11 birds of 5 species.
House Sparrow 4
Blackbird 3
Song Thrush 2
Fieldfare 1
Mediterranean Gull 1
The 2021 annual ringing total was less than 2,000 birds. Our previous lowest total was 2,762 in 2019 with the highest 9,622 in 1998. As numbers have been declining this century are we just going to have to get used to less birds to ring & look at ?
This youngster was reared on the museum roof this year and is still begging from its parent by the view point car park.
Mild for the time of the year plus the sun came out for a change! 254 Cormorant headed out fishing early on. Offshore southbound 2 Dunlin, 2 Shelduck, Brent & Goldeneye with northbound 4 Red-throated Diver plus 11 Kitts loitering. A Shag flew down river, Purp was on the point with the Rock Pipit on the shore by the docks.
Ringing: 1 House Sparrow.
Ringing: 1 Song Thrush
Running out of adjectives to describe the miserable weather with, yet again, more mist, drizzle & rain up to early afternoon. 814 Cormorant headed out fishing early on. Southbound 47 Wigeon, 3 Brent, 3 Shelduck, Common Scoter, Oyk & Red-throated Diver. 22 Kitts were following shipping. A small group of Dunlin, Ringed Plover & 5 Sanderling were on the beach in the early morning mist as it was getting light. At the point 4 Turnstone, 2 Purps & Rock Pipit.
Another dank morning but at least the rain held off till late am. 964 Cormorant headed out towards the Cork Sands for breakfast early on. On site 10 Fieldfare, 6 Turnstone, 4 Redwing, 2 Lapwing, Mipit plus a charm of 21 Goldfinch are worth a mention. Offshore southbound 18 Shelduck, 8 Teal, 6 Wigeon, 4 Brent, 4 Red-throated Diver & Guillemot with northbound single Brent & Red-throat in an hours observation.
Easterly wing plus rain delivered 31 Fieldfare, 11 Redwing & 9 Lapwing to the reserve but Xmas morning dog walkers soon shifted them. 225 Cormorant headed out fishing early on. Purp was on the point & Snow Bunting on the beach. Offshore southbound 44 Brent, 15 Golden Plover, 15 Wigeon, 9 Common Gull, 5 Teal, 4 Black-headed Gull, 3 Red-throated Diver, 2 Mallard, 2 Wigeon, 2 Red-breasted Merganser & Shelduck with northbound 12 Gannet, 7 Red-throats plus at least 7 Kitts loitering. Mid-pm update : 50 Fieldfare arrived in and straight off inland.
Ringing: 1 Blackbird, 1 Fieldfare.
313 Cormorant went out in the dull early morning mist. Offshore southbound 20 Red-throated Diver, 4 Shelduck, 3 Mallard, 2 Pintail, Gannet, Razorbill, Velvet Scoter & Whooper Swan with northbound 8 Red-throats. Pair of Peregrine chased off an itinerant young female with a full crop who had the audacity to fly past their patch. A Snow Bunting came in from the north dropping onto the beach & 4 Turnstone were on the riverbank. Wouldn't mind betting it's the same Velvet going past in recent days as it comes past at roughly the same time (c.0850 hrs) at the same distance. Whooper Swan is always a good Landguard sighting with this adult following the shoreline before turning right into the river mouth.
Ringing: 2 House Sparrow
7 adult Whooper Swans in off the sea heading for Cobbald's Point is only our 16th site record. Also offshore southbound 40 Shelduck (on their way back from the Waddenzee), 17 Brent, 11 Wigeon, 9 Red-throated Diver, 9 Shoveler, 7 Pochard, 6 Teal, 5 Common Scoter, Black-throated Diver, Great Crested Grebe & Oyk with northbound 11 Red-throats. Earlier on 331 Cormorant headed out to the Cork Sands fishing. On site 3 Turnstone, 2 Purps & Rock Pipit on the point, 2 Mipit on the reserve & Guillemot in the river.
It is only a couple of times a year that Herald visits the moth traps although a goodly number are hibernating in the buildings this winter.
Looks like Starfish are also on the menu.
Southbound 43 Red-throated Diver, 2 Gannet, 1 Teal & 1 Oyk with northbound 32 Common Scoter & 16 Red-throats. Drake Eider, Guillemot & Shag on the river plus a Rock Pipit on the riverbank.
If any photographers with decent equipment is down at the point in the afternoon's one of the Cormorants that likes siting on the green triangle is sporting a Danish metal ring but with our inferior cameras we have not been able to read the digits. Not as photogenic as the Eider - scientifically more valuable to get the ring combination & far more challenging !
