August 10th. A return to summer conditions - a very warm day. Bird numbers and variety pretty much as yesterday, although a few more waders arriving down the shoreline and a Hobby was new. A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Miriam Hall, resulted in 10 new birds: a Wren, 3 Willow Warbler, a Robin, 3 Whitethroat, a Great Tit and a Dunnock; and 4 retraps: a Chiffchaff, a Great Tit, a Wren and a Whitethroat.
Rare moths caught overnight were a Tawny Wave and an Oblique Striped.
Common Gull, 10th August 2023. 
Whitethroat, 10th August 2023. 
August 9th. The dune scrub was busy with warblers again, particularly Willow Warbler. The sky was similarly busy with Hirundines, predominantly Swallow, in large feeding groups and with birds migrating south along the dunes. A southbound Bonxie was the highlight of a morning seawatch. An Osprey was over the south end late morning, presumably the same bird seen later near Burgh le Marsh. Other birds around included a Redstart, a Wheatear, 10 Arctic Skua, a Merlin and 5 Marsh Harrier. On Tennyson's Sands were 14 Spoonbill, 659 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Spotted Redshank and 7 Greenshank.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Miriam Hall, provided 26 new birds: a Wren, 15 Willow Warbler, a Chiffchaff, 2 Robin, 2 Whitethroat, a Sedge Warbler, a Linnet, 2 Lesser Whitethroat and a Woodpigeon; and 5 retraps: a Blue Tit, a Great Tit, 2 Willow Warbler and a Dunnock.
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| Sunrise over East Dunes, 9 August 2023. Photo - George Gregory  Willow Warbler, 9th August 2023. Photo - Kev Wilson  Emperor Dragonfly, 9th August 2023. Photo - Nige Lound  Small Red-eyed Damselflies, 9th August 2023. Photo - Nige Lound |
August 8th. Another sunny morning with a south-westerly breeze.
A fair number of Sandwich Tern and Gannet were feeding or moving south distantly offshore this morning with up to 5 Arctic Skua, but a southbound Long-tailed Duck was close in and represents our first August record - presumably the bird seen of the Lincolnshire Coast Country Park recently. Waders pushed off the shore by the rising tide included 2 Little Stint that flew towards to the lagoons. The Wheatear was on the beach again early morning with possibly an additional bird on the South Marsh Road. A Pied Flycatcher in the East Dunes was the first of the Autumn and there were still good numbers of Willow Warbler in the scrub. Some visible migration got underway from late morning with Swallow passage more intense between 12 and 3 p.m. when 582 headed south along with a Hobby, a Red Kite and a Marsh Harrier - the latter over the sea. On Tennyson's Sands were 7 Spoonbill.
The tenth session of CES was done this morning. The 33 new birds were 3 Wren, 12 Willow Warbler, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Robin, a Blue Tit, 3 Blackcap, 5 Swallow, a Whitethroat, a Reed Warbler, 2 Blackbird and a Great Spotted Woodpecker; and the 5 retraps were a Robin, a Whitethroat, a Chiffchaff. a Wren and a Blackcap.
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August 7th. A return to dry conditions and a bright morning. A noticeable decrease in sea and shorebird activity this morning with the Tern roost and Kittiwake dispersed and only one Arctic Skua around. The throughput of Willow Warbler continues with over 180 this morning including one acredula type with a good showing of Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Sedge Warbler. A Grasshopper Warbler was still reeling along Mill Pond Road. Other birds around, included 5 Greenshank, 5 Spotted Redshank, 5 Marsh Harrier, 2 Short-eared Owl, a Peregrine and a Wheatear.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 36 new birds: 21 Willow Warbler, 4 Wren, 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Robin, 3 Whitethroat, a Blackcap, a Reed Warbler and a Sedge Warbler; and 5 retraps: a Blackbird, a Robin, a Whitethroat, a Great Tit and a Long-tailed Tit.
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| Acredula type Willow Warbler, ringed 7 August 2023. Photo - George Gregory |
August 6th. Increasing north-westerly wind with occasional rain.
Another impressive wader roost on the morning's high tide with similar numbers to yesterday and another good performance by the gang of Arctic Skua. Small numbers of Swallow and Sand Martin were moving south and a Short-eared Owl arrived over the sea. 2 Short-eared Owls were also seen hunting around Storm Ridge. Other birds of prey included a Merlin, a Peregrine that caught a Knot at the roost and 4 Marsh Harrier - one of which circled high and flew out to sea, being mobbed by 2 Arctic Skua. A few Willow Warbler seemed to be freshly arrived along East Dunes and 15 Spoonbill were on Tennyson's Sands.
