Friday 18th October 2024


Clear skies overnight led to a quieter morning for birds. A lot of the thrushes had moved through, though there were still a few song thrush and blackbird about the observatory compound and a handful of redwing. A couple of firecrests were behind the kitchen, though like a few of the song thrushes, they were holdovers from the last few days. A female blackcap was a bit of a surprise, as they really seem to have petered out this autumn. She was very fat, so quite possibly not staying long. 

A jay did a circuit of the point and a pair of great spotted woodpeckers flew down and then back to felixstowe as is often their wont. An Egyptian goose was a little more unusual, heading south out at sea.  A few more butterflies were on the wing as the sun warmed the reserve up nicely after a chilly few days, with red admiral, large white, peacock, common blue, small copper and small white all popping up seemingly out of nowhere as they do. 


The first Large Wainscot of the autumn finally appeared this morning.

Birds Ringed: Blackbird 1, Blackcap 1, Chiffchaff 3, Grey Wagtail 1, Song Thrush 3, Wren 4.