3 separate Skylark came in off and inland were the only migrants. 3 Peregrine is worth a mention as not been seeing the regulars very often recently. Offshore very quiet with 2 Common Scoter south as good as it gets. Eider still on the river & Purp on the point.
Winter Stalkball is out in profusion at present in the open moss covered areas. It is one of the site specialities noted at few sites. A lover of open calcareous 'soils' it also occurs alongside old buildings where lime mortar was used. Note the bit of Rabbit 'poo' giving a size comparison.
Today's migrants were Velvet Scoter went north just offshore, a drake Goosander flew west over the observatory & 5 Fieldfare were present early on before departing inland. Offshore movements very poor and predictable. The drake Eider remains crabbing in the river & a Purp was on the point.
1,410 Cormorant went out fishing early on plus a stack more coming in from the north when the sun was out making them uncountable. New in were 3 Fieldfare, couple of new Blackies and 2 Siskin in off the sea. Offshore southbound 6 Brent, 6 Shelduck, 2 Goosander, 2 Great Crested Grebe & Shag with northbound 2 Red-throats plus 5 Wigeon sat on the sea for a while. 3 more Red-throats were in the river plus the drake Eider & Guillemot.
Ringing: 2 Blackbird, 1 Mediterranean Gull.
No coverage - all the regular observers on a coordinated low water count up the Orwell & Stour.
Dinner plate sized Oyster Mushrooms on rotting fallen Poplar stump that something has been nibbling at.
A Shag flew north & the drake Eider is still crabbing on the river. The highlight of a good walk around the site was 16 Goldfinch at the north end which is far more than we have been noting recently.
Very quiet with offshore movements barely worth a mention. 10 Kitts were following ships & the drake Eider is still with us on the river.
This tiny tot landed on the computer screen after dark yesterday. We have leaf mines of Acrocercops brongniardella on the Holm Oaks and very occasionally record the flying adult in mid-summer but there doesn't appear to be any winter records of adults in Suffolk despite the literature stating that they can fly all year round.
Ringing: 1 House Sparrow.
1,048 Cormorant heading out early on suggests less persecution at the roost inland and exemplifies how birds will return to preferred roost sites if at all possible. Movements offshore were southbound 26 Teal, 16 Brent, 3 Shelduck, 3 Shoveler, 2 Wigeon, Common Scoter, Gadwal & Red-throated Diver with northbound 3 Red-throats plus 2 Goosanders in off heading across towards Harwich and, presumably, on their way to Abberton. A Black-throated Diver was on the river before departing into Essex in addition to the regular drake Eider. 3 Turnstone were along the river & a Purp on the jetty.
Handful of new migrants including 4 Blackbird rising out of Marram Grass along the shore and towering off inland first thing, 4 Fieldfare dropping in when the fog descended, Water Rail in the compound & a Mipit heading south. 4 Shag is a notable count for us tying in with an arrival elsewhere in the general area. 2 Snow Bunting were on the strand line, drake Eider is still crabbing in the river, a Rock Pipit was briefly on the point & a Woodcock remains was along the riverbank having presumably washed down from up river..
Migrants were single Mistle Thrush, Woodcock plus a Snow Bunting heard calling as it went over. 260 Cormorant went out fishing plus 2,619 came onto the feeding grounds from the north. Offshore movements pathetic with southbound 6 Common Scoter, 4 Red-throated Diver, Brent & Guillemot with northbound 5 Red-throats & Common Scoter.
Another dank drizzly morning up until the front cleared and the sun coming out late morning. Only 2 Brent Geese seen but one of them was a Pale-bellied Brent Goose B.b.hrota which is only our 18th ever record although others may have been missed amongst more distant Brents. The drake Eider is still with us in the river plus a Shag noted nearby mid-morning. Offshore southbound 4 Red-throated Diver, 3 Gannet, Shag (different to the for mentioned individual) & Wigeon with northbound 6 Red-throats. 435 Cormorant headed out fishing with a stack more coming in from the north to the feeding grounds uncountable in the very poor viewing conditions. 10 Kitts were following ships, 7 Linnet on the reserve, 3 Turnstone were along the river, Chaffinch at the observatory & Mipit by the point indicating not a lot happening. Worth a mention is a couple of Common Seal hauled out on the Outer Ridge Buoy which is notable from the fact that in 40 years of observation we have never noted this behaviour before.
Ringing: 1 Song Thrush.
Bulk of the morning spent packing up the mist nets & moth traps for the winter. Despite this a drake Eider was by the point, a Shag was feeding just north of this and a Heron flew south.
215 birds of 21 species ringed. This continues the theme of poor returns this year for the effort put in although do have five lower November ringing totals over the past 40 years (the highest November ringing total was 1,523 in 1998). 3 Jay is worth highlighting plus on the doom & gloom side only the second Goldcrest all autumn.
165 Cormorant headed out fishing with a further 4,291 coming in from the north to feed on the Cork Sands. Apart from seagulls behind shipping (plus a few Gannets feeding with them) not a lot moving offshore with southbound 10 Common Scoter, 8 Brent, 4 Red-throated Diver, Kitt & Teal with northbound 11 Red-throats, 3 Common Scoter, Brent, Guillemot & Teal. The only suggestion of a migrant on site today is a new Chaffinch.
Ringing: 1 Chaffinch, 1 Wood Pigeon
First sharp frost of the winter for us. Only migrants apparent were 2 Redwing, Brambling, Chaffinch plus a Skylark flying south. Looking out to sea in this bright sunshine is retina damaging although no indication of anything on the move. 167 Cormorant headed out to sea over the observatory early morning suggesting that some are still using the traditional roost inland.
Ringing: 1 Chaffinch, 1 Redwing, 1 Wood Pigeon.
Small Tortoiseshell hibernating in a building.
Cold day with southbound 8 Brent, 8 Red-throated Diver, 5 Common Scoter, 5 Gannet, 3 Teal, Common Gull, Curlew & Kittiwake with northbound 4 Brent, 3 Gannet, 3 Red-throats, 2 Eider, Dunlin, Guillemot, Shelduck & Wigeon. Only migrant noted on site a Redwing.
Nominate race Guillemot Uria aalgae aalgae from up north in the river. Offshore southbound 43 Red-throated Diver, 9 Teal, 2 Common Scoter, Great Crested Grebe & Great Northern Diver with northbound 11 Common Scoter, 9 Red-throats, 2 Gannet, Curlew & Guillemot. Grounded migrants limited to a single Redwing with nothing going over with a walk of the reserve producing just the birds that will winter with us, Purp & Turnstone included.
Ringing: nil.
Blackcap ringed Svanker, Bedsted, Thisted, Viborg, Denmark 26th October 2021 retrapped 710 km away at LBO 9th November 2021. This is only the ninth Danish Blackcap ever caught in the UK & will be a bird coming into the UK for the winter.
Robin ringed Kilnsea, Yorkshire 3rd October 2020 retrapped 202 km away at LBO 15th November 2021. This will be a continental bird coming into the UK for the winter via two different routes in subsequent years coming in via a shorter sea crossing and later in the autumn this year.
Chaffinch ringed Dalen, Luster, Sogn og Fjordane, Norway 13th August 2019 was killed by a Sparrowhawk 1121 km away at LBO 24th November 2021. We have four previous Norwegian Chaffinch movements to & from the region of Vest-Agder but this location is 300 km further north.
Grim morning with cooler conditions, rain to late morning and an increasing wind making it feel like a bit like winter should. Offshore movements very poor although a single Kittiwake amongst the mass of big gulls was good to see (can't believe I wrote that considering the numbers we used to get last century). Southbound 11 Red-throated Diver & 2 Gannet with northbound 3 Red-throats & 2 auks. In this weather no enthusiasm to walk around the reserve although a Turnstone, at least, is on the point.
A Grey Shoulder-knot lifted the gloom as it is not annual here and to have any moths at all in these conditions in late November is uplifting.
Ringing: nil.
An immature Night Heron calling as it flew overhead at 0640 hrs was most unexpected - our only previous record is back in August 1996. The only other migrants on site were a couple of Blackies & a Songie plus a visit from a Great Spotted Woodpecker. No overhead migrants with offshore very quiet with southbound 4 Red-throated Diver, 3 Common Scoter & Guillemot and northbound 6 Red-throated Diver, Curlew & Gannet. A turnstone was in the View Point car park and a Purp was on the point.
Ringing: 1 Blackbird, 1 Song Thrush.
Flat calm andmuch colder with some fog first thing. Couple of new Blackies, single Redwing & Siskin on site plus a Chaffinch with a Norwegian ring. A Great-northern Diver flew over the obs and went into the Stour. Southbound 4 Common Scoter, Avocet, Brent, Gannet, Guillemot & Razorbill plus northbound 4 Brent. Purp was on the point. Cormorants have been devastated by control methods at the roost inland so it was pleasing to see at least 4,000 coming in from the north on the horizon to the feeding grounds at the Cork Sands.
Ringing: 2 Blackbird.
