Friday 12th June 2026

Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes)

A cloudy morning with a moderate breeze from the W. 14 Swift flying south low over the observatory early morning and 3 Swallow also south. Inside the compound 2 Collared Dove, a young Coal Tit that visited our nets eventually and a Blackcap singing. 3 young Crows seen in our on site nest. Out on the reserve the Ringed Plover have one chick remaining and one nest appears to have been abandoned, 6 Adults total. 

Seawatching produced: 7 Black-headed Gull, 2 Mediterranean Gull and a Curlew, all south. 2 Cormorant and a Gannet north. 

Moth trapping: 33 moth species across our 3 traps. Today's moth of the day is the Archer's Dart, a moth that regularly occurs along the Suffolk coast and in the Brecks. This moth can be abundant at this location as the summer progresses with adults on the wing from now till september as a single generation. The larvae feed on Ragwort and Heathers.  

Archer's Dart (Agrotis vestigialis)

Bird ringing: 3 Blue Tit, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Great Tit, 1 Robin, 1 House Sparrow.  

Thursday 11th June 2026

Woodpigeon (Columba palumbus) sitting next to some Narrow-leaved Ragwort, which is an invasive weed from South Africa. 

Starting sunny but later clouding over and raining for the rest of today. Few additions to the compound with 2 Blackcaps arriving new. Lesser Whitethroat and Whitethroat present also and the Ring Plover were still present on the reserve with a chick. 

Seawatching produced a small number of movements with 5 Black-headed gulls flying south and 2 east. 1 Cormorant was also seen flying south. 

Moth trapping: A colder night, so once again a smaller catch with 21 species present across our 3 traps. Todays moth of the day is the Heart and Club, a moth now classified as nationally common with the moth preferring sand dune habitat in the south east. Once not recorded here in the previous century, it is now a regular visitor to our traps in summer. 

Heart and Club (Agrotis clavis).

Bird ringing: 3 Linnet,  3 Blue Tit, 2 Blackcap, 2 Dunnock, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 1 House Sparrow.

Wednesday 10th June 2026

 

Carrion Crow have nested within the compound for the first time ever - only one begging youngster on view so far.

A singing Garden Warbler is getting late in the spring, although they do nest in the far north of Europe so it may well be a tardy migrant. Grey Wag was an adult female so when one considers how many actually nest in Suffolk, it's intriguing as to know where it has attempted breeding this year. Other migrants largely insignificant although southbound 3 Swift, Little Egret & Swallow.

First Lackey of the year. It is a declining species with Landguard bucking this trend noting more over the past ten years than ever before.

Ringing: 2 Linnet, 1 Blue Tit, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Wren.

Tuesday 9th June 2026

Cetti's Warbler (Cettia cetti)
                  

A bright morning with increasing wind from the W. A handful of migrants with a new Chiffchaff and some young Whitethroat around in the compound. A Black Redstart re-appeared on the fort. 8 Swallow passing over the course of the morning, 4 W and 4 S. Norfolk Hawker dragonfly and Broad-bodied Chaser seen out on the reserve. 

Seawatching produced; 3 Black-headed Gull, 3 Cormorant, 3 Swallow, an Oystercatcher and a Curlew all South. 

Moth trapping: 41 species across our 3 traps. Today's moth of the day the Shore Wainscot. This is a nationally scarce species associated with Marram grass, which has expanded its range here over the last few year. Prior to this, we had only recorded the moth in two years during the last century. 

Shore Wainscot (Mythimna litoralis) 

Bird ringing: 2 Dunnock, 2 Great Tit, 1 Cetti's, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Linnet, 1 Whitethroat

Monday 8th June 2026

A Bunny (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in some nice evening light.

An overcast morning with spells of rain, so no mist netting. A Reed Warbler was calling from near the 'Icky ridge'. Our Red-legged Partridge made a welcome return after not being seen for a couple days. We also still have our two Ringed Plover chicks present, becoming ever more like their parents, 4 pairs on nests also. 

Seawatching produced a small number of observations; 8 Black-headed gulls and a Curlew both south. 2 Greater Black-backed gull flying out to sea. 

Moth trapping: 36 Species present across our 3 traps. Moth of the day is the Barred Yellow, a widely distributed moth but occurring locally as the larvae feed on Dog Rose. 

Barred Yellow (Cidaria fulvata)

Bird ringing: 1 Blue tit.  

