Wednesday 6th December 2017

1,090 Cormorant heading out to go fishing is identical to yesterday's count. A Shag came in from the north-east and took a sharp right hand turn into the river & the regular Iceland Gull is present & accounted for. 23 Golden Plover went south but, apart from that, sea watching was basically purgatory and a walk around the nature reserve no better. A Fieldfare calling at dawn was the only passerine of note.

Tuesday 5th December

Benign conditions so not a lot happening. Southbound 11 Common Scoter, 6 Red-throated Diver and Little Egret with northbound 5 Brent, 4 Red-throated Diver & 2 Bonxie plus 22 Common Scoter sat offshore. Cormorant numbers building up again with 1,090 heading out fishing this morning. The Iceland Gull is present and accounted for but a perambulation around the peninsular produced none of the other regulars or anything else at all worth a mention.

Ringing: 1 Blackbird, 1 Redwing.

Monday 4th December 2017

Bit difficult to get a sighting of the Supermoon as the cloud was patchy pre dawn only clearing to give a glorious sunny morning once the moon had gone. On the move southbound 5 Siskin, 3 Mipit, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Skylark & a Shag just off the beach. It seems to be a better autumn for Shag here than for many years as several move into the riverine systems for the winter. Both the harrier & the Kes were going south offshore with in the "good old days" most Marsh Harrier abandoning Britain for the winter and many young Kestrel heading to Iberia - is the recent colder conditions encouraging them to go back to old ways ? The now regular Iceland Gull is still with us but just a single Snow Bunting on the beach on the mornings walk around the reserve. Finally a Chiffchaff has just shown itself in the observatory compound.

Sunday 3rd December 2017

Some vis mig in the form of southbound 47 Linnet, 13 Goldfinch & a Mipit. On the reserve 24 Mipits, 4 Snow Bunting, Fieldfare &  Black Redstart were new in (only four records of Black Red this autumn from mid-October to early November which may be the poorest autumn for them on record so is this one contemplating moving in for the winter ?). Autumn migration not finished for some species just yet and with milder conditions its difficult to class the migrants as cold weather movements. Loiterers were the Iceland Gull, Rock Pipit & Stonechat. Offshore basically forget it. Cormorant numbers poor in recent days so there may have been some culling and deliberate disturbance at the inland roost site, but if recent winters are anything to go by, then as the Terminator said "i'll by back".

Saturday 2nd December 2017

An Egyptian Goose heading south just off the beach is only the eighth site record. On the move southbound 25 Common Scoter, 11 Shelduck, 10 Red-throated Diver, 4 Brent & Shag with northbound 29 Teal, 23 Common Scoter, 13 Brent & 3 Red-throats. The Iceland Gull behaved itself loitering all morning, Purp Sand was on the point, Rock Pipit on the riverbank & Bonxie offshore. A Snipe was flushed off the beach and a couple of Blackies are still moving through.

Ringing: 5 Blackbird.

Friday 1st December 2017

After failing to get recorded yesterday the Iceland Gull patrolled up and down the beach on a cold showery morning. A small arrival of new Blackies with about 25 on site plus coming in off the sea 107 Starling & a Chaffinch. Offshore more entertaining with southbound 47 Wigeon, 35 Teal, 28 Black-headed Gull, 22 Brent, 12 Common Gull, 11 Red-throated Diver, 2 Shag, 2 Common Scoter, Shelduck & Pintail with northbound 79 Teal, 28 Red-throated Diver, 23 Wigeon, 21 Eider, 9 Black-headed Gull, 7 Brent, 7 Gadwal, 3 Little Auk, 2 Kittiwake, Pochard, Goldeneye, Common Scoter, Redshank, Guillemot plus a Bonxie offshore amongst a plethora of seagulls. The Purple Sand was again on the point.

Ringing: 8 Blackbird, 1 Chaffinch.

December Litter Pick

Litter Pick this Saturday 2nd December at 0930hrs start. Further details on the events page of www.lbo.org.uk