Blackbird ringed Landguard 30th October 2017 retrapped 77 km away at Little Abingdon, Cambridgeshire 15th November 2017. Lesser Redpoll ringed Landguard 22nd October 2017 retrapped 17 km away in Ipswich two days later.
We don't normally post local dead birds but of interest a Blackbird flat as a pancake on View Point Road this morning was ringed here 3rd April 2012 which will have been born in 2011 so was roughly 6.5 years old and will no doubt have held a territory along the Butts and attempted nesting for the last six years. If you ever see a dead bird flat on the entrance road please peel it off and report the ring details either direct to the BTO via their website or to ourselves as a high proportion of flat birds on View Point Road will be wearing rings and it provides useful information on survival rates and longevity.
Saturday 23rd December 2017
Tedium was relieved by an immature (probably first-winter) Glaucous Gull heading north at the same time as a Great-northern Diver went south. Why on earth happen at the same time when the only other rewards in over an hour starring out to sea were 3 Red-throated Diver, 3 Wigeon & a very small number of seagulls ? At least 815 Cormorants went out fishing in the half light, a Purp reappeared on the point for the first time in three weeks & Mrs Stonechat is hanging on in there. 5 Mipits on the reserve is the only other thing worth a mention. At least the days are starting to get longer - not that one can notice it yet !
Friday 22nd December 2017
Some migrants in the form of 2 Skylark heading south plus a Reed Bunting on site. 18 Mipits on the reserve is a high count for this time of the year as winter counts are normally in the low single figures or even nil. 515 Cormorants went out fishing. Roughly 40 mins seawatching produced a flock of 45 Common Scoter south plus one north and a handful of seagulls but literally nothing else (although on the plus side at least one could see the sea this morning !).
Thursday 21st December 2017
Winter solstice with thick damp fog up to early afternoon is not conducive to one's mental health & general well-being which was only improved by mince pies, caffeine & chocolate. One of those rare blogs when birds are not mentioned.
Wednesday 20th December 2017
Damp, misty and basically unpleasant. The Rock Pipit along the riverbank has been feeding along the tideline the past couple of days with sharp eyes noting the photo above was taken in the sunshine yesterday. The Snow Bunting population on the beach has doubled to 2 this morning with the only other record worth a mention being a disorientated Skylark heading north in the poor visibility.
Tuesday 19th December 2017
Glorious sunny frosty morning with both stunning male Bullfinch & Black Redstart unexpectedly turning up at the observatory. Other migrants noted were 2 Snipe, Fieldfare, couple of new Chaffinch plus 2 Skylark heading south. 2 Ringed Plovers flying north along the beach could possibly be returning locals checking the place is still here in preparation for next spring. The Rock Pipit was along the tideline & the Snow Bunting was heard calling so is lurking somewhere along the beach.
Monday 18th December 2017
At least 5 Songies on site and 4 Mipit but no other sign of migration. Greeny numbers have increased to the dizzy heights of 15 - sadly this is notable for recent winters whereas in the 1970's & 1980's this species was so abundant that the observers around at the time didn't bother counting them. 1,383 Cormorants went out fishing this morning which is higher than in recent days when many birds seem to be missing us upon leaving the inland roost and heading north east to somewhere off the mouth of the Rivers Deben or Alde. The Snow Bunting reappeared on the beach again this morning which suggests either we are incompetent at finding it or it is being nomadic and is not here all the time.
Sunday 17th December 2017
A small arrival of new Blackies & Songies will be cold weather refugees from inland. The Rock Pipit was back on the point & the Stonechat was on the south end of the Butts. Starring offshore a waste of time in bright sunshine but one gets the impression that even without the bright sunshine it would have still been unproductive. Noted southbound 3 Shelduck & Great-crested Grebe with northbound 13 Teal.
Ringing: 4 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush.
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