Monday 26th January 2026

Dull calm morning. 1,150 Cormorant went out fishing, 150 Common Gull, 50 Common Scoter  & 11 Kitts offshore, 3 Snow Bunting back beach, 3 Med Gull went south, 2 Turnstone & Rock Pipit on the point plus, what we presume is the same, female Chaffinch visited.

Sunday 25th January 2026

Another dank & dreary day. Southbound 31 Red-throated Diver with northbound 5 Red-throats, 2 Brent & Gannet plus 59 Kitts & 50 Common Scoter offshore. 3 Snow Bunting out the back.

Saturday 24th January 2026

 

Very low tides at the moment.

Glorious sunny morning for a pleasant change with 930 Cormorant heading out fishing the highest count of the year so far. A Jackdaw went south keeping going into Essex. Otherwise 50 Common Scoter, 11 Sanderling, 4 Ringos, 3 Snow Bunting, 2 Mipit & a Rock Pipit on the point.

Friday 23rd January 2026

Another dismal, damp & dreary morning. Southbound 13 Teal & Red-throated Diver. 3 Snow Bunting present & accounted for.

Thursday 22nd January 2026

Another wet day which is getting tedious. 420 Cormorant went out fishing early. Southbound 5 Teal, 2 Common Scoter, 2 Pintail & Red-throated Diver. 13 Sanderling & Lapwing on the reserve with the usual 3 Snow Bunting on the back beach.

Wednesday 21st January 2026

Mostly wet morning. 420 Cormorant went fishing, 50 Common Scoter & 18 Kitts offshore, 18 Sanderling & a Dunlin on the beach, heading south single Red-throated Diver, Shelduck & Teal.

Tuesday 20th January 2026

 

496 Cormorant went out fishing early. The 3 Snow Bunting seem to prefer preening & tidying up on the railings on the short jetty out the back when they fly in in the morning from roosting overnight near the point.

Monday 19th January 2026

Calm overcast morning. Bit "same old same old". 240 Cormorant went out fishing, 50 Common Scoter & 21 Kitts offshore, 21 Sanderling, 3 Snow Bunting, Mipit & Songie singing north end.

Sunday 18th January 2026

 

An Egyptian Goose flew south, Woodcock dived into Left Battery, 16 Sanderling on the beach early morning & the 3 confiding Snow Bunting on the back beach.

SEASONAL WARDEN LANDGUARD BIRD OBSERVATORY

 SEASONAL WARDEN LANDGUARD BIRD OBSERVATORY

Applicants need to be competent birdwatchers and have a BTO bird ringing ‘C’ permit with a mist net endorsement as a minimum requirement. An interest in other aspects of natural history and biological recording is also needed.

The position runs from Mid-March until mid-November 2026. A job description is available on request. If you require any specifics, please don’t hesitate to ask. Please e-mail landguardbo@yahoo.co.uk

Saturday 17th January 2026

 

The trickle of toggers snapping the 3 Snow Bunting for their gratification continues - no need for a big lens as they are tolerant enough to pic with a mobile phone.

Today's highlights are a Song Thrush singing pre-dawn at the north end plus the first 2 Collared Dove & Black Redstart of the year. Black Red is a tad unexpected as we haven't seen one since November 9th last autumn & no indication of one wintering locally (although big enough dock next door to go unnoticed in). Flock of at least 45 Common Scoter again offshore.

Friday 16th January 2026

 

Pleasant morning following yesterdays deluge. A tight flock of 50 ish Common Scoter diving & feeding not to far offshore just to the north of us was the best count of the winter by a long way. Southbound 2 Brent, Oyk & Shelduck whilst trying to count the Scoter. 18 Sanderling & 7 Ringo on the beach, 3 Snow Bunting present & accounted for plus an elusive overwintering Firecrest was seen on the reserve.

Thursday 15th January 2026

 

Yesterday's Dunlin.

209 Cormorant headed out fishing. 16 Common Scoter flew around offshore & a Great Crested Grebe went south. 17 Sanderling on the beach & 3 Snow Bunting out the back. Rain from 0930ish so that's it.

Wednesday 14th January 2026

 

Glorious calm, sunny, frosty morning. 221 Cormorant went out fishing early, 17 Sanderling, 6 Ringos & Dunlin on the beach, 3 Snow Bunting & Mipit still with us.

Tuesday 13th January 2026

Murky, foggy, then rain as predicted - not pleasant at all. 272 Cormorant went out fishing early. 11 Sanderling, 3 Ringos & 3 Snow Bunting on front beach early morning with the Snow Bunting resorting to favourite bit of back beach later. Guess that the Snow Bunts are quite possibly roosting in the shelter of the Marram Grass on the beach overnight ?

One of two Bloxworth Snout hibernating in the cellar. First noted here six years ago it now lives here but is still a major rarity, or non-existent, in counties to the north of us.

Monday 12th January 2026

 3 Snow Bunting still on the back beach is all I can offer you today folks.

Sunday 11th January 2025

 

Difficult to get the camera to focus on the Cormorants heading out into the pink early doors.

