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Saturday 28th September 2019

Gale force winds not conducive to pleasant birding with quite probably more on site than seen including 25 Mipit, 20 Chiffchaff, 10 Blackcap, 3 Goldcrest, 3 Wheatear & Lesser 'throat. Southbound 220 Mipit, 29 Swallow, 7 Brent, 4 Great Black-backs, 4 House Martin, 3 Knot, 2 Grey Plover, Grey Wag, Little Egret, Reed Bunting, Shelduck, Spoonbill & Yellow Wag with northbound 8 Common Scoter & 2 Gannet.


Pearly Underwing is a migrant that has only been noted in very low numbers so far this year.

Ringing: 8 Chiffchaff, 6 Blackcap, 2 Goldcrest, 2 Meadow Pipit, 2 Robin, 1 Grey Wagtail.

Friday 27th September 2019

One of seven Wheatear out on the common.

There was a marked passage of Meadow Pipit today, with over 250 logged on their way south, and a further 40 out on the common. Added to this were 89 Swallow, 82 House Martin, 8 Goldfinch, 5 Brent Goose, 4 Grey Wagtail and 1 Yellow Wagtail. Our male Peregrine was observed carrying a bird it had caught out at sea back to a feeding perch, but the female Peregrine had other ideas and nicked its breakfast! A third Peregrine was seen heading south as well. On the reserve we maintained our 7 Wheatear, with 9 Blackcap, 7 Chaffinch, 5 Chiffchaff, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Goldcrest and 1 Firecrest.   

Scarce Bordered Straw is a regular migrant in low numbers at this time of year.

Ringing: 6 Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff, 2 Meadow Pipit, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 House Sparrow.

Thursday 26th September 2019

Chaffinch are starting to arrive in ones and twos, with this one battling against the wind heading south this morning.

Occasional showers and a strong breeze made for a tough morning of birding, though the wet weather did mean that there were some new birds in on the reserve. A total of 7 Wheatear is an autumn high so far, and these were joined on the common by 60 Meadow Pipit, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Reed Bunting and 1 Skylark. Southbound there were 80 Meadow Pipit, 74 Swallow, 7 Brent Goose, 5 House Martin, 5 Dunlin, 4 Common Gull, 3 Black-headed Gull, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, 2 Common Scoter, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Rock Pipit and 1 Grey Plover. Other grounded migrants were 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Chaffinch and 1 Blackcap.

Dusky-Lemon Sallow is and autumnal flyer living on elm trees, so it has to wander quite far to visit us.

Ringing: 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Herring Gull.

Wednesday 25th September 2019


Windy with occasional showers & drizzle not ideal with the sun eventually trying to break out late morning. Southbound 38 Swallow, 12 Mipit, 10 Great Black-backs, 7 Brent, 7 Wigeon, 6 Black-headed Gull, 6 Cormorant, 6 Med Gull, 4 Grey Plover, 4 Sandwich Tern, 4 Teal, 3 Grey Wag, 2 Shoveler, Curlew & Tufted Duck with northbound 4 Cormorant, 3 Gannet & 3 Sandwich Tern. On site migrants included 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Wheatear & Goldcrest. A dead emaciated Guillemot on the reserve had probably been picked off the beach by "foxy loxy".

No moth photo today as traps exceedingly predictable although 3 Delicate worth a mention.

Ringing: 2 Grey Wagtail, 1 Blackbird, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Wren.

Tuesday 24th September 2019

It was a wet and wild morning with a force 6-7 southerly wind, and visibility offshore often reduced. Most birds were hunkered down but some of the hardier watchers logged good numbers of waterfowl streaming past. There were 251 Brent Goose, 34 Wigeon, 20 Teal, 10 Common Scoter, 7 Great Black-backed Gull, 2 Swallow, 1 Pintail, 1 Oystercatcher, 1 Med Gull, 1 Meadow Pipit and 1 Bar-tailed Godwit battling south. Northbound there were 10 Gannet and 1 Cormorant. There was 1 Wheatear noted by the fort car park.

The second emergence of Bright-line Brown-eye is doing well this year.

Ringing: 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 House Sparrow, 1 Chiffchaff.

Monday 23rd September 2019

A Kestrel has been noted daily for some time now, and hopefully this one will have settled here and may breed next year.

After yesterday's eastern excitement it was back to business as usual with the wind swinging around to the south west, and visible migration was a bit more apparent today than of late. Southbound there were 122 House Martin, 117 Wigeon, 97 Swallow, 35 Dunlin, 28 Sand Martin, 26 Black-headed Gull, 26 Teal, 21 Cormorant, 17 Meadow Pipit, 8 Brent Goose, 8 Shelduck, 6 Sandwich Tern, 6 Turnstone, 5 Carrion Crow, 5 Gannet, 4 Pintail, 3 Common Gull, 3 Great Black-backed Gull, 2 Grey Heron, 2 Med Gull, 2 Oystercatcher, 1 Redshank, 1 Red-throated Diver, 1 Grey Plover, 1 Grey Wagtail and 1 Marsh Harrier. Northbound there were 8 Cormorant, 6 Sandwich Tern and 5 Gannet. On the reserve migrants were still thin on the ground, with Firecrest and Willow Warbler both present.

The first Delicate of the autumn arrived in the trap this morning. This is a migrant species with the palest individuals thought to originate in hot, dry areas.

Ringing: 4 Goldcrest, 4 Meadow Pipit, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Great Tit, 1 Blackcap, 1 Firecrest, 1 Willow Warbler.

Sunday 22nd September 2019


R.B.Fly was a Brucie bonus & only our 17th ever.

Otherwise typically hard work although visitors also enjoyed a couple of Firecrest that turned up late morning. Back up was provided by 25 Mipit, 11 Med Gull, 3 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Wheatear, Goldcrest, Great-spotted Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail, Lesser 'throat, Whinchat, Whitethroat & Willow Warbler. Southbound, 55 Brent, 19 Wigeon, 19 Swallow, 9 Teal, 3 Yellow Wag, 2 Oyk, Grey Heron, Pintail & the first Rock Pipit of the autumn.


Crocidosema plebejana is a very local species on vegetated shingle areas usually noted here in the autumn

Ringing: 2 Blackcap, 1 Dunnock, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Red-breasted Flycatcher, 1 Wren.