August 5th. Rain for most of day - very unpleasant conditions for the monthly WeBS count, but this was completed successfully on the high tide with counts of the key species as follows; Oystercatcher 3130, Grey Plover 600, Knot 32,000, Sanderling 5330, Dunlin 7400 and Curlew 140. Up to 800 Sandwich Terns were along the beach and continuing to attract a gang of Arctic Skuas, with 11 birds regularly patrolling as a group and another 16 moving south. Common Scoters are now regular offshore, with today's raft containing 100 birds. A Little Gull joined the Tern roost with 60 Common Terns and a Wheatear arrived on the beach. Not the day for counting warblers in the dunes, but a Green Woodpecker was still around.
August 4th. Rainy spells.
An impressive wader roost again on the morning tide with 40,000 Knot, the majority in full summer plumage and a good complement of Grey Plover, Dunlin and Sanderling collectively adding another 11,000 waders to the roost. Oystercatcher seem to be building up early after comparatively low numbers last autumn/winter, with 4200 this morning. In comparison, Bar-tailed Godwit are just starting to show up in numbers, with 800 now present. At least 10 Arctic Skua remain in the area, often loafing on the beach and chasing the numerous Sandwich Tern - up to 2000 of which were moving between roosts and feeding areas. Fairly good numbers of Kittiwake and Common Tern were in amongst the Sandwich Tern but Gannet numbers seem to have reduced significantly. A Tree Pipit went over the East Dunes with another on the Freshwater Marsh. On Tennyson's Sands were 5 Spoonbill.
August 3rd. Moderate north-westerly wind, overcast but mostly dry.
Good coverage of the wader roost and the sea early morning on a big tide. Following generally low counts in late July, Sanderling and Dunlin are now present in much larger numbers (5000+ of each), with Oystercatcher and Bar-tailed Godwit also showing an increase. Sandwich Tern were moving north continuously with smaller numbers of Common Tern and a few Arctic Tern. In addition to some 10 Arctic Skua blogging around the Haven and the foreshore, a further 20 moved north offshore, with 2 Manx Shearwater also heading north. Other birds around, including birds trapped, were a Wood Sandpiper, 5 Common Sandpiper, a Short-eared Owl and a Grasshopper Warbler. On Tennyson's Sands were 14 Spoonbill. Heading south was a Green Sandpiper. Good numbers of Willow Warblers again, as indicated by ringing information below.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Miriam Hall, yielded 27 new birds: 18 Willow Warbler, a Wren, a Blackcap, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Whitethroat, a Meadow Pipit, a Reed Warbler, 2 Dunnock and a Skylark; and 5 retraps: a Whitethroat, a Great Tit, 2 Dunnock and a Lesser Whitethroat.
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| Skylark, ringed 3 August 2023. Photo - George Gregory |
August 2nd. Heavy rain postponed all plans for any field work for the whole morning.
A brief look through West Dunes during the afternoon during drier but breezy conditions confirmed that some Willow Warbler were still present, calling, but generally keeping low in the scrub. Waders were counted on the evening tide when moderate rain again persisted. An increase of Knot was noted with 16,000 amongst all the usual other waders. Kittiwake, Gannet, Arctic Skua and Sandwich Tern were again in good numbers with a further increase in Common Tern heading to roost - c250. On Tennyson's Sands were 9 Spoonbill.
August 1st. Increasing westerly wind.
The main theme of the day was a significant arrival of Willow Warbler, with 211 counted in various sections of the Reserve. During the morning's arrival, it was apparent that there was considerable throughput of birds moving south through the dune scrub. Between 0620 and 0700hrs, 68 were counted flying through a gap in the scrub with a flock of 23 at one stage. Three Wood Warbler were involved in the influx, including two trapped and ringed in East Dunes and one along the roadside north of Aylmer Avenue. Interestingly, less than an hour after the ringing session had finished, 12 Willow Warbler were seen in one small area of the ringing site and all were unringed. Other birds around included an increase in Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Marsh Harrier, 17 Arctic Skua, a Grey Wagtail and a Whinchat. Two Tree Pipit flew south along with fair numbers of Swift and a few Hirundines. To complete the autumnal feel, a Long-eared Owl was found in the East Dunes late afternoon and 2100 Knot came up to roost.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 47 new birds: 35 Willow Warbler, 2 Wren, 2 Wood Warbler, 2 Blackcap, a Great Tit, 2 Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Chaffinch and a Dunnock; and 6 retraps: 2 Wren, 3 Dunnock and a Whitethroat.
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| First Wood Warbler, ringed 1 August 2023. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Second Wood Warbler, ringed 1 August 2023. Photo - George Gregory |
