Thursday 22nd July 2021

Another warm sticky one although a couple of migrants present including Sand Martin, Willow Warbler, Yellow Wagtail plus another Great Spotted Woodpecker. A Redshank went south with northbound 25 Common Scoter & a Whimbrel. Juv Black Red in front of the Fort up to mid morning.

First Clouded Yellow of the year.

We have been bemoaning the lack of Cinnabar caterpillar on the Common Ragwort when these tiny tots were noticed on this mornings constitutional.

Ringing: 1 Linnet, 1 Wren

Wednesday 21st July 2021

Another hot one. Southbound 28 Black-headed Gull, Med Gull & Shelduck with a total of 36 Sandwich & 25 Common Terns coming & going or feeding in the estuary. Yet another juv Great Spotted Woodpecker paid a visit & one of the juv Black Reds was siting on the Fort's entrance sign first thing. Worth a mention is that one of our pair of Great Tits has gone to the effort to produce a second brood.

Busy old moth traps included a handful of the commoner migrants plus only the 4th site record of Poplar Lutestring.

Ringing: 5 Great Tit, 5 Linnet, 1 Whitethroat.

Tuesday 20th July 2021

Another hot sticky morning with migrants consisting of southbound 5 Swallow & Yellow Wag plus another Yellow Wag on the reserve. Offshore southbound 5 Common Scoter, Curlew & Whimbrel. Early morning tern numbers are building up with at least 21 Sandwich & 10 Common feeding in the estuary. Another dispersing juv Great Spotted Woodpecker visited with the numbers of this species so far this summer suggesting that they had a good breeding season.

Marbled Clover is a Red Data Book species in the Brecks & north of us along the Suffolk coast where this one has possibly wandered down from although with the onshore breeze it could by a migrant coming in from the continent.

Ringing: 3 Wren, 1 Blackbird, 1 lesser Whitethroat, 1 Linnet.

Monday 19th July 2021

 

Stinking Goosefoot - one of only two 'Schedule 8' plants on site

A bit of cloud first thing but essentially another hot, sunny day with a little onshore breeze; a similar spread of birds as well but it was highlighted by a Roseate Tern briefly off the jetty before moving north along with which included a Curlew, 3 Sanderling and a Redshank south, 5 Mediterranean Gulls, 7 Sandwich Terns, 10 Common Terns and another dispersing juvenile Great-spotted Woodpecker.

Ringing: Dunnock 3, Wren 1, Robin 1, Blackbird 1, Whitethroat 1, Linnet 4

Vapourer is regular as a daytime sighting in the autumn but few find the traps

Sunday 18th July 2021

After some detective work (& better photos) the emerald damselflies at the Butts pond present since Thursday are actually the first site records of Scarce Emerald Damselfly Lestes dryas, not as identified at the time. If one is interested in such subtleties of identification then at least two males are still present today. Landguard is not the sort of site one would head to for Odonata but 13 different species have been noted in the last four days alone which indicates some major dispersal presently going on.

Stinking hot day with the temperature reaching 24.1 Celsius by 1030 hrs before a characteristic on shore breeze developed bringing it down a few notches. Very few migrants noted but included 2 Sand Martin & a handful of terns.

Good variety of moths presently including only the second site record of the nationally scarce Rose Plume with our only previous one back in 1997.

Ringing: 2 Linnet, 1 Dunnock, 1 Great Tit.

Saturday 17th July 2021

Swift returning towards town with a bulging crop full of insects after feeding over the point

 A fine day from the start, wall-to-wall sunshine becoming very warm, albeit with a cooling onshore breeze later on; offshore this morning were 17 Sandwich Terns, 9 Mediterranean Gulls, a Common Tern, a Common Gull and a tight flock of 9 Little Egrets which seemed to come in off and head up the river.   On the land a few random birds comprised a Great-spotted Woodpecker, a Grey Wagtail south, 2 Sand Martins, 3 Swallows and a Yellow Wagtail.

There were plenty of Dragonflies in the fine conditions whizzing around with Brown Hawker new for this Odonata-filled year.

Ringing: Wren 2, Linnet 2, Blackbird 1

Catoptria pinella is one of the better looking Grass moths

Friday 16th July 2021

 

The one surviving Ringed Plover chick can just about fly now

Overcast first thing and even a bit chilly with the light northerly breeze but the cloud broke up by 9am producing a warm, sunny day although the wind had switched into the SE cooling things down as it came in from the sea.   Most of the day's limited bird action was over the sea which included 38 Black-headed Gulls, 12 Common Terns (including the first juveniles), 4 Knot, 11 Little Terns and 19 Sandwich Terns (also including the first juveniles).

The only other bits of note comprised 3 Common Sandpipers on the jetty and 7 Lapwings on the common - both good counts for here!

Ringing: Blackbird 1, Dunnock 2

The first Brown-line Bright Eye of the summer