May 20th. Sunny, with a fresh north-easterly wind.
The 13 Bee-eater had roosted overnight somewhere locally and appeared over the west side of the Reserve early morning and showed very well to a small crowd of county birders including one who was able to add it to his Lincolnshire list after 51 years birding. The birds were feeding well on bees and from time to time would rise up as a flock, calling loudly as if preparing to depart, only to move to another part of the Reserve, spending the last two hours around Mill Hill on the East Dunes before circling overhead, calling loudly, gaining height and moving out across the Wash towards Norfolk around 0920hrs. Interestingly, the group had lost one of the members and was reduced to 12 by the time they moved to the East Dunes. The group had actually started out as 12 individuals when seen moving south down the Yorkshire coast yesterday afternoon but had been joined by an extra bird when they reached Gibraltar Point. The flock was later seen over Hickling, Norfolk.
Some rough calculations estimated that during the flight from Spurn to Gibraltar Point, backed by the northerly breeze yesterday, flight speed was approximately 27 mph and the the flight to Hickling made today at approximately 23 mph.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 3 new birds: a Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and a Goldfinch; and 6 retraps: a Chaffinch, a Reed Bunting, a Chiffchaff, a Dunnock and 2 Whitethroat.
May 19th. Rainy spells from mid morning.
Around were 35 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, a Whimbrel, 2 Cuckoo, 2 Marsh Harrier, a Short-eared Owl, 2 Siskin and a Corn Bunting. On Jackson's Marsh was a Common Sandpiper. Heading south was a Hobby.
During the evening a flock of 13 Bee-eater arrived, seen distantly at 1736hrs and again distantly at 1902hrs with no birders on site looking between times. They were then relocated and showed well between 1950 and 2030hrs when they drifted off south.
Bee-eaters, 19th May 2023.
Video - Kev Wilson
May 18th. Another fairly quiet day, overcast but dry early on followed by a bright warm spell late morning then dull again with a cool south-easterly breeze keeping temperatures below average.
Birds around included 20 Little Tern, 2 Spoonbill, 1300 Sanderling, 800 Oystercatcher, 4 Marsh Harrier, 2 Short-eared Owl, 95 Black-tailed Godwits, 3 Grasshopper Warbler and 3 Cuckoo. In terms of some of our Birds of Conservation Concern, Ringed Plover pairs are down by around 30% on last year so far, 3 Willow Warbler territories represents a slight improvement on last year, possibly two pairs of Song Thrush are on par but a regular Yellowhammer territory now appears vacant. Swallow seem to be prospecting most of the usual haunts.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Kyle Campbell, produced 4 new birds: 2 Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Goldfinch; and 3 retraps: a Jackdaw, a Blue Tit and a Sedge Warbler. The Jackdaw had been ringed as a pullus on 3 June 2016.
 |
| Jackdaw, retrapped 18 May 2023. Photo - George Gregory |
Ringing Recovery: Goldfinch, ringed GPBO 14 October 2021, found dead Ravenscar, North Yorkshire 5 May 2023.
May 17th. Birds around included 90 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 6 Whimbrel, 2 Redwing, 2 Spoonbill, 52 Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Cuckoo, 3 Grasshopper Warbler, 3 Marsh Harrier and a Short-eared Owl. Flying south was a Hobby.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Kevin Armstrong, resulted in 8 new birds: a Chiffchaff, a Blackcap, a Garden Warbler, a Goldfinch, a Chaffinch, a Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting and a Swallow; and 7 retraps: 2 Dunnock, 2 Whitethroat, a Chaffinch, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Sedge Warbler.
May 16th. Slightly chilly start then warming up in the sun.
Little migration overland or at sea this morning. A Temminck's Stint was still visible from Harvey's Hide. Also around were a Redwing, 4 Cuckoo, a Hobby, 2 Egyptian Geese, a Spoonbill, a Short-eared Owl and a Wheatear. Our two pairs of 'tree-nesting' Black-headed Gull now have fully constructed nests in tall Hawthorns and appear to be incubating eggs. Although Black-headed Gull were noted perched up on the Hawthorns last spring, it was not thought that they were attempting to nest.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 3 new birds: a Long-tailed Tit, a Reed Warbler and a Goldfinch; and a retrap Dunnock.
May 15th. Fairly cloudy and cool, with increasing north-westerly wind.
No sign of the Stints this morning but the Red-backed Shrike was relocated on the West Dunes and a Woodlark was on the dune by the Visitor Centre. A flock of 55 Black-tailed Godwit flew south with a further 61 on the lagoons, with 3 Common Sandpiper. Other birds around included 80 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 2 Cuckoo, a Turtle Dove, a Whimbrel, 2 Common Sandpiper, a Short-eared Owl and the regular Hen Harrier..
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 2 new birds: a Chiffchaff and a Whitethroat; and 4 retraps: 2 Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting and a Great Tit.
Afternoon update: A Spotted Flycatcher was the first of the year, the Woodlark was still showing near the Visitor Centre, the Shrike had not been seen since mid-morning and a single Temminck's Stint was on Moat Scrape, visible from Harvey's Hide - presumably one of yesterday's trio returning.
.jpg)
A nice variety of Spring birds around today. Having remained elusive all day yesterday, the male Red-backed Shrike was retrapped in East Dunes early morning and then resumed its elusive behaviour - last seen in scrub near the Wash Viewpoint. A Pied Flycatcher was around the West Dunes with a singing Garden Warbler audible form the North Car Park nearby. A Hawfinch flew south down the West Dunes where a Tree Pipit was presumably yesterday's bird. On the lagoons, a Wood Sandpiper was a new arrival with a Common Sandpiper and 2 Spoonbill. A Temminck's Stint appeared mid evening, joined by another after an hour and then three birds from Harvey's Hide by 2000hrs. The ringtail Hen Harrier put in a routine appearance from the Wash Viewpoint late evening but no further sign of the Red-backed Shrike.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Mike Polling, yielded 8 new birds: a Chiffchaff, 4 Reed Bunting, 2 Whitethroat and a Lesser Whitethroat; and 6 retraps: a Red-backed Shrike, a Sedge Warbler, 2 Dunnock, a Reed Bunting and a Chiffchaff.
.JPG)
May 13th. Moderately strong, cool north-easterly wind increasing.
A male Red-backed Shrike trapped and ringed in East Dunes was an excellent start to the Global Bird Day, but there was little evidence of other new migrants except for 2 Tree Pipit, but the increasing northerly wind doubtless reduced much bird activity in the dunes. in addition to the 3 regular Marsh Harrier and female Hen Harrier, a fine Hobby was hunting the south end late afternoon and both Short-eared and Barn Owl were hunting Old Saltmarsh. Also on Old Saltmarsh were 100 Brent Goose.
Offshore, 36 Sandwich Tern, 3 Common Scoter, 6 Gannet, 6 Auk sp, 7 Common Scoter, a Red-breasted Merganser and a Fulmar provided variety if not volume. On the Haven, a flock of 35 Little Tern had assembled, with over 1000 Dunlin, 140 Ringed Plover and 600 Grey Plover - a high percentage of which were in full summer plumage.
A brief wind-restricted morning ringing session in East Dunes provided a new Red-backed Shrike; and a retrap Dunnock.
 |
| Male Red-backed Shrike, ringed 13 May 2023. Photo - George Gregory |
May 12th. Overcast and cool, with increasing northerly wind.
An hour's sea-watch prior to 0800hrs witnessed some northerly movement: a Red-throated Diver, an unidentified Diver (Black-throated or Great Northern), 63 Sandwich Tern, a Common Tern and 20 Little Tern. 15 Common Scoter flew south and 4 Eider were on the sea.
A Temminck's Stint was a new arrival, initially on Croftmarsh before moving to Jackson's Marsh where it seemed to shelter behind a Lesser Black-backed Gull for a while before moving on. Also around the lagoons were 3 Spoonbill, a Hobby and a nice batch of Hirundines feeding low in the strong wind: 80 Swallow, 35 House Martin and a Sand Martin. Other birds around included 35 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, a Yellow Wagtail and 2 Cuckoo.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes produced a new Whitethroat; and a retrap Whitethroat.
May 11th. Overcast morning, then clearing somewhat.
Around, including birds trapped, were a singing Garden Warbler, 2 Spoonbill, 3 Cuckoo, an unidentified ringtail Harrier and a Pied Flycatcher.
The second session of CES was done this morning. The 18 new birds were 3 Wren, 3 Long-tailed Tit, a Chiffchaff, a Robin, a Whitethroat, a Sedge Warbler, 4 Linnet, a Pied Flycatcher, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Song Thrush and a Blackbird; and the 14 retraps were 3 Blackbird, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler, a Blackcap, a Robin, 2 Sedge Warbler, a Wren and a Blue Tit.
 |
| Male Pied Flycatcher, ringed 11 May 2023. Photo - George Gregory  Short-eared Owl, 11th May 2023. Photo - Tom Baker |
 |
| Mother Shipton, 11 May 2023. Photo - Rob Watson |
