Early August 2017

August 10th. Around, including birds trapped, were 16 Spoonbill, 3 Pochard, a Mediterranean Gull, 4 Green Sandpiper, 2 Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank, 150 Black-tailed Godwit, a Green Woodpecker, a Hobby, a Garden Warbler and 2 Wheatear. Offshore were 10 Gannet, 50 Common Tern, 300 Sandwich Tern and 3 Arctic Skua. Heading north were a Black Tern, 4 Sand Martin and 3 Yellow Wagtail.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Keith Collett, produced 20 new birds: 6 Willow Warbler, 7 Linnet, a Robin, a Garden Warbler, a Whitethroat, a Reed Warbler, a Chaffinch, a Dunnock and a Starling; and 8 retraps: a Song Thrush, 2 Willow Warbler, a Dunnock, 2 Whitethroat, a Wren and a Chiffchaff.

August 9th. Rain in morning.
 Flying north offshore was an adult Sabine's Gull, a Fulmar, 3 Arctic Skua, 5 Kittiwake and 6 Little Gull; and south 2 Black Tern and 6 Arctic Skua. Birds around included 12 Spoonbill, 2 Scaup, a Mediterranean Gull, 2 juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, a Common Sandpiper, a Wood Sandpiper, 3 Greenshank, 3 Green Sandpiper, a Spotted Redshank, 150 Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Crossbill.

  August 8th. Intermittent rain all day.
 Around were 18 Spoonbill, a Mediterranean Gull, a Kittiwake, an Arctic Tern, an Arctic Skua, 50000 Knot, 2 Spotted Redshank, 2 Green Sandpiper, 4 Snipe, 90 Black-tailed Godwit, a Kingfisher and a Pied Flycatcher. Going south were 6 Swallow.

August 7th. Birds around included 13 Spoonbill, a Merlin, 2 Marsh Harrier, 2 Wood Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, 3 Common Sandpiper, 151 Black-tailed Godwit, a Cuckoo and a Green Woodpecker. Heading south were 35 Swallow.
 The tenth session of CES was done this morning. The 18 new birds were 3 Wren, 4 Willow Warbler, a Chiffchaff, a Reed Warbler, 3 Whitethroat, a Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcap, a Blue Tit, a Dunnock and a Blackbird. The 9 retraps were 2 Blackbird, 2 Wren, 3 Dunnock, a Linnet and a Chiffchaff.

Sea Rocket, 7th August 2017.
Photo - Rob Watson

Scarlet Pimpernel, 7th August 2017.
Photo - Rob Watson

August 6th. Around were 15 Spoonbill, 2 Wood Sandpiper, a Spotted Redshank, a Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank, 136 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Snipe, a Little Stint, a Goldcrest and 2 Yellow Wagtail. Flying south were 34 Sand Martin, 25 Swallow and a Grey Wagtail.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes yielded 19 new birds: 8 Willow Warbler, 3 Wren, a Blackcap, 2 Robin, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Linnet and a Reed Warbler; and 4 retraps: a Robin, 2 Dunnock and a Sedge Warbler.
 A brief morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by David Vincent resulted in 21 new birds: 8 Willow Warbler, 7 Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, a Linnet, a Reed Warbler and a Great Tit; and 1 retrap: a Wren.

August 5th. Birds around included a Spoonbill, a Marsh Harrier, a Whimbrel, 2 Greenshank, a Spotted Redshank, a Green Sandpiper, a Green Woodpecker and 2 Spotted Flycatcher. Going southwest were 50 Sand Martin and 75 Swallow.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 35 new birds: 3 Wren, a Goldcrest, 8 Willow Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Robin, 5 Linnet, 2 Sedge Warbler, 6 Whitethroat, a Dunnock and 5 Starling; and 6 retraps: 2 Whitethroat, a Linnet and 3 Dunnock.

Juvenile Goldcrest, ringed 5th August 2017.
Photo - George Gregory

August 4th. Around were 7 Spoonbill, a Red Kite, a Marsh Harrier, an adult Mediterranean Gull, 1800 Sandwich Tern, 50 Gannet, 33 Whimbrel and a Greenshank. Heading north was an Osprey; and south were 1000 Swift, 35 Sand Martin and 14 Swallow.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 9 new birds: 6 Willow Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, a Linnet and a Whitethroat; and 3 retraps: a Willow Warbler, a Whitethroat and a Dunnock.

Swift, 4th August 2017.

Sandwich Tern, 4th August 2017.

Sandwich Tern, 4th August 2017.

Sandwich Tern, 4th August 2017.

Sandwich Tern, 4th August 2017.

Arctic Skua, 4th August 2017

August 3rd. Increasing south-westerly wind.
 Birds around included 14 Spoonbill, 2 Peregrine and 2 Greenshank. Flying south were 15 Swift, a Sand Martin, 6 House Martin and 30 Swallow.
 A wind-restricted morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Keith Collett, resulted in 6 new birds: 3 Willow Warbler, 2 Linnet and a Whitethroat; and 4 retraps: singles of Wren, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackbird and Dunnock.

August 2nd. Around were 15 Spoonbill, a Marsh Harrier, 2 Whimbrel, 4 Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper, a Greenshank, 80 Black-tailed Godwit, 2000 Sandwich Tern, 4 Arctic Skua, a Hobby, a Treecreeper and 12 Yellow Wagtail. On Fenland Lagoon were 3 Little Ringed Plover. Going south were a Grey Heron, a Curlew Sandpiper, a Little Stint, 3 Arctic Tern, a Turtle Dove, 10 Swift, 352 Sand Martin, 120 Swallow and a Yellow Wagtail.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 6 new birds: a Wren, a Willow Warbler, 3 Whitethroat and a Blackcap; and 3 retraps: a Whitethroat and 2 Dunnock.
 A brief morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by David Vincent resulted in 29 new birds: 11 Willow Warbler, 4 Dunnock, 4 Linnet, 3 Wren, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Reed Warbler, a Great Tit and a Reed Bunting; and 3 retraps: 2 Whitethroat and a Willow Warbler.

Sand Martins gathering, 2nd August 2017.
Photo - Nige Lound

August 1st. Birds around included 10 Spoonbill, 250 Common Scoter, a Marsh Harrier, an adult Mediterranean Gull, 1500 Sandwich Tern, 12 Arctic Skua, a Guillemot, 3 Whimbrel, 210 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Greenshank, a Green Woodpecker, a Kingfisher, a juvenile Wheatear, 2 Treecreeper, a Garden Warbler and a Crossbill. On Tennyson's Sands were 2 Green Sandpiper and 150 Redshank; and on Jackson's Marsh a Turnstone. Heading south were 2 Great Crested Grebe, 34 Swift, 35 Sand Martin, 47 Swallow, a Grey Wagtail and 3 Yellow Wagtail.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 12 new birds: 2 Willow Warbler, a Wren, a Robin, a Goldfinch, 2 Linnet, 2 Whitethroat, a Blackcap, a Dunnock and a Song Thrush; and 6 retraps: a Song Thrush, a Robin, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Chiffchaff and 2 Dunnock.

Greenshank, 1st August 2017.
Photo - Paul Neale

Sedge Warbler, 1st August 2017.
Photo - Paul Neale