Tuesday 6th March 2012

After yesterdays deluge things are starting to dry out a bit. Highlights this morning were 2 Velvet Scoter north, 4 Barnacle Geese south plus a Short-eared Owl on the reserve. Also on the move 8 Red-throated Divers, 2 Gannets, 2 Shelduck, 2 Oyks & a Fulmar. For those of you who enjoy ploughing through large numbers of seagulls about a thousand (mostly immatures) are feeding behind the shipping going in & out of the harbour at the moment. Passerine movement almost non-existent with a single Redwing on site plus the first migrant Blue Tit of the spring.

Monday 5th March 2012

Blowing a chilly Force 7 - 8 gale with a few naughty gusts in the Force 9 department plus it's started raining again - lovely ! The undoubted highlight of the morning was a whale that broke surface several times as it drifted south at 0850hrs. Unfortunately it eluded identification, but as nearly all the whales that have been seen off here have ended up stranded somewhere nearby it may get identified retrospectively. Prolonged seawatching (what else can one do in these conditions ?) produced a total of 9 Dunlin, 6 Gannets, 3 Red-throated Divers, 2 Great-crested Grebe, single Guillemot & Grey Heron. A Purp flew past close inshore making it's way to the jetty. Also offshore at least 3 Grey Seals.

Saturday 4th March 2012

Drizzle degenerating into rain by mid-morning does not make for pleasant conditions. 19 Barnacles south just offshore with a handful of Chaffinchs the only real sign of passerine migration. As the morning went on a total of 5 adult Gannets went north plus a fine Pom Skua moving north along the beach line.

Saturday 3rd March 2012

Migrants on site today include a handful of new Chaffs, Robins, Blackies, Redwings, single Fieldfare, Golden Plover & Lapwing. Rock Pipit still on the point with a Woodcock either a spring migrant or one leftover with us from the cold spell. Misty offshore making observations difficult although 35 Brents, 4 Wigeon, 3 Shelduck plus single Gannet, Teal & Oystercatcher all going south. A Mute Swan, 2 Gadwal & 2 Grey Seals spent the morning offshore. An immature male Peregrine with a couple of primary feathers missing in one wing is not one of the regulars which are both adults. Finally a freshly flattened Water Rail was doing a poor imitation of a pancake on View Point Road opposite the Butts Pond late morning.

Friday 2nd March 2012

Damp fog thinning a bit late morning. New Robin, Great Tit & Blacky on site but couldn't see much - bit of a waste of time really in these conditions. At least a few other jobs got done.

Thursday 1st March 2012

3 Egyptian Geese south over the roof of the obs then turning inland up the river Orwell at 0905hrs is only our 4th site record of this species and doubles the grand total of the number of individuals seen. Migrants new in today include a couple of new Blackies, Songies, 3 Long-tailed Tits, a Dunnock & a Water Rail. On the move overhead were 3 Crows & 3 Jackdaws south plus single Skylark & Yellowhammer going north. No Yellowhammers were seen at all last autumn for the first time ever. Early March is the traditional time for a handful of records each spring of this declining species. With spring passage underway its good to get some variety in the sightings. In the moth trap Acleris cristana is notable for us.

Wednesday 29th February 2012

Migrants today in the "turdus" department include 10 Songies, 6 Redwing, 3 Fieldfare & a Blacky weighing in at a massive 129.8 g which is more than enough aviation fuel to cross the North Sea. 4 Skylarks on the reserve with another 2 going south are presumably on there way back to the continent. A single Reed Bunting went south. Offshore not a lot, but not helped by the poor visibility and light drizzle early on. The 4 Snow Bunts reappeared having been missing for several days & the Peregrines are on the near dock cranes.