Saturday 20th April 2019

Female Emperor always livens up a morning.

First Whitethroat of the year with a supporting cast of 10 Wheatear, 4 Blackcap, 4 Goldcrest, 3 Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat & Redwing. On the move northbound 7 Swallow, 3 Rook & Sand Martin.

Only the third site record of Lunar Marbled Brown - its not a rare moth nationally but it is here.

Ringing: 3 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Linnet, 2 Robin, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Willow Warbler.

Friday 19th April 2019

Cetti's Warbler is only our 9th ever with this one already ringed elsewhere it will help with the evaluation of the dispersive capabilities of what is supposedly a sedentary species. Also this morning 15 Wheatear, 6 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, 2 Willow Warbler, Black Redstart, Brambling, Goldcrest & Jackdaw. On the move northbound 10 Swallow, 9 Whimbrel, 7 Common Scoter, 2 House Martin, Oyk & Sandwich Tern with southbound 4 Barnacle Geese & Mallard (in addition to the pair that have been wandering around the reserve the last couple of mornings as she decides where to settle down).

Swallow Prominent lives on Poplars but has been declining over the years (but then again an awful lot of insect species are declining here despite the habitat remaining roughly unchanged a great deal over time).

Ringing: 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Linnet, 1 Blackcap, 1 Robin, 1 Wren.

April Litter Pick

Litter Pick this Saturday 20th April 0930 hrs start. Usual arrangements on the Events page of www.lbo.org.uk

Thursday 18th April 2019

Moorhen is todays oddity as it is not a species we record annually. A spring Tree Pipit is also notable these days as they get scarcer over the years. Migrants include 7 Wheatear, 6 Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff, 6 Song Thrush, 4 Whimbrel, 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Black Redstart, 2 Sandwich Tern, Sand Martin & Swallow. Murky offshore with only a Red-throated Diver worth a mention.

Double-striped Pug should be common but only a couple have appeared so far this year.

Ringing: 6 Blackcap, 5 Linnet, 3 Chiffchaff, 3 Song Thrush, 3 Willow Warbler, 1 Blackbird, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Robin.

Wednesday 17th April 2019

A half decent arrival this morning including 18 Blackcap, 10 Chiffchaff, 10 Swallow, 9 Wheatear, 8 Song Thrush,  4 Willow Warbler, 2 Black Redstart, 2 Firecrest, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Redwing, Brambling, House Martin, Lesser Whitethroat, Mistle Thrush, Ring Ouzel, Sparrowhawk & Whimbrel. Murky offshore but northbound 8 Common Scoter, 7 Gannet, 4 Common Tern, 3 Eider, 2 Whimbrel, Dunlin, Fulmar, Shag & Turnstone with southbound 7 Oyk, 2 Dunlin plus 5 Greylag in off.

Pine Beauty is a conifer species that just about manages to visit us once or twice a year.

Ringing: 14 Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Blackbird, 2 Firecrest, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Linnet, 2 Redwing, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Robin 1 Wren.

Tuesday 16th April 2019

Having only seen one Willow Warbler all spring 3 here today constitutes a "fall" with a supporting cast of 8 Chiffchaff, 7 Wheatear, 3 Blackcap, Swallow, Whimbrel and the first Redstart & Sedge Warbler of the year. Offshore quiet with northbound 7 Common Scoter, Curlew & Gannet.

Northern Drab is one of those species that occurs in low numbers and often looks not a lot like the ones in the books.

Ringing: 2 Blackcap, 2 Willow Warbler, 1 Redstart, 1 Robin.

Monday 15th April 2019

Strong south-easterly wind and clear drought conditions results in few migrants. Offshore northbound 12 Brent, 12 Gannet, 5 Black-headed Gull, 3 Kittiwake, 3 Red-throated Diver & 2 Fulmar. 5 Turnstone headed up river with a brave Swallow battling north on the inland side of the observatory. On site 3 Wheatear, 2 Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Purple Sandpiper, Redwing & Ring Ouzel.

Chamomile Shark is noted here in very small numbers most years.

Ringing: 1 Blackcap.

AGM Reminder

The AGM will take place at 7.30 pm on Tuesday 30th April 2019 at Felixstowe Bowls Club Committee Room, Crescent Road, Felixstowe IP11 7PB Members should have received a copy of the AGM Agenda plus the minutes of last years meeting but in a couple of instances we do not hold a current e-mail address - if you are a member & have not received the relevant paperwork and would like a copy please contact landguardbo@yahoo.co.uk

Sunday 14th April 2019

Offshore northbound 19 Gannet, 14 Cormorant, 10 Black-headed Gull, 10 Red-throated Diver, 4 Common Tern, 2 Common Scoter, Kittiwake, Oyk, Shelduck & Sandwich Tern (first of the year) with southbound 2 Red-breasted Merganser & 2 Shelduck plus a male Merlin that came in off the sea. On site 5 Wheatear, 2 Turnstone, Blackcap & Chiffchaff.

Ringing : nil.