Saturday 10th April 2021

Linnet

 Another step backwards in the staggered progression of spring with a return to the very cold northerly airflow that we've enjoyed of late; there were few new migrants in the area but birds seen did include 4 Black Redstarts (a couple of new birds), 4 Chiffchaffs, 12 Common Scoter north, a Fulmar, 36 Gannets north, a Goldcrest, 38 Red-throated Divers, 6 Wheatears and a Willow Warbler.

Ringing: Song Thrush 1, Goldcrest 1, Wren 1, Linnet 1

Pine Beauty - As befits the name, a species from Pine trees which only gets down to the Obs a couple of times a year

Friday 9th April 2021

Redstart

 On paper, a similar day to yesterday albeit with a bit more sun and a bit more warmth but there was a nice spread of migrants across the area - at least compared to the spring so far!   New birds included a Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaffs, 2 Goldcrests, a Grey Wagtail, 46 Meadow Pipits in off, the first 2 Redstarts of the year, 2 Sand Martins, 2 Sparrowhawks, 13 Swallows south, 8 Wheatears, the first 2 Whimbrel of the year south along the beach, the overdue first 3 Willow Warblers of the year and perhaps most notably a Whitethroat - our equal earliest spring record along with 2000 and 2010.

Other little bits comprised 2 Black Redstarts still, 6 Common Scoter, a Curlew out east high up, a Great-crested Grebe, 6 Pink-footed Geese which went up the river, a further increase to 180 Linnet, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 24 Red-throated Divers, 2 Rook and 3 Shoveler south at sea. 

Ringing: Redstart 1, Blackcap 1, Chiffchaff 1, Great Tit 1, Linnet 2

Thursday 8th April 2021

He's still here!

 With reduced winds which had switched into the WSW allowing us to open almost every net, it was kind of expected that there would at least be a few new migrants to entertain us but that was not the case at all -  it was the second blank ringing session in two days, not what you expect from the second week of April..

Birds we did see through the morning included 2 Black Redstarts, 2 Chiffchaffs, 5 Common Scoter, 6 Goldfinches, 53 Red-throated Divers (a flock moving feeding positions all together), 2 Snipe - pretty much the only new migrants in the area and 3 Wheatears.

Wednesday 7th April 2021

Pleasingly Linnet numbers have been slowly increasing to the 120 mark.

Cold biting wind. Migrants - wot migrants ! The list of sightings for the day is very poor for the time of the year. 4 Siskin went south plus a Swallow north. Left overs on site include 3 Wheatear & a Black Redstart. Roll on spring - please.

Ringing: nil.

Tuesday 6th April 2021

Kestrel

 A similar day to yesterday with slightly lighter but still bitterly cold NNW winds; there was a little upturn in migrant numbers which included 6 Chiffchaffs, a Chaffinch, 8 Goldfinches, a Redwing, 3 Robins, 4 Siskins and a Swallow.   Meanwhile 2 Black Redstarts and 3 Wheatears were still present.

On the sea birds included 29 Black-headed Gulls, 9 Mediterranean Gulls, 19 Common Gulls, a Common Scoter, a Fulmar, a Kittiwake, a Red-throated Diver and an adult Shag.

Ringing; Chiffchaff 4, Robin 1

Monday 5th April 2021

Wheatear

 Another step backwards concerning the arrival of spring with a strong and bitterly cold NNE wind bringing some heavy [but brief] snow showers late morning before the sun came out in the afternoon; most of the notable birds were over the sea which included 32 Black-headed Gulls, a drake Eider, a Fulmar, 2 Gannets, a Bonxie south, an adult Kittiwake, 2 Mediterranean Gulls and 19 Red-throated Divers.

Other birds were limited to [the same] 3 Black Redstarts, 2 Chiffchaffs, a Redwing, 30 Sanderling on the beach, 2 Swallows, [the same] 4 Wheatears and a young male Peregrine-looking falcon complete with bells and jesses.

Lovely spring scene

Sunday 4th April 2021

Today's migrants include 4 Wheatear, 3 Black Red, Chiffchaff, Jackdaw, Redpoll & a couple of new Robin. 4 Swallow & a dozen Goldfinch went south. 36 Sanderling were on the beach first thing and 3 Turnstone are loitering by the jetty. Worth a mention is a Magpie retrapped, having been originally ringed in 2013, which breaks our longevity record although falling well short of the oldest bird ever recorded nationally.

Ringing: 2 Robin, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Linnet