November 10th. A light south-westerly, with low cloud and a brief spell of drizzle early morning. A good pulse of migration over the dunes involved Brambling, Chaffinch, Siskin, Linnet and Rock Pipit predominantly with single Twite, Crossbill and House Martin. Three Swallows remained over the Plantation and a Cattle Egret flew over there, with a Bearded Tit nearby moving between the various reed patches.
Offshore early morning, there was a good movement of Common Scoter into the Wash, 9 Little Gull and 2 Mediterranean Gull flew south and 3 Woodcock arrived off the sea from good height and with great speed!
Sunset, 10th November 2023.
Photo - Nige Lound
November 9th. A pleasant morning after a dull start with a south-westerly breeze. Recording was more manageable over land and sea this morning with somewhat reduced intensity of passage over both. Offshore, still a few Little Gulls, Sandwich and Commic Terns with 2 distant Skuas. A Great Northern Diver was fishing close inshore and two more Great Northern Divers flew south separately. A ringtail Hen Harrier gave close views over the West Dunes and a Merlin hunted over the beach. Two more Merlins headed south, a Twite called over the foredunes, 3 Swallows were over the Plantation and a Goldeneye commuted between Tennyson's Sands and Jackson's Marsh. Again, there were good numbers of feeding waders along the beach.
Hen Harrier, 9th November 2023.
Photo - Tom Baker
Hen Harrier, 9th November 2023.
Photo - Tom Baker
Marsh Harrier, 9th November 2023.
Photo - Tom Baker
Sparrowhawk, 9th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale
Teal, 9th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale
Goldeneye, 9th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale
Shoveler, 9th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale
Knot, 9th November 2023.
Photo - Tom Baker
Cormorant, 9th November 20923.
Photo - Tom Baker
Curlew 9th November 2023.
Photo - Jeremy Eyeons
Greenshank, 9th November 2023.
Photo - Jeremy Eyeons
Blackbird, 9th November 2023.
Photo - Tom Baker
Ringing Recovery. Shag, ringed Fidra, East Lothian 8 June 2023, found dead GPNNR 5 November 2023.
November 8th. Rain from first thing until mid afternoon. certainly not the day for extensive sea-watching or 'vis-migging' but nonetheless, a good range of birds were recorded including 7 Goosander heading south, 2 Greenshank and a Kingfisher on the Fenland Lagoon, a Lapland Bunting, 3 Stonechat, a Merlin and a Hen Harrier around the New Saltmarsh, a Swallow south, a Goldeneye on Tennyson's Sands, a late Whimbrel on Greenshank's Creek and 24 Whooper Swans south in small groups.
Greenshanks, 8th November 2023.
Photo - Peter Rollings
Kingfisher, 8th November 2023.
Photo - Robert Smith
November 7th. Continued westerly breeze becoming stronger with bright conditions turning overcast with rain later. Lots of bird movement again today keeping the recorders busy. Soon after dawn 3 Marsh Harriers came out of roost with 2 Hen Harriers hunting the Old Saltmarsh that may also have roosted locally. Other birds of prey during the morning were 2 Marsh Harriers, 4 Merlin, a Peregrine, a Red Kite and a Sparrowhawk all moving south over the sea/beach, whilst a Hen Harrier was watched arriving in off the sea. Whooper Swans continue to arrive from the north in groups; today's total was 105, including 7 that settled on Tennyson's Sands. The beach was a spectacle of feeding waders and gulls, with the regular 2 Purple Sandpipers over 700 Knot and 34 Turnstone amongst Dunlin, Sanderling and Redshank and in amongst the gulls, single Caspian and Yellow-legged. Vis mig provided good numbers and variety again including 3 Swallow, Lapland Bunting, Woodlark, Hawfinch and Raven in addition to the raptors mentioned above. Offshore; 2 Arctic Tern, 2 Sandwich Tern and 3 Arctic Skuas were notable. A Firecrest was a new arrival in the West Dunes.
Blue Tit, 7thNovember 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark
Whooper Swan, 7th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark
Brent Goose, 7th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark
Cormorant, 7th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark
November 6th. A light westerly breeze with a sunny start to the day. Birds were moving from soon after dawn, with a wide range of Passerines represented eg 143 Brambling through in 2 hours along with 4 Twite, a Lapland Bunting, Crossbill, Woodlark, and 2 Bullfinch. 4 Bean Geese passed though as well as various skeins of Pink-footed Geese and over 80 Whooper Swans. Birds of prey heading south were single Hen Harrier, Sparrowhawk and Merlin. Limited observations out to sea recorded 55 Little Gull, 14 Commic Tern, 3 Arctic Tern, 4 Sandwich Tern, 350 Common Scoter and a Red-necked Grebe south whilst on the beach 2 Purple Sandpiper, 2 Snow Bunting and a Shorelark.