Sunday 7th June 2026

 A Knot on the beach is a bit unseasonal. 

Also unexpected today were 2 adult Sedge Warblers as we haven't seen one since 26th April. Presumably wandering failed breeders, we only have ten previous June records in total. Southbound 6 Oyk, 5 Black-headed Gull, 3 House Martin, 3 Med Gull, Common Tern, Curlew, Fulmar, Sand Martin & Swallow with northbound 5 Common Scoter & Sandwich Tern. A Coal Tit turned up with a marauding flock of Blue & Great Tit late morning.

We do ok for Cream-spot Tiger which is a species largely confined to the Brecks & along the coastal belt.

Ringing: 2 Blue Tit, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Great Tit.

Saturday 6th June 2026

Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum)

A good day to be a snail, a wet morning with strong winds up to beaufort scale 6 (25-30mph). Most interesting observations coming from the shelter of the observatory with 2 Curlew, 9 Swift, 5 Gannet and a Cormorant south. 29 Common Scoter north. 

Moth trapping: 37 Species across our 3 traps last night, with strong winds owing to a slightly smaller catch once again. Today's colourful pick of the bunch is the Elephant Hawk moth, on the wing from May to early August, seen across the uk in gardens, scrub and sand dunes. Caterpillars feed on willowherbs, fuchsia and bedstraw, and the adults feed on nectar. The number we get each year varies greatly.

Elephant Hawk moth (Deilephila elpenor)

Bird ringing: 1 Dunnock (Young caught in our Heligoland trap). 

Friday 5th June 2026

        Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) eating a thistle head near the cottage.

A bright morning with a cold wind coming from the WSW. Another day of Swift movement with 25 seen flying south low over the observatory first light as nets were being opened. 2 Blackcap present within the compound, a male and a female both had brood patches, likely failed breeders from elsewhere. 3 Reed warbler were scattered around the reserve with one of them within the compound. 3 Black-headed gull South and a single Swallow. Late morning our first Cetti's Warbler fledgling this year hopped into one of our nets. 

Moth trapping: 30 Species across our 3 traps. Todays pick of the bunch is the Broad-barred White, which are more regularly seen in the south and east of England. The caterpillars feed on flower buds of Hawkweed and Hawk's-beard - Uk moths.  

Broad-barred White (Hecatera bicolorata) classified as 'near threatened' on the IUCN red list due to 'significant long-term decline'. 

Bird ringing: 5 Great Tit (Juveniles), 2 Blackcap, 1 Blackbird (Juvenile), 1 Cetti's Warbler (Juvenile) , 1 Linnet, 1 Reed Warbler.

Thursday 4th June 2026

Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)

A windy and mostly sunny morning, feeling quite autumn-like, most notable movement was that of Swifts today, with 23 flying south over the duration of the morning, joined by one Swallow flying south also. A Reed Warbler was once again calling from Iccy ridge (the shrubs to the left of the fort entrance onto the reserve). 

Seawatching: an Oystercatcher south and 2 Cormorants from the sea to port only. 

Moth trapping: A windy night so once again fewer moths, with 14 species recorded between our 3 traps. Today's moth of the day is the Privet Hawk-moth, a fairly regular visitor to our traps this time of year in small numbers, as the name suggests the the larvae feed on Privet, but also Lilac and Ash. We have plenty of Privet on site so the moth is here to stay, these shrubs along with many others were once planted during construction and occupation of the fort to disguise it as gardens. The moth has one generation each year with adults in flight between June-July. - uk moths. 

Privet Hawk-moth (Sphinx ligustri). A little delve into the scientific name reveals a bit of interest, with Sphinx relating to resting posture of the caterpillar resembling the Great Sphinx of Giza in this family of moths, and ligustri (no surprise) refers to ligustrum.... privet!      

Bird ringing:1 Blackbird, 1 Great Tit, 1 Woodpigeon.

Wednesday 3rd June 2026

 

At least 3 or 4 pairs of Whitethroats on site.

Wind increasing throughout the morning. Two skeins of Canada Geese totalling 83 heading south then into the river are presumably on moult migration but with the two largest moulting sites in the UK at the Beauly Firth & Windermere they are going the wrong way so presumably they are heading to a nearer moulting site at somewhere like Abberton Reservoir. 2 House Martin flew south. New Chiffchaff & a brood of baby Blue Tit is about as exciting as it got apart from the geese ! Our first site bred Blackbird fledged this afternoon. 

It's been a reasonable year for Mottled Pug which are, presumably, on the few Hawthorns we have.

Ringing: 5 Blue Tit, 1 Blackbird (juv), 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Magpie (pulli).

Tuesday 2nd June 2026

Blackbirds (Turdus merula) are struggling to rear any young in the current drought conditions, with worms being deep in the ground and fewer caterpillars around. 

Wet overnight, briefly stopping and then becoming more sporadic showers. A Blackcap singing and a single Chiffchaff calling within the compound this morning. Our Ringed Plovers with two chicks are trying their best to keep them dry!. We had one Goldcrest - unusual for this time of year at this site ... possibly a failed breeder and a Reed Warbler both on Iccy ridge. Our Blue Tits also fledged once the sun burst through in the afternoon. 

Seawatching produced a handful of movements with 6 Scoter, 2 Black-headed Gull, a Cormorant and an Oystercatcher all south. 

 Moth Trapping: With rain only settling in late night we still managed 45 species of moths. We did however have our first site record of Eastern Bordered Straw which we have been hoping for as there is a nationwide influx at this very moment. The moth was only first recorded in Britain in 1958 with singles in the 1990s -  uk moths. The previous influx resulted in egg laying attempts producing fresh individuals, possibly happening again this year. 

Eastern Bordered Straw (Heliothis nubigera)

Bird ringing: Na

Monday 1st June 2026

Meadow Brown (Maniola jurtina), now numerous around the site, a little look into the scientific name reveals a bit of a mythical interest ; Maniola refers to manes, a Latin term for the "souls of the dead" due to the dark appearance and jurtina loosely connects the butterflies to water springs.     

A bright morning becoming hazy later, small increase of migrants and continuing increase in juvenile birds around. Perhaps most notable were 4 Blackcaps within the compound, unusual for June, not seen since 2012 with 5 individuals start and mid June. 2 of our failed Ringed Plovers have started nesting in other locations around the site and one pair still remains with 2 chicks!. 

Few movements seawatching; 7 Barnacle Geese out and north and 2 Oystercatcher towards the port. 

Moth trapping: 97 Species of moth this morning across our 3 traps. Moth pic of the day is the Small Marbled, an immigrant species previously recorded in 2015 and 2025. The moth is mostly found in good migration years with a tendency towards the south.   

Small Marbled (Eublemma parva) 

Bird ringing: 6 Goldfinch, 5 Great Tit, 4 Blackcap, 3 Linnet, 2 Woodpigeon, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Whitethroat. 

May 2026 Ringing Totals

On the 30th May, a juvenile Coal tit, which must have just fledged further North towards to town, looking very yellow, like a Great Tit.  

May 2026 has been yet again anouther good month ringing total wise with 215 birds ringed, compared to recent years of around 150 birds ringed each may, with you having to go back to 2015 with 271 birds ringed to surpass this mays total. Chiffchaffs remain our most ringed species, with Linnets and Great Tits producing a reasonable number of young supplementing the ringing total. Our 10th site record of Melodious Warbler this month has to be also worth mentioning again!.  

Species	Ringed
Chiffchaff	45
Linnet	25
Great Tit	25
Blackcap	20
Goldfinch	17
Lesser Whitethroat	15
Willow Warbler	13
Reed Warbler	13
Robin	9
House Sparrow	6
Spotted Flycatcher	6
Whitethroat	5
Starling	4
Blackbird	3
Firecrest	1
Wren	1
Chaffinch	1
Garden Warbler	1
Pied Flycatcher	1
Melodious Warbler	1
Coal Tit	1
Dunnock	1
Woodpigeon	1
Total	215

Sunday 31st May 2026

 

Apart from what lives here & baby birds it's all quiet on the migration front with 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Swallow & a Swift as exciting as it got. A Peregrine put in an appearance.

Ephestia woodiella was first noted here in 1996 & is now very common. It has been moving north as a species for some time slowly colonising new areas. Living on dried & dead plant material, which is not in short supply especially in drought conditions.

Ringing: 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Robin.

Saturday 30th May 2026

Young Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) getting close to fledging, we ringed these individuals last week. 

A warm morning with little wind, most notable migration was that of the Painted Lady with some 50+ individuals flying around the compound!, other than that, few migrants with some Chiffchaff and an adult Mediterranean gull. The Ringed Plovers seem to have gone into hiding while the reserve is busier. A ringing highlight was processing a juvenile Coal Tit as yellow as a Great Tit juvenile, just noticeably smaller, this bird will have flown from the town southwards, possibly as close as the customs house.  

Moth trapping: 101 Species last night made their way into our 3 traps. Pick of the bunch was a Bordered Straw, this moth can be quite common in good migration years and absent in others. Sometimes the larvae can be found in coastal areas and contribute to a following late summer increase in numbers. 'Paler' individuals may have derived from desert origin, these often arriving with Saharan 'dust storms'. - UKmoths. 

Bordered Straw (Heliothis peltigera) 

Bird ringing: 5 Great Tit, 3 Goldfinch, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Coal Tit, 1 Robin, 1 Linnet. 

Friday 29th May 2026

Spot the Ringed Plover chick! (Charadrius hiaticula), fingers crossed for our two chicks surviving.  

 

A cloudy but humid morning with a SW wind. Few migrants around the compound, however some  straggling geese seen while seawatching. Most excitingly one of the Ringed Plover nests have been successful at hatching two young, however, the odds are still stacked against the tiny birds but as you can see from the pic they are well camouflaged.   

Seawatching produced: 8 Barnacle Goose, 1  Brent Goose and 2 Oystercatcher north. 7 Oystercatcher and a Cormorant south. 

Overland 7 Mute Swan and 1 Swallow north. 4 Swallow south.  

Moth Trapping: 97 Species of moths across our 3 traps last night following pretty perfect conditions for moth trapping, loads of new species for the year. Our most interesting moth of the bunch was the Obscure Wainscot, a moth with a local distribution and scattered throughout England and Wales, occupying marsh and fenland (this habitat perhaps leading to under recording i.e. fewer people moth trapping). The larvae of the moth feed on Common Reed. 

Obscure Wainscot (Leucania obsoleta), the first record from this site in 30 years! 

Bird Ringing: 7 Great Tit, 2 Goldfinch, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 House Sparrow, 1 Linnet, 1 Reed Warbler.  

Thursday 28th May 2026

Cetti's warbler (Cettia cetti), 3 Have been singing for most part of spring, occasionally 4, we have had 3 recaptures ringed last year and year previously. 

A clear morning with a moderate breeze from the E. A few migrants around the compound, with 2 Blackcap and 2 Chiffchaff and a Reed Warbler calling from Iccy ridge (the area to the left of the car park as you walk in through the main gate off the fort. 

Sea-watching produced 1 Common Scoter riding the waves, 3 Black-headed Gull and a Lapwing north. 1 Black-headed Gull south. 

Moth trapping: 23 Species in our 3 traps last night, a slight reduction on recent captures owing to the windy night. Today's focus moth is the Beet moth: It is a growing 'pest' on agriculture with larvae defoliating Beet crops making them susceptible to rot and reducing crop yields up to 25%, new pesticides have been developed however remain expensive. - BBC. The moth had only become a problem in past 5 years for farmers, matching the time period they have been occurring on our site which supports the hypothesis they entered the country through Suffolk.  

   Beet moth (Scrobipalpa ocellatella), 6 years ago we had our first one, now they regularly show up in our traps. 

Bird ringing: 3 Great Tit, 1 Blackcap, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Linnet. 

Wednesday 27th May 2026

 

A Swallow has been regularly singing & displaying to passing females.

A fair north-easterly built up throughout the morning. Cuckoo & Grey Wagtail flew south, 4 Chiffchaff, 3 Reed Warbler & Blackcap on site, Little Tern & Sanderling along the riverbank & a Lapwing on the reserve. This Lapwing might well be the start of autumn passage for this species as failed breeders start moving to moulting grounds as early as the end of May. A Ring-necked Parakeet also paid a visit.

Pale Tussock is one of those species that is apparently common but only visits us roughly one year in three.

Ringing: 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Blackcap, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Linnet, 1 Robin.

Tuesday 26th May 2026

Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), an not so common visitor to the site this morning. 

Another glorious morning (mostly weather wise) at Landguard, most notable bird was a Grey Plover that joined a flock of Sanderling on the beach early morning. A Greenfinch was caught, a now less regular visitor to the site, however this individual had Trichomonosis, so not ringed and released.  

General migration: Brent: 33 north and 14 East. 1 Oystercatcher West, 2 North, and 4 South. 2 Swallow South. 

 Moth trapping: Many moths emerging in the heat, with 78 Species recorded today. Todays photographed moth below, the Marbled Clover, feeds on wasteland plants as larvae and adult moths feed on flowers such as viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare).   

Marbled Clover (Heliothis viriplaca) is a nationally scarce species seen in most years since 2014 but only once prior to 2005.

Bird ringing: 1 House Sparrow, 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 1 Linnet. 

Monday 25th May 2026

 

Decidedly hot for May. Another 100 Brent went out then north, 10 Sanderling were on the beach & the first Little Tern of the year went past. On site 3 Chiffchaff & 2 Chaffinch (including a male singing briefly). Otherwise its baby bird time of the year.

Clouded-bordered Brindle puts in an appearance here about one year in three.

Ringing: 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldfinch, 1 House Sparrow, 1 Linnet, 1 Robin. 

Sunday 24th May 2026

 

Another 127 Brent headed out towards the far north. In the good old days they mostly left earlier in the spring & stopped at staging grounds on the way, but over the past 40 odd years or so many wait until the end of May before departing on the long flight to the high Arctic. Other migrants hard to come by included 2 Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler & Wheatear. An Avocet over the obs heading up river always worth a mention as we don't see many this close despite plenty of them in nearby locales. 5 Sanderling were on the beach & a single Barnacle flew south along the shore.

First Rosy Wave since 2012 although we have very few records at all prior to that. It's a Nationally Scarce species that lives on Sea-beet with this one looking a bit faded & tatty already.

Ringing: 4 Great Tit.

Saturday 23rd May 2026

 

Summer has definitely arrived with hot, sunny, sticky, humid conditions. 159 Brents departed out over the obs heading out to northern Russia. Few other migrants included 22 Swallow heading south, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Reed Warbler & a Wheatear. Otherwise more baby birds appearing by the day.

More species coming out including Burnished Brass which is noted in most years with just the occasional absence.

Ringing: 3 Goldfinch, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Linnet, 1 Wood Pigeon.

Friday 22nd May 2026

A sunny morning with temperatures finally feeling like summer, highlight of the morning was the sighting of a male Western Subalpine Warbler, briefly in front of the observatory, but not seen again as of 14:15. Small number of other migrants in the compound; including Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler and a Garden Warbler ringed on monday this week. A Jackdaw briefly landed on our Motus tower, a somewhat unusual visitor to the point, although common in the town of Felixstowe.       

Sea-watching produced 4 Oystercatcher north, 3 south and 1 towards the port. 3 Black-headed Gull south. 

moth trapping: 53 species present across our 3 traps, with 15 species new for the year, many of them micros. 

Poplar Hawk-moth (Laothoe populi), our most common hawk moth. 

Bird ringing: 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Linnet, 1 Blackbird, 1 Robin, 1 Reed Warbler. 

 

Thursday 21st May 2026

              

Cockchafer (Melolontha melolontha) adds to the variety in the moth trap this morning, this species has got scarcer at this location over the years.  

A clear start to the day with an increasing southerly, brought a good number of late spring migrants including 4 Reed Warbler, 4 Spot Fly 3 Blackcap & 2 Chiffchaff in the compound and a new female Wheatear out on the reserve. 65 Brent headed east, 5 Sanderling on the beach & the usual Black Red was on the Fort.  

Sea-watching produced 5 Black-Headed Gull, Oystercatcher and a Little Egret south.

Overland migration limited to 5 Swallow & 4 House Martin south.   

Moth trapping: Getting milder so a few more micro's including several Notocelia cynosbatella.

Notocelia cynosbatella

Bird ringing: 5 Linnet, 4 Reed Warbler, 4 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Great tit, 1 House Sparrow. 

Wednesday 20th May 2026

 

Handful of new migrants including 2 Blackcap, 2 Reed Warbler, Hobby, Spot Fly & Willow Warbler. On the move southbound 18 Swallow, 16 House Martin, 2 Sand Martin & a Swift + 8 House Martin in/north. Offshore heading south 6 Sanderling & 3 Grey Plover with northbound 16 Brent.

Figure of 80 lives on Poplars so we get a few each year. Warmer conditions trying to creep in so we should start to get more moths.

Ringing: 4 Starling (pulli), 2 Blackcap, 2 Great Tit, 2 Linnet, 1 Goldfinch, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Willow Warbler.