July 10th. Soggy start after overnight rain but becoming warm and bright with a light south-west wind.
A busy morning around the beach and foreshore with a big roost of large Gulls and Sandwich Tern and more Sandwich Tern continuously arriving form the north and east. Amongst the arriving waders were flocks of up to 45 Redshank. Sand Martin and Swift were moving again with several Swallows and both Green sandpiper and Greenshank flew south. Other birds around included a Cuckoo, a Sparrowhawk and 1500 Starling.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 6 new birds: a Wren, 3 Whitethroat, a Great Tit and a Dunnock; and 2 retraps: a Wren and a Chaffinch.
July 9th. Back to a light south-westerly wind.
A steady passage of Swift and Sand Martin was accompanied by a few Swallow and Alba Wagtail with single Yellow Wagtail and a Tree Pipit early morning. A roost of 200 Sandwich Tern built up on the beach whilst others were passing south offshore where 70 Common Scoter moved north and southbound ducks included a Shoveler, 7 Teal and 4 Tufted Duck. Wader passage continued with new Curlew, Sanderling, Dunlin Bar-tailed Godwit and Redshank moving south. On the lagoons, a Little Gull was a new arrival and the first fledged Little Egret was feeding. Also present; a Wood Sandpiper, 11 LRP, 177 Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, 2 Snipe, 2 Common Sandpiper and a juvenile Little Egret. Around were 1500 Starling.
Sand Martin and Swift continued to pass through in small numbers throughout the day up until early evening when two parties of Whimbrel headed south along the tideline (14 and 17).
A morning ringing session in East Dunes yielded 6 new birds: a Wren, 2 Robin, a Blackcap, a Linnet and a Dunnock; and 5 retraps: 3 Whitethroat, a Chiffchaff and a Lesser Whitethroat.
July 8th. Moderate south-easterly wind.
A light passage of Swift, with just a few Sand Martin, Starling, 8 Alba Wagtail, 3 Yellow Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail and a Cuckoo. Another 35 Curlew headed south with singles of Greenshank, Little Ringed Plover and Whimbrel. Offshore the main interest was a movement of Common Scoter, with flocks totaling 310 south into the Wash, with 25 Teal and a Tufted Duck. 6 Eider were new arrivals along the tideline and 80 Sandwich Tern were in the beach roost with an Arctic Tern. A Red-throated Diver went north and an Arctic Skua south. 500 Starling were feeding at the south end. A range of interesting marine flora and fauna has been washing up on the easterly winds.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 6 new birds: a Wren, a Goldfinch, a Great Tit, 2 Whitethroat and a Dunnock; and 3 retraps: a Dunnock and 2 Great Tit.
July 7th. Warm from early on with bright, sunny and dry conditions and continued westerly breeze.
A similar Sand Martin passage to yesterday and more Swift moving this morning along with several Alba Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail and a Yellow Wagtail. Wader movement continued with several small groups of Curlew, Dunlin , Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Wood Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper, a Greenshank and 2 Little Ringed Plover. A further 14 Little Ringed Plover were on Tennyson's Sands and another 3 on the Fenland Lagoon. 2 Heron and a Marsh Harrier arrived off the sea. 5 Med Gulls flew south with another 2 on the lagoons. The first fledged Little Egret was noted, a Grasshopper Warbler was still reeling down Mill Pond Road and a Song Thrush was in full song north of North Car Park. Also around were a Crossbill, a Cuckoo, a Barn Owl and 1000 Starling.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 4 new birds: 2 Wren, a Whitethroat and a Linnet; and 4 retraps: a Dunnock and 3 Whitethroat.
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July 6th. Another good morning for Sand Martin passage, with 470 south between 0630 and 1030hrs and a few Swallow starting to appear on the movement. Also, more waders were arriving from the north: small numbers of Curlew, Whimbrel, Black-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Redshank and Oystercatcher. 3 Green and 2 Wood Sandpipers also passed through, with 5 Med Gulls. Numbers of Sandwich Tern and Gannet have dwindled during the recent spring tide period but a Caspian Tern was a surprise visitor this morning, first seen heading north over the beach at 0910hrs, before veering off towards the North-east and gaining height. Other birds around included a Cuckoo and 600 Starling.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 11 new birds: a juvenile Goldcrest, 2 Great Tit, a Linnet, 2 Meadow Pipit, a Whitethroat, a Dunnock, 2 Starling and a Kestrel; 6 retraps: a Robin, a Wren, 3 Whitethroat and a Chiffchaff; and a control juvenile Starling with an ARNHEM VT HOLLAND ring.