Purple Sandpipers, 6th November 2023.
Photo - Nige Lound
November 5th. An increasing north-westerly breeze that focused attention towards the sea from first thing until late morning followed by a late afternoon session. There was good variety out at sea but nothing in great numbers and many birds were beyond mid-distance. A flock of 6 Grey Phalaropes arrived from the north, 2 settled on the sea and the other 4 carried on south into the Wash, 4 Shag were on the sea at the north end, a Pomarine Skua and 2 Great Skua headed south whilst 2 Arctic Skua headed north. A group of 3 Skua sp going south were probably Pomarine Skuas and another Skua sp heading north was a small type. There were also 16 Little Gull, 2 Sandwich Tern, a Commic Tern, a Goosander and 11 Red-throated Diver. Birds arriving off the sea included several flocks of Starlings and Skylarks, a few Fieldfare and Redwing, a Woodcock and single Sparrowhawk, whilst groups of Whooper Swans arriving from the north totaled 76.
Visible migration continued to involve small numbers of Meadow and Rock Pipits, Brambling, Chaffinch, Redpoll and Siskin and 2 Swallow with the first Snow Bunting of the autumn.
The Northern Lights were observed from the Reserve during the mid evening.
Northern Lights, 5th November 2023.
Photo - Rhianna Jo Wilson
Purple Sandpiper with Turnstone and Sanderling, 5th November 2023.
Photo - Rob Watson
Ringing Control: Goldfinch, ringed GPBO 7 October 2012, controlled Icklesham, East Sussex 28 October 2023.
November 4th. A cool, strong westerly breeze again with rain later in the day. A good southerly migration noted again this morning with 3 late Swallows passing south amongst Finches, Larks and Pipits, but the highlight was a Green-winged Teal accompanying Teal on Tennyson' Sands. Golden Plover and Lapwing numbers are building up on local fields with 3000 and 600 respectively and there were 3 Bearded Tit at the mere.
Green-winged Teal, 4th November 2023.
Photo - Nige Lound
Green-winged Teal, 4th November 2023.
Photo - Nige Lound
November 3rd. A strong westerly breeze, slightly overcast morning but remaining dry. One of the best days for visible migration this autumn with constant flocks of Goldfinch, Linnet, Redpoll, Siskin, Brambling, Meadow Pipit, Chaffinch and Woodpigeon pouring south down the East Dunes whilst many Skylark and Rock Pipit were moving over the beach and sea. Highlights of the movement were a Lapland Bunting, 2 Woodlark, 3 Crossbill, a Red Kite and a Marsh Harrier. Birds moving south offshore included; 91 Little Gull, 3 Arctic Skua, 2 Bonxie, 3 Red-breasted Merganser, 4 Goosander, 4 Goldeneye, a Black-throated Diver, 10 Sandwich Tern (+1 on beach), 10 Commic Tern, 7 Arctic Tern, a Great White Egret, a Hen Harrier, 2 Merlin and 57 Whooper Swan. A further 20 Whoopers arrived after dark, possibly going to roost on Tennyson's Sands. 2 Woodcock flew in off the sea with another one seen on the Cycletrack. Also around the Reserve 2 Firecrest, 2 Lapland Bunting, Short-eared Owl and a presumed Eastern Stonechat type (1st winter male), seen briefly before disappearing into the East Dunes.
Shoveler, 3rd November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale
Shoveler, 3rd November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale
Brent Goose, 3rd November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale
Hen Harrier, 3rd November 2023.
Photo - Nige Lound
Whooper Swans at sea, 3rd November 2023.
Photo - Nige Lound
Short-eared Owl from the tractor, 3rd November 2023.
Photo - Bethany McGuire
Red Kite, 3rd November 2023.
Photo - Kev Wilson
November 2nd. A windy and rainy morning with some high expectations for sea-watching, although these were not entirely met, the highlights being a single Little Auk, a Velvet Scoter, 2 Little Gulls, 9 Sandwich Terns and 3 Arctic Skuas. However, very interesting note from todays observer that it is somewhat unusual to be watching an Arctic Skua harassing a Sandwich Tern in early November! One Purple Sandpiper remained on the beach. Further inland Blackbirds and Redwings were noted arriving in small groups and a Waxwing flew south. 12 Whooper Swans also headed south.
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Snowy Waxcap, 2nd November 2023.
Photo - Bethany McGuire
Sordid Blewit, 2nd November 2023.
Photo - Bethany McGuire
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Blackening Waxcap, 2nd November 2023.
Photo - Bethany McGuire
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Trichoglossum sp. a type of Earthtongue, 2nd November 2023.
Photo - Bethany McGuire
November 1st. A south-westerly breeze with occasional rