19th May. An adult male Golden Oriole arrived from the north, perched up briefly near Mill Hill and then continued south down the East Dunes early morning. It had moved to the Plantation by early afternoon where occasional song could be heard. A light Swallow passage was evident, with most moving south over the sea. there were 2 Spotted Flycatchers in the east Dunes and another 3 in the Plantation. A Great White Egret in full breeding colours was on Tennyson's Sands and single Turtle Dove and Hobby were around.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Keith Collett, provided 2 new birds: a Wren and a Meadow Pipit; and 4 retraps: a Chaffinch, 2 Whitethroat and a Chiffchaff.
Great White Egret 19th May. Photo: Paul Neale
Greenland Wheatear 19th May 2022. Photo: Paul Neale
Kestrel 19th May. Photo: Jim Shaw
Great Crested Grebes 19th May. Photo: Harry Fenwick
Light Emerald, Scorched Carpet 19th May
Photos: Nige Lound
18th May. 2 Marsh Harrier and 2 Red Kite flew south. Around were a Turtle Dove, 1050 Sanderling, a Little Stint, a Curlew Sandpiper (Tennyson's), 11 Turnstone, a Spotted Redshank, 41 Little Tern, 2 Spoonbill, 2 Marsh Harrier, a Short-eared Owl, a Hobby, a Peregrine, a Redwing, a Wheatear and 6 Spotted Flycatchers. An influx of Painted Lady butterflies was apparent, with up too 50 mostly on the east Dunes and Outer Dunes.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 5 new birds: 2 Willow Warbler, a Linnet, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Goldfinch; and a retrap Lesser Whitethroat.
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| Left to right, Ringed Plover, Little Tern and Oystercatcher, key breeding species on the shore, best viewed from Mill Hill this season, 18th May 2021. Photo - Ben Ward |
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| Spotted Flycatcher, ringed 18 May 2022. Photo - George Gregory    |
Painted Lady 18th May. Photo: Ben Ward
Coronet, Pale Tussock, Gold Spot,
The spring Sanderling build-up is now underway, with over 1000 birds coming to roost. Elsewhere, 9 Wheatear included 5 at the north end, a Firecrest was still at Sykes Farm and there was a light southerly passage of Hirundines.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Kyle Campbell, yielded 2 new birds: a Lesser Whitethroat and a Chaffinch; and a retrap Blue Tit.
Sanderling 17th May. Photo: Jim Shaw
Evening High Tide 17th May. Photo: Kev Wilson
Ringing Recovery: Chiffchaff, ringed GPBO 4 October 2020, found dead Longframlington, Northumberland 14 May 2022.
16th May. Overcast and humid start with rain mid morning, brightening significantly in the afternoon. Quality over quantity in terms of visible migration with light but continued hirundine passage with smaller numbers of Swift; a Wood Sandpiper and a Woodlark. A Firecrest and a Ring Ouzel were in the Plantation. The first Common Crane of the year was located on the mudflats in the afternoon, but soon vanished from sight to the dismay of those on site; a rare opportunity to see a settled bird here. A Short-eared Owl was very active late in the day around Wash Viewpoint.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 5 new birds: a Chiffchaff, a Reed Bunting, a Whitethroat, a Great Tit and a Blue Tit; and a retrap Dunnock.
15th May. Increasing easterly winds with rain in the morning and then set in from mid afternoon. A Broad-billed Sandpiper was discovered amongst a small group of Dunlin that had appeared approaching the peak of the evening tide. The flock was only present momentarily and quickly flew high and north erratically. Unusually the bird was an adult in winter plumage, not a well documented plumage in terms of vagrants in the UK.
A Turtle Dove flew north at the south end and then out to the East Dunes in the morning. Around were a 1100 Knot, 475 Sanderling, 350 Dunlin, a Curlew Sandpiper (Jacksons Marsh), a Common Sandpiper, 2 Wood Sandpiper, a Spotted Redshank, 2 Greenshank, a Mediterranean Gull, a Little Gull, 2 Spoonbill and 110 Swallow to roost.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 5 new birds: a Wren, 2 Whitethroat, a Sedge Warbler and a Ring Ouzel; and 3 retraps: a Sedge Warbler and 2 Whitethroat.
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| Broad-billed Sandpiper, 15th May 2022. Photo's - Ben Ward |
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| Female Ring Ouzel, ringed 15 May 2022. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Female Ring Ouzel, ringed 15 May 2022. Photo - George Gregory    |
A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 6 new birds: a Willow Warbler, a Wren, a Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting, a Dunnock and a Woodpigeon; and 2 retraps: a Whitethroat and a Reed Bunting.
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| Curlew Sandpiper, 14th May 2022. Photo - Ben Ward |
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| Woodpigeon, ringed 14 May 2022. Photo - George Gregory  Blood vein and Water Carpet Moths 14th May. Photos: Nige Lound |
A brief wind-restricted morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 2 new birds: a Reed Bunting and a Cuckoo; and 2 retrap Whitethroat.
A Chinese Water Deer was noted on the saltmarsh to the south.
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Cuckoo, ringed 13 May 2022. Photo - George Gregory      Photos: Tom Baker .JPG)  |
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Keith Collett, produced 3 new birds: a Lesser Whitethroat, a Blue Tit and a Jay; and 8 retraps: a Great Tit, 3 Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting, a Dunnock, a Meadow Pipit and a Blue Tit.
A Clouded Yellow butterfly arrived from the sea and flew northwest inland.
Sedge Warbler, Avocet, Gadwall, Orange Tip, Red Admiral on Hawthorn blossom. Photos: Tom Baker
11th May. Moderate to strong southwest wind and rain from early morning to late afternoon. Around the waterbodies were, a Wood Sandpiper, a Spotted Redshank, a Ruff, 5 Ringed Plover, 4 Dunlin, a Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper, a first summer Little Gull (through north), a Mediterranean Gull, 3 immature Spoonbill and finally good numbers of Reed Warbler. Around were 3 Cuckoo, 12 Whimbrel, an adult Spoonbill, 2 Marsh Harrier, a Short-eared Owl, a Merlin, a Garden Warbler and the first Whinchat of the year; a female Ring Ouzel was around the plantation during the morning and an Osprey headed south in the evening; also south went 23 Swift, 16 Sand Martin, 54 House Martin and 85 Swallow.
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| Redshank and Ruff, 11th May 2022 Photo - Ben Ward  Red-headed Cardinal Beetle 11th May. Photo: Tom Baker |