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| Kestrel, ringed 6 July 2023. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Juvenile Starling with an ARNHEM VT HOLLAND ring, 6 July 2023. Photo - George Gregory  Photo - Ste Taylor |
July 5th. Several rainy spells, clearing by early morning then cool and overcast with a moderate westerly breeze.
The main feature of the morning was an arrival and migration of Sand Martin, with over 300 moving low south between 0730 and 0900hrs and up to 140 feeding over the flooded New Saltmarsh over the high tide period. Offshore, a Manx Shearwater and an Arctic Tern flew south.
Bouts of sea-watching between 2000 and 2100hrs produced 49 Manx Shearwater, 30 Gannet, a Fulmar and a Kittiwake.
Nesting Shorebird update: Unfortunately, at least 12 clutches of Ringed Plover eggs have been taken by Carrion Crows and of the five remaining clutches, four have had to be carefully moved higher up the beach to prevent them from being washed over by this weeks big tides. Three nesting pairs of Little Terns are the last remaining on the Lincolnshire coast as far as we know, with two of the pairs hatching chicks recently. The two broods of two, being well fed and tended to by the adult birds.
July 4th. Gradually increasing south-westerly wind.
On the water bodies were 9 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Spotted Redshank, 14 Spoonbill and 2 Mediterranean Gull. A Crossbill flew south.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 8 new birds: a Wren, a Chiffchaff, a Linnet, 2 Sedge Warbler and 3 Whitethroat; and 6 retraps: 2 Robin, a Whitethroat, a Great Tit, a Wren and a Dunnock.
Attracted to pheromones were 4 Lunar Hornet Moths.
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| Lunar Hornet Moth, 4 July 2023. Photo - Nige Lound |
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| Mediterranean Gulls, 4 July 2023. Photo - Nige Lound |
July 3rd. Gradually increasing south-westerly wind, with a thunderstorm from mid afternoon.
Fairly quiet offshore and vis mig involving lower numbers of Swift with a few Sand Martin. The Whooper Swan remained with an increase of Black-tailed Godwit - 305 with 114 Avocet and now 3 Wood Sandpiper and 14 Spoonbill. A Crossbill was mobile around the Reserve, and a female Common Redstart in the East Dunes was a very early post-breeding bird. The first juvenile Swallows were evident from 2 broods today.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 10 new birds: a Wren, a Long-tailed Tit, 5 Whitethroat, a Meadow Pipit, a Redstart and a Dunnock; and 3 retraps: a Whitethroat, a Chiffchaff and a Long-tailed Tit. The Redstart was an adult female with a brood patch.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by Mike Polling produced 13 new birds: a Wren, 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Blue Tit, a Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Dunnock and a Great Tit; and 2 retraps: a Chiffchaff and a Sedge Warbler.
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| Adult female Redstart with a brood patch, ringed 3 July 2023. Photo - George Gregory  Spoonbills, 3rd July 2023. Photo - Nige Lound  Photo - Kev Wilson  Photo - Kev Wilson |
July 2nd. Gradually increasing south-westerly wind.
Around was a Crossbill and a Sparrowhawk. A nice selection of waders on Tennyson's Sands included a Wood Sandpiper, 6 Spotted Redshank, 8 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Common Sandpiper, 126 Black-tailed Godwit and 7 Spoonbill. The adult Whooper Swan was on Jackson's Marsh. Flying south were over 1000 Swift and offshore 690 Sandwich Tern and 45 Gannet. Also offshore, a light phase Arctic Skua.
The seventh session on CES was done this morning. The 32 new birds were 3 Wren, 5 Chiffchaff, 2 Robin, a Blackcap, 2 Blue Tit, 3 Sedge Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 7 Whitethroat, a Linnet, a Great Tit, 4 Dunnock and a Carrion Crow; and the 5 retraps were a Goldfinch, 2 Dunnock and 2 Chiffchaff.
3 Humming-bird Hawk Moths today including 2 on Buddleia at North Car Park.
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| Juvenile Carrion Crow, ringed 2 July 2023. Photo - George Gregory |
July 1st. Early morning rain and a strong westerly breeze.
2100 Swift and 305 Starling headed south during the morning watch with a Yellow Wagtail and 3 Siskin. Flocks of Black-tailed Godwit in full summer plumage were arriving from the north and moving through, totaling 227. On the beach was a roost of 80 Sandwich Tern, and offshore a further 550 Sandwich Terns moved south with 2 Manx Shearwater and 2 Harbour Porpoise. Two Peregrine were hunting together over the Haven. Also around were 2 Cuckoo and 2 Grasshopper Warbler.
A Humming-bird Hawk Moth was the first for the year.
