Saturday 6th July 2024

Another unsettled days saw an obvious reduction in bird and other wildlife observations. Despite this, 4 more curlew flew south, along with a single swift and swallow. The turnstones were still on the jetty and most of the regular species were about but keeping their heads down. A very brief sunny interlude saw a few butterflies added to the day total, and a notable bird sighting was a male sparrowhawk carrying a small rodent as prey, not a common sighting, though in Landguard's past, a female was known to have caught an adult rat, showing they're not just restricted to avian prey. 

With the awful moth weather of the last few days, Common Footman are one of the few species coming to the trap. 

Birds Ringed: House Sparrow 1. 

Friday 5th July 2024

A wet and windy day for the 5th July. Most of the regular birds were accounted for, including the three turnstone that have been semi resident since spring. 4 stock dove are still feeding out on the reserve, perhaps because of how lush the vegetation is this year, or perhaps the nest sites are closer this year. 

2 whimbrel and a curlew flew south along with a single sandwich tern. 

Dun-bar is a late summer species now appearing. 

Thursday 4th July 2024

A young nightingale was a nice surprise in the early morning. First of the autumn, and youngest we've seen here in a while. A golden plover flying north may well have been resting on the beach. Autumn for waders continues with singles of curlew and whimbrel heading south.

3 southern migrant hawker dragonflies were in the moat, joined by our first southern hawkers of the year. The former species is a lot more regular than it used to be, and it now breeds in parts of Britain, and teneral (freshly emerged) females suggests they're doing so not too far away from us. 

 Acleris forskskaleana  is a tortrix sp living on our sycamores in small numbers.

Birds Ringed: Blue Tit 1, Goldfinch 1, Nightingale 1. 

Wednesday 3rd July 2024

 

The Robins by the observatory are working hard on raising a second brood. 

Cool wet morning with the wind increasing by the afternoon. Single Blackcap & Chiffchaff noted plus 3 Turnstone on the point. Nothing going past offshore apart from half a dozen Black-headed Gull.

Large Tabby inside the kitchen. Not noted annually, this species is most likely to be found in buildings rather than in the great outdoors.

Tuesday 2nd July 2024

 

Belts of annoying mizzle in a cool north-westerly airflow this morning. Basically it's the usual birds in the usual places - well at least those that have deigned to make their presence known to us. Great-spot still with us plus 2 Turnstone on the beach.

The first site record of Dark Umber was totally unexpected, especially when one considers the poor weather conditions for insects at the moment. It lives on Buckthorn with most records in Suffolk well inland in the left hand side of the county.

Monday 1st July 2024

 

Only migrants noted were southbound 3 Curlew & 3 Sand Martin. 4 Turnstone were on the point & yesterday's Great Spot is still with us. Worth a mention are 2 teneral Southern Migrant Hawker in the moat.

Crescent Plume lives on Restharrow so likes it here.

Ringing: 1 Wood Pigeon.

JUNE RINGING TOTALS

166 birds of 23 species is nearly 100 down on last June's total. Worth highlighting are 3 Grey Wagtail as very few get noted in the summer month plus 2 young Cetti's Warbler confirming successful nesting on site for the first time ever.

Sunday 30th June 2024

 

A Corn Bunting is our first ever June record (although we do have a previous mid-summer record on 2nd July). Presumably it's a wandering Juvenile ? Little moving this morning but included southbound 30 Black-headed Gull, single Kittiwake & Curlew. Otherwise a fairly standard mid-summer selection of local breeders & dispersing juveniles from sites nearby.

Seen to be getting a run of Zeiraphera isertana in the traps at the moment whose foodplant is Oak.

Ringing: 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Blackcap, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker.