Wednesday 22nd March 2017

Up the workers - fencing for ground nesting birds put up on the reserve this morning. SSE gale brought in the first Firecrest of the spring plus a Black Redstart. Other grounded migrants hard to come by but included Skylark, Meadow Pipit & Chiffchaff. A Brambling shot along the front briefly and may have dropped in. Offshore southbound 15 Barnacles Geese, 4 Shelduck & 2 Gannet plus northbound 5 Gannet, Oyk & Fulmar plus 6 Gannets following a ship in.

2 birds ringed: 1 Black Redstart, 1 Firecrest.

Tuesday 21st March 2017

Glorious sunny but colder morning with the wind picking up not long after first light. A handful of new Chiffchaffs and a Long-tailed Tit new in on site plus a Woodcock whizzing around at one point which will be a bird stopping off on the coast as it makes it's way back to the continent. Land-birds heading south were 61 Starling, 5 Siskin, 2 Jackdaw & Goldfinch. Offshore records barely worth a mention. The Sweet Violets in the observatory compound are particularly splendiferous at the moment.

4 birds ringed: 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Long-tailed Tit.

"TERN FENCING"

Although we call it the "tern fence" it's more for Ringed Plovers these days. It is intended to put the fence up on Wednesday 22nd March starting from the cottage at 0930hrs. The more hands that turn up then the easier the task. Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear for the task in hand.

Monday 20th March 2017

Wet & windy start then just windy for the rest of the morning. On the move southbound 36 Siskin, & 3 Mipits. In the bushes half a dozen Chiffchaff and Goldcrest with a Wheatear on the reserve. Offshore movements southbound 7 Turnstone, 4 Grey Plover, 3 Common Gull, 2 Gannet, 2 Brent, 2 Shelduck, 2 Dunlin & Common Scoter with northbound 6 Brent, Gannet & Fulmar plus 5 Gannet following a ship in. 3 Red-legged Partridge are still with us but are very skittish presumably as the are used to beaters and shooters trying to blast them off the planet from wherever they have come from.

3 birds ringed: 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Robin.

Sunday 19th March 2017

Half grown Collared Dove chicks hunkered down holding on in the gale. At least 5 Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Wheatear & Mipit present today with 2 Siskin heading south. Offshore southbound 15 Brent, 8 Dunlin, 2 Common Gull, Gannet and Knot south with northbound 13 Brent & 5 Gannet plus 3 Gannet following a ship in.

5 birds ringed: 4 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldcrest.

Saturday 18th March 2017

Never managed a pic of Red-breasted Merganser for the blog before - hopefully we will manage to photo a closer one in the future but this is a typical view as they fly by. Also heading south offshore 14 Brent, 7 Common Gull, 2 Gannet, 2 Shelduck, 2 Oyk, Red-throated Diver, Grey Plover & Carrion Crow plus northbound 184 Brent & single Red-throat. Male Wheatear on the reserve & Chiffchaff in the bushes but the strong winds and drizzle early on not aiding recording. At least 1 Red-leg Partridge still with us.Someone has attacked the log on the gate onto the nature reserve in the last 48 hours or so resulting in it having to be cut off - on the remote chance that anyone saw anything suspicious please contact the Landguard Ranger.

No ringing.

Friday 17th March 2017

A very small handful of new migrants in this morning including the first female Wheatear of the spring & a couple of Chiffchaffs. Overhead 4 Mipits, 2 Chaffinch & Siskin went south. Offshore southbound 9 Dunlin, 4 Shelduck, 4 Oyk, 3 Common Gull, 2 Red-throated Diver 2 Shoveler, 2 Ringed Plover and a female Merlin plus northbound 3 Gannet & Red-throat with an additional 6 Gannet following a ship late morning. The number of Red-legged Partridge on the reserve has increased from 2 to 3 - exciting here isn't it !

Hebrew Character used to be one of the commonest moths in the traps here in March and April but over the years it has steadily declined to the stage where we now just get the odd ones. No apparent reason for this; it's just an example of a formerly common species that is no where near as abundant as it used to be.

Ringing: 3 Chiffchaff.