit, 9 Siskin, 3 Redpoll, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Skylark & 1 Sparrowhawk.
Passage offshore going South, 1 Common Gull & 1 Shelduck. Going North 3 Common Scoter & 3 Great Skua.

Boarded Straw have not been very numerous this year so pleased to get this one today.

4 birds ringed: Chiffchaff 2, Redwing 1, Song Thrush 1.

Wednesday 4th October 2017

A day of mainly visible migration as 980 Goldfinches were logged going south along with 293 Meadow Pipit, 198 Linnet, 77 Chaffinch, 16 Greenfinch, 14 Pied Wagtail (with 10 on site), 10 Skylark, 5 Siskin, 4 Dunnock and 2 Reed Bunting also all going south. Other interesting records included 13 Grey Plover, 8 Dunlin, 1 Sanderling and 2 Whooper Swans also going south. On site 15 Chiffchaff, 5 Blackcap and 4 Goldcrest were noted.

22 birds ringed: 10 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Blue Tit and 1 each of Wren, Robin, Song Thrush, Chaffinch and Dunnock.

Tuesday 3rd October 2017

Despite the gale at least 5 Clouded Yellow butterfly on the reserve.

Strong Westerly wind and a clear sky, noted on the reserve 40 Linnet, 30 Goldfinch, 15 Robin, 6 Meadow Pipit, 5 Greenfinch, 4 Chaffinch, 3 Blackcap, 3 Goldcrest, 3 Skylark, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Pied Wagtail, 2 Wheatear, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Reed Bunting, 1 Sparrowhawk & 1 Yellow Wagtail.
Vismig going South, 1215 Goldfinch, 154 Linnet, 139 Swallow, 125 House Martin, 54 Meadow Pipit, 42 Greenfinch, 26 Chaffinch, 24 Starling, 21 Skylark, 19 Pied Wagtail, 14 Redpoll, 10 Siskin, 4 Reed Bunting, 3 Grey Wagtail, 2 Sparrowhawk & 1 Rock Pipit.
Passage offshore going North, 1 Sandwich Tern, going South, 12 Black-headed Gull & 5 Common Gull. Heading out to sea East, 59 Cormorant, coming in off the sea West 1 Pochard.

Lunar Underwing is a variable species that is having a reasonable Autumn.

2 birds ringed: Blackcap 1, Goldcrest 1

Monday 2nd October 2017

The seventh recorded Landguard Cetti's Warbler, ringed on 27th September, is still present at the Observatory. 

Strong Westerly winds but dry and clear this morning, offshore movement was quiet but there was good vismig over the reserve.

On the reserve this morning, 45 Linnet, 40 Goldfinch, 18 Robin, 11 Carrion Crow, 5 Greenfinch, 5 Pied Wagtail, 5 Wheatear, 4 Chaffinch, 4 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Redstart, 1 Cetti's Warbler & 1 Sparrowhawk.

Noted going South, 644 Goldfinch, 208 Linnet, 94 Swallow,  60 Meadow Pipit, 30 Siskin, 28 Greenfinch, 21 House Martin, 9 Chaffinch, 9 Pied Wagtail, 7 Black-headed Gull, 5 Carrion Crow, 5 Lesser Redpoll, 3 Common Gull, 3 Kestrel, 3 Shelduck, 2 Skylark, 1 Knot & 1 Reed Bunting. A Grey Heron came in off the sea going West.

4 birds ringed: 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Lesser Redpoll.

Temporary Fencing

It is planned to take down the temporary fencing put up for ground nesting birds & to protect the flora from trampling on Wednesday 4th October. This task doesn't take to long if a few people turn up. Please meet outside the cottage at 0930hrs & wear appropriate clothing and footwear for the task in hand.

The Landguard Ranger is looking for volunteers to help with various management tasks on the nature reserve over the coming months. More details may be found on the Landguard Partnership website or by contacting the Ranger via: landguardenquiries@eastsuffolk.gov.uk

Sunday 1st October 2017

The Red-throated Pipit seems to have departed, so the best we could manage today was this Redstart (above), and a brief Ring Ouzel seen first thing before flying off over the docks. Not much else on site, understandably given the weather, but 84 Swallow and 34 Brent Geese south made up the bulk of the other sightings.

Moth numbers are beginning to tail off now, but there should still be a few surprises to come like this Large Ranunculus (above), a local species to southern England and far less frequent here than its smaller, commoner cousin the Feathered Ranunculus.

5 birds ringed: 2 Blackcap,1 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldcrest and 1 Goldfinch.