Saturday 18th November 2023

 Wet n' windy morning with the rain petering out early pm. Perseverance starring out into the soggy abyss resulted in southbound 215 Teal, 30 Common Scoter (+23 sat on the sea), 26 Brent, 8 Wigeon, 7 Dunlin,4 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Red-throated Diver, Mallard & Shelduck with northbound 12 Little Gull, 4 Red-throats & Brent. On site a few Blackbirds new in and a Fieldfare but not a lot else noted.

"Epirrata" moths are hard but, being a male, this was identified as a November Moth by photographing the underside and enlarging the shots to look at the vital bits.

Ringing: 5 Blackbird.

Friday 17th November 2023

 

The loitering pale Lesser Whitethroat on the reserve appears to have lost all but one of its tail feathers since it was last seen two days ago presumably in an altercation with something that wanted to make a meal out of it.

A half decent arrival of typical late autumn fare on a pleasant calm morning with a guesstimated 75 Blackbird plus a supporting cast of 14 Redwing, 6 Goldcrest, 5 Song Thrush, 2 Firecrest, 2 Lapwing, Chiffchaff, Fieldfare, Lesser Redpoll, Short-eared Owl, Snow Bunting & Woodcock. On the move southbound an impressive 1,420 Black-headed Gull count plus 169 Common Gull, 117 Brent, 114 Shelduck, 66 Common Scoter, 38 Starling, 31 Goldfinch, 14 Wigeon, 11 Barnacle Geese, 8 Skylark, 6 Pintail, 6 Siskin, 4 Mipit, 4 Pochard, 3 Chaffinch, Goldeneye, Oyk, Knot & Teal with northbound 2 Bean Geese, 2 Eider & Red-throated Diver.

Ringing: 35 Blackbird, 7 Starling, 4 Goldcrest, 3 Song Thrush, 2 Firecrest, 2 Robin, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Wren.

Thursday 16th November 2023

 

Calm start with yet more rain arriving late am. Entertaining mid-November mix of birdies including southbound 724 Brent, 59 Common Scoter, 16 Teal, 16 Tufted Duck, 13 Black-headed Gull, 13 Shelduck, 6 Red-breasted Merganser, 3 Common Gull, 3 Red-throated Diver, 2 Kitts, 2 Mallard, Goldeneye, Goosander & Great Crested Grebe with northbound 33 Common Scoter, 15 Pintail, 5 Brent, 2 Little Gull, Kitt & Velvet Scoter (which pitched in with a flock of Common Scoter for a while). Passerine movement limited to southbound 24 Chaffinch, 6 Starling, 3 Fieldfare, Siskin plus a Brambling that headed inland. On site a handful of new Blackies, Songies, Redwing, Robin, Firecrest, Goldcrest & Woodcock although only a single Redpoll all morning.

Ringing: 4 Blackbird, 2 Song Thrush, 1 Firecrest, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Lesser Redpoll, 1 Robin, 1 Woodcock.

Wednesday 15th November 2023

 

Glorious sunny morning, although with an increasing wind dropped in a handful of new Blackbirds but not a lot else. Heading soutrhbound offshore & overland were an assorted pick n' mix with 109 Goldfinch, 66 Starling, 51 Brent, 33 Teal, 12 Mipit, 9 Chaffinch, 8 Oyk, 8 Shelduck, 8 Stockies, 7 Siskin, 5 Goldeneye, 5 Skylark, 3 Common Scoter, 3 Linnet, 3 Rock Pipit, 3 Swallow, 2 Redpoll,  Curlew & Crossbill with northbound 3 Brent, 2 Common Scoter & 2 Gannet. At least 2 Cetti's and the Lesser Whitethroat are still with us, a Rock Pipit is on the point plus another new volery of Long-tailed Tit paid a visit.

Ringing: 5 Long-tailed Tit, 4 Blackbird, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Song Thrush. 

Tuesday 14th November 2023

Another windy day, though the rain held off for the morning. Migration was slow however. 2 more goldeneye and 9 crossbill south were the highights, though at least 3 Cetti's warblers were still present on the reserve. 

Birds Ringed: Blackbird 4, Robin 1, Song Thrush 1.

Monday 13th November 2023

Incredibly strong winds and driving rain were the theme of the day. Battling it out in these conditions were an unusually high amount of 60 tufted duck flying south along with 2 pochard and 17 teal. 100 great black-backed gulls were also making the most of the unsettled weather. 40 redwing on site was one of highest numbers we've had so far this autumn. 2 Cetti's warblers were still on site and the young shag seen earlier in the week was resting out the strong winds in the cafe car park of all places! 

 The Chestnut is a common winter flyer inland, but this one is our first for 3 years. 

Sunday 12th November 2023

 

Calm overcast morning saw a small arrival of Blackies, Robins (including one bearing a Norwegian ring), 5 Lapwing, Fieldfare, Goldcrest, Redwing, Song Thrush & Woodcock. Vis mig almost non-existent probably due to the thick fog to the north of us that thankfully avoided us. Offshore southbound 110 Common Scoter, 89 Black-headed Gull, 39 Shelduck, 35 Common Gull, 34 Teal, 22 Wigeon, 14 Dunlin, 5 Pintail, 3 Red-throated Diver, 2 Gannet, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Curlew, 2 Goldeneye, 2 Little Gull, Eider, Guillemot, Kittiwake, Razorbill, Short-eared Owl & Snipe with northbound 43 Common Scoter, 14 Brent, 8 Gannet, 6 Shelduck, 2 Red-throats, Kittiwake & Little Gull. 237 Starling came in off the sea & 4 Cetti's were singing pre dawn.

The third site record of Red-headed Chestnut with the last one ten years ago. It is an immigrant species arriving from central Europe & the Mediterranean characteristically appearing in late autumn.

Ringing: 9 Blackbird, 3 Wood Pigeon, 2 Robin, 1 Dunnock, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Redwing, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Wren.