5 Red-crested Pochard (2 drakes) in off at 1003 hrs was most unexpected with our only previous record being of a female/juvenile flying south close inshore on 5th September 1990. Southbound 17 Brent, 3 Shelduck & 2 Red-throated Diver with northbound 10 Brent & 9 Red-throats. 13 Kitts were offshore & a single Brent sat on the reserve for a short while. 3 Snow Bunting & Mipit on the back beach.

Ringing: 1 Wood Pigeon.

Saturday 10th January 2025

 

550 Cormorant heading out fishing is a lot higher count than recently presumably due to birds wintering inland in the UK being frozen out of their fishing sites & resorting to the coast. Southbound 61 Brent, 17 Lapwing & 3 Wigeon. Woodcock on site with an additional bird coming in off the sea. 3 Snow Bunting & 2 Mipit still on the back beach. 

Ringing: 1 Blackbird, 1 Woodcock.

Friday 9th January 2026

 

Cold & wet. 245 Cormorant went fishing early, single Dunlin & Little Egret flew south, Mistle Thrush was new in & 3 Snow Bunting still on back beach. Muntjac with tiny fawn is worth a mention.

SEASONAL WARDEN LANDGUARD BIRD OBSERVATORY

SEASONAL WARDEN LANDGUARD BIRD OBSERVATORY

Applicants need to be competent birdwatchers and have a BTO bird ringing ‘C’ permit with a mist net endorsement as a minimum requirement. An interest in other aspects of natural history and biological recording is also needed.

The position runs from Mid-March until mid-November 2026. A job description is available on request. If you require any specifics, please don’t hesitate to ask. Please e-mail landguardbo@yahoo.co.uk

Thursday 8th January 2026

 

Sitting on the fence is a good idea when there are two foxes in the cottage garden eyeing one up for breakfast. Another fox on Darrell's Battery may, or may not, be one of these two individuals.

224 Cormorant went out fishing early, 3 Snow Bunting remain on the back beach, Peregrine over the dock, both single Fieldfare & Rock Pipit were 'firsts' of the year & 4 Long-tailed Tits visited. The Lotti's conveniently went into the Helgoland trap with one of them originally ringed here in November 2024 that was one of the pair that bred here successfully last year with the other three birds ringed here last autumn, but not the offspring of this individual.

Wednesday 7th January 2025

 

Belt of overnight rain has shifted the snow although the ground underneath is still mostly frozen. 182 Cormorant went out fishing early. On site 3 Snow Bunting, 2 Oyk, 2 Ringo, Mipit & Sanderling. Almost an hour starring out to sea produced seagulls & just a single Red-throated Diver sat offshore. 

Tuesday 6th January 2025

 

Plenty of fox prints in the snow.

Sunny & cold. 3 Snow Bunting & Mipit again on the back beach.

Monday 5th January 2026

 

Light dusting of snow at dawn. 192 Cormorant went out fishing. Only sign of any cold weather movements were southbound 30 Lapwing & 14 Teal plus a Golden Plover along the beach. 3 Sanderling were on the riverbank & a Firecrest was along the front.

Sunday 4th January 2026

 

Sharpest frost of the winter so far, glorious sunshine & an unpleasant wind chill. Meadow Pipit the mornings highlight! Turnstone along the riverbank but nowt else to report.

Saturday 3rd January 2026

 

Sunny & frosty with a wicked wind chill. Total of 74 Lapwing headed south but no sign of any other cold weather movement. 3 Snow Bunting on the back beach.

Friday 2nd January 2026

 

Moon about to collide with the Shotley peninsula early this morning.

232 Cormorant went out fishing early doors. Southbound 8 Shelduck, 2 Lapwing, Little Egret & Marsh Harrier will be heading south for warmer climes. Good to see one of the local adult Peregrine sitting out of the wind on the nearest dock crane. 4 Snow Bunting along the back beach were the first for a while.

LBO MEMBERSHIP 2026

Thank you to existing members for the support you gave to Landguard Bird Observatory over the last 12 months. It is through your continued membership and donations that the Observatory is able to continue the important work it does.

Membership for 2026 is now due. Members should have received an email reminding them - if not we may have an incorrect email on file & if this is you please email the membership secretary on landguardbomembership@gmail.com so details can be updated.

Please can I ask you to continue to support the important work and renew your membership at your earliest convenience. The preferred payment method is by BACS transfer as the banks charge us a fee for each cheque processed.

New members who wish to support the observatory and its work are always welcome with further details on www.lbo.org.uk

All the best to blog readers for 2026.

Thursday 1st January 2026

Cold start to the new year with an unpleasant wind chill. On the move southbound 2 Marsh Harrier who have decided it's getting colder & maybe wise to move to milder climes. Apart from these southbound 8 Red-throated Diver, 4 Shelduck, 2 Common Scoter & 2 Mallard with northbound 11 Brent & 11 Red-throats.