Handful of new Blackies this morning with 30 ish present plus 3 Mipit, 2 Chaffinch, Black Redstart, Redwing & Siskin. A Snow Bunting did a whizz around early on & a Purp is on the point. Southbound 5 Goldfinch, 4 Mipit, 2 Skylark & a Rock Pipit. A few Starlings were starting to arrive from late morning. Offshore quiet but southbound 5 Eider, 5 Shelduck, 5 Red-throated Diver & Gannet with northbound 8 Common Scoter, 7 Brent, 5 Teal, 5 Red-throats, Guillemot & Puffin. Finally a Common Darter is worth a mention.
Odd examples of adult Acrocercops brongniardella are seen in the summer but we only rarely see the mines as they tend to occur towards the tops of the Holm Oaks.
Ringing: 5 Blackbird, 1 Sparrowhawk.
More interesting this morning (certainly compared with yesterday!). We have a dismally poor showing of only 7 Goldcrests all autumn so it was good to get this positively obese young male which, by its weight, hadn't come far to reach us. Other migrants included 30 Blackbird, 2 Song Thrush, Brambling & a Woodcock sitting on View Point Road pre dawn. At least 556 Starling in off the sea headed inland during the morning with the only other passerines noted on the move were southbound 4 Chaffinch, 2 Skylark & a Mipit. Offshore southbound 24 Black-headed Gull, 14 Red-throated Diver, 12 Shelduck, 9 Brent, 4 Eider, 4 Greylag, 3 Goosander, 3 Teal, 2 Gannet & Common Scoter plus northbound 13 Gannet, 5 Common Scoter, 4 Eider, 4 Red-throats, 3 Common Gull & a Pomarine Skua at mid-day. The 2 tame Purps were on the point and a Guillemot in the river.
Ringing: 13 Blackbird, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Robin, 1 Song Thrush.
No grounded migrants apparent with visible migration limited to southbound 4 Redpoll & 2 Skylark. Offshore equally riveting with southbound 11 Red-throated Diver, 9 Shelduck, 5 Brent, 5 Wigeon & Oyk with northbound 3 Red-throats, Common Scoter, Guillemot & Shelduck plus at least 9 Gannet with gulls behind shipping although looking out into bright sunshine not encouraging prolonged observation. The daily census of the nature reserve was also enthralling and could have been completed without binoculars.
Still the odd migrant moth like Dark Sword-grass showing up - although with the night time temperatures forecast to drop the number of moths, per se, will do likewise.
Ringing: Nil.
A handful of late autumn migrants including 15 Blackbird, 9 Fieldfare, 3 Song Thrush, 2 Redwing, Blackcap, Reed Bunting & Ring Ouzel plus 124 Siskin heading south. Offshore southbound 33 Shelduck, 15 Red-throated Diver, 2 Brent, 2 Red-breasted Merganser, Guillemot, Razorbill & Tufted Duck with northbound 15 Red-throats, 2 Common Scoter, 2 Great Crested Grebe & 2 Guillemot plus 2 Bonxie loitering amongst the big gulls. 8 Turnstone & 2 Purps on the point.
With the mild conditions odd moths like Turnip are still on the wing.
Ringing: 3 Blackbird, 2 Greenfinch, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Blackcap.
Grounded migrants almost non-existent. Southbound 15 Goldfinch, 8 Mipit, 7 Siskin, 2 Greenfinch & 2 Skylark. 2 Purps and a Turnstone were on the point, Snow Bunting was heard calling first thing over on the beach & a Dartford Warbler was just south of the Butts pond. Big Gull numbers are picking up offshore with roughly 900 Great Black-backs & 700 Herring Gulls following shipping.
The second site record of Scarce Umber with our only previous one in 2008.
Ringing: 1 Blackbird.
Ringing: 1 Blackbird, 1 Chaffinch, 1 Robin, 1 Song Thrush.
Ringing: 3 Blackbird.
Ringing: Blackbird 6, Redwing 1, Chaffinch 1, Dunnock 1, Robin 5, Lesser Redpoll 5, Goldfinch 3, Song Thrush 1
A few bits offshore included a Goosander south, a Great-northern Diver on the sea, 91 Brent Geese, 21 Common Scoter, 6 Dunlin, 8 Eider, 10 Gannets, a Guillemot, 11 Lapwings, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, 9 Red-throated Divers, 50 Shelduck south, 6 Teal and 44 Wigeon.
Ringing: Woodcock 1, Blackcap 1, Black Redstart 1, Robin 4, Blackbird 13, Song Thrush 1
