Saturday 4th May 2019

The north wind doth blow and we shall have hailstorms. Northbound 7 Common Tern, 3 Gannet, Arctic Tern, Gadwal, Sandwich Tern, Sparrowhawk & Swallow with southbound 19 Black-headed Gull, 15 Common Scoter, 2 Pomarine Skua, Gannet & Jackdaw. 9 Little Tern fed off the point for a while & 2 Swift came in off. Grounded migrants hard to come by but included 9 Wheatear & a handful of Blackcap, Lesser 'throat & Whitethroat.

Ringing: 2 Linnet.

Friday 3rd May 2019

Quieter than yesterday with the first Spot Fly of the year the highlight supported by 6 Wheatear, 5 Willow Warbler, 3 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, Lesser 'throat, Whitethroat & another new Song Thrush (passage of continental birds are still heading north-east). Offshore northbound 24 Gannet, 14 Common Scoter, 11 Cormorant,  10 Common Tern, 9 Sandwich Tern, 6 Swallow, 3 Oyk, 3 Little Tern, 3 Shelduck & 2 Whimbrel with southbound 21 Common Scoter, 11 Gannet, 5 Med Gull, 5 Swallow, 2 Fulmar, 2 Greylag, 2 Med Gull, 2 Sandwich Tern, Common Tern & Oyk. Couple of Porpoise offshore always worth a mention.

Waved Umber is, just about, annual here. Regular readers will have noticed a couple of slip ups in the blog recently - this is not due to misidentifications but the brain playing up when typing so if you notice any cock ups please let me know as it is often compiled in a rush.

Ringing: 5 Willow Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Wood Pigeon.

Thursday 2nd May 2019

Not often we get an LRP making holes in the lawn (although one turned up in spring a couple of years back and hung around several days).

An enjoyable and entertaining selection of migrants including 15 Willow Warbler, 13 Wheatear, 8 Lesser 'throat, 8 Whitethroat, 4 Song Thrush, 3 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 White Wag, 2 Yellow Wag, Black Red, Pied Fly, Redstart, Sedge Warbler, Sparrowhawk & Tree Pipit. On the move southbound 57 Swallow + 12 in off the sea, House and Sand Martin with northbound 2 House Martin, Grey Heron, Swift & Yellow Wag. Offshore southbound 5 Brent, 3 Med Gull, Fulmar, Oyk & Whimbrel. with northbound 2 Sandwich Tern. A falcon soaring high offshore and drifting out to sea was probably a male Red-footed Falcon and, if not this species, then we haven't got a clue what it was !

Lime Hawk-moth is not a regular customer in our traps with this freshly emerged one obviously not having come far.

Ringing: 10 Willow Warbler, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Wood Pigeon.

Wednesday 1st May 2019

Mallard have nested here on only rare occasions in the past but this pair look like they will.

On the move northbound 19 Common Scoter, 15 Brent, 10 Cormorant, 4 Sandwich Tern & Gannet with southbound 16 Goldfinch, 13 Cormorant, 5 Swallow, 4 Shelduck, 3 Greylag, 3 Fulmar, Sandwich Tern & Whimbrel. On site 6 Whitethroat, 4 Willow Warbler, 3 Lesser 'throat, 2 Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Firecrest, Sparrowhawk & Whimbrel.

Phtheochroa rugosana is a common micro here apparently feeding on White Bryony.

Ringing: 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Linnet, 1 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Wren. 

April Ringing Totals

249 birds of 22 species is the lowest April total since the observatory's inaugural year.

Blackcap	70
Chiffchaff	46
Robin	23
Linnet	20
Willow Warbler	15
Song Thrush	12
Wren	12
Goldcrest	11
Blackbird	8
Firecrest	5
Lesser Whitethroat	5
Dunnock	4
Whitethroat	3
Wood Pigeon	3
Great Tit	2
House Sparrow	2
Redstart	2
Blue Tit	1
Brambling	1
Redwing	1
Ring Ouzel	1
Sparrowhawk	1

Tuesday 30th April 2019

Quiet end to the month. Northbound 25 Cormorant, 7 Whimbrel, 4 Common Tern, 3 Sandwich Tern, Fulmar & Little Tern with southbound 9 Cormorant, 4 Greylag, 4 Oyk, Common Gull, Curlew & Red-throated Diver. On site 5 Wheatear, 4 Blackcap, 4 Swallow, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Lesser 'throat, 2 White Wagtail, Chiffchaff & Willow Warbler.

Nut-tree Tussock is apparently a common and widespread species, but not here where it has only been recorded in five previous years.

Ringing: 2 Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat.

Recent Ringing Recoveries

Blackbird ringed Landguard 3rd November 2016 retrapped 1534 km away at Jurmo Bird Observatory, Finland on 21st March 2019. Blackcap ringed Flatford Mill 18th August 2018 retrapped 21 km away at Landguard on 30th March 2019. Cetti's Warbler ringed Hollesley retrapped 16 km away at Landguard on 19th April 2019 (presumably a bird that has failed to find a mate and gone walkabout).

Monday 29th April 2019

Northbound 14 Common Scoter, 7 Black-headed Gull, 6 Sandwich Tern, 4 Whimbrel, 3 Common Tern, 3 Greylag, 3 Little Tern, 3 Mallard, 3 Oyk, 2 Swallow, Curlew & Razorbill with southbound 7 Swallow, 4 Black-headed Gull, 3 Yellow Wag, 2 Fulmar & 2 Med Gulls. On site 7 Wheatear, 6 Blackcap, 6 Whitethroat, 4 Chiffchaff, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Whinchat & Redstart. A few more butterflies on the wing plus a Hairy Hawker Dragonfly.

Opening up the moth traps is always enlivened by a Pale Prominent.

Ringing: 4 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Redstart, 1 Willow Warbler.

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 28th April 2019

Cool & windy morning. Southbound 168 Cormorant, 87 Black-headed Gull, 46 Herring Gull, 35 Med Gulls, 15 Common Gull, 8 Gannet, 7 Common Tern, 6 Whimbrel, 3 Crows, 3 Shelduck, 2 Brent, 2 Curlew, 2 Marsh Harrier, 2 Oyk, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Sparrowhawk, 2 Swallow, Fulmar, Great-crested Grebe, Little Gull & Little Tern with northbound 5 Canada Geese, 4 Black-headed Gull, 3 Sandwich Tern, Whimbrel & Yellow Wag. On site 7 Wheatear, 4 Whitethroat, 2 Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Greenfinch, Lesser Whitethroat, White Wagtail & Yellow-legged Gull.

Ringing: 1 Blackcap, 1 Dunnock, 1 Willow Warbler.