Hard work - situation normal. Yellow-legged Gull on the reserve although it is suspected that we overlook many more of its kind behind shipping offshore. Offshore southbound 4 Brent & 3 Shelduck with northbound 61 Brent, 3 Red-throated Diver, Fulmar & adult Glaucous Gull. Overhead a Rook went south whilst on the reserve a female Wheatear was only the second time that this species has turned up this year and a first visitation by it's gender. Apart from the above the best we can manage is a new Chiffchaff plus a couple of Goldcrest left over from recent days.
So far this month the moth traps have produced a grand total of just 31 moths of 12 species (including this Clouded Drab). If anyone knows which deity is the one to worship for warmer weather then please can you give it a go on our behalf.
Ringing: 1 Chiffchaff. An analysis of the data on resident birds retrapped since the "beasts from the east" does not make good reading. Only one Robin appears to have survived the winter in the compound (+ one by the Butts pond). Wrens have fared better with 7 retrapped (+ a couple more survivors on the Butts). 5 male & 4 female Blackbird have survived suggesting a 50% decline. Just the one Song Thrush seems to have made it through. Dunnocks have been thinned out although they are clever at not getting retrapped so data is still being accumulated. Hopefully some of the above mentioned species are just keeping their heads down but the impression is that many species have been "thinned out".