Saturday 10th August 2019

Tad early in the autumn for a force 6 - 8 gale gusting 9. Birding hard work Southbound 33 Swift, 30 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 9 Oyk, 5 Golden Plover, 2 Grey Plover, 2 Whimbrel, Common Tern, Dunlin, Redshank & Shelduck. What migrants (and locals) there are grounded on site are keeping their heads down in this wind.

Straw Underwing is one of only a handful of species that braved the elements to find a trap last night.

Ringing: 5 Goldfinch.

Friday 9th August 2019

Fair south-easterly to start with before veering SSW and occasional light drizzle. Southbound 26 Oyk, 5 Barwit, 5 Sandwich Tern, 2 Grey Plover, 2 Whimbrel, Common Gull, Common Scoter, Curlew, Dunlin, Fulmar & Swallow with northbound 21 Common Tern, Arctic Skua & Common Scoter. Arctic Skua has become increasingly scarcer over the years so this one close inshore was most welcome. On site the weather not ideal for looking for migrants but included 5 Willow Warbler, 3 Lesser 'throat, 2 Pied Fly & Nightingale.

You know its autumn when the first Orange Swift appears.

Ringing: 56 Starling, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Pied Flycatcher.

Thursday 8th August 2019

Wasp Spider.

First Garden Warbler of the autumn with a supporting cast of 12 Willow Warbler, 6 Whitethroat, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Wheatear, Reed Warbler, Skylark & Yellow Wag. Southbound 8 Swallow & 3 Sand Martin.

Mullein Wave does well here with two generations during the year.

Ringing: 53 Starling, 12 Willow Warbler, 1 Dunnock, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 House Sparrow, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Linnet, 1 Pied Wagtail.

Wednesday 7th August 2019

Southbound 7 Oyk, 7 Sand Martin, 7 Swift, 6 Golden Plover, 6 Swallow, 2 Turnstone, 2 Whimbrel & Med Gull with northbound 4 Barnacle Geese. On site 12 Willow Warbler, 5 Whitethroat, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Wheatear, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Hobby, Mipit & Sparrowhawk.

Bordered Straw is a half decent migrant that we do well for in some years.

Ringing: 59 Starling, 7 Willow Warbler, 3 House Sparrow, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker.

Tuesday 6th August 2019

Oyk chicks tend to frequent the car parks & areas in front of the Fort early morning. Unfortunately one was a flat as a pancake on View Point Road this morning but with many of the early morning delivery vans heading for the cafe plus dog walkers with four-wheel drives being driven at high speed with no care for any wildlife on the road then it is a risky place to frequent. Having watched them growing up this sort of incident puts a downer on the whole day. Migrants on site included 12 Willow Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Tree Sparrow & Wheatear. Southbound 6 Swallow, 3 Sand Martin, 2 Oyk, Med Gull & Whimbrel with northbound 31 Barnacle Geese.

Windy night so moth traps back to basics. White-line Dart is a variable species that can be numerous here in the late summer and early autumn.

Ringing: 7 Willow Warbler, 1 Dunnock, 1 Linnet, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 Whitethroat.

Monday 5th August 2019

Southbound 58 Swift, 4 Swallow, 3 Curlew, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Whimbrel, Common Gull, Golden Plover, Sand Martin & Shelduck. A Wood Sand went over high calling unseen presumably heading inland. On site migrants included 3 Willow Warbler, Green Woodpecker, Redstart & Wheatear.

This Moth caused some grief. It has been narrowed down to an Olepa species, either O.schleini, O.ricini or O.toulgoeti - they mostly live in the Indian subcontinent with one of them as near as the Mediterranean coast of Israel. One has been recorded in the UK before.

Ringing: 6 Linnet, 1 Blackcap, 1 Dunnock, 1 Greenfinch, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Wood Pigeon.

Sunday 4th August 2019

Common Darter is a migrant here that appears in variable numbers each year. Emergence has been noted in the Butts pond in some years but last years drought was devastating for all Odonata in this spring filled pond.

Small trickle of new migrants including 7 Willow Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, Pied Fly & the third Nightingale in a week. Little visible movements included southbound 5 Cormorant, 4 Oyk & Curlew with northbound 21 Barnacle Geese & Fulmar.

After yesterdays excitement moths were back to normal with today's featured beastie being Iron Prominent which is only occasionally in our traps presumably due to the fact that its foodplants are birches, alder, hazel and oak trees.

Ringing: 6 Starling, 2 House Sparrow, 2 Linnet, 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Robin, 2 Willow Warbler, 2 Wood Pigeon, 1 Dunnock, 1 Nightingale, 1 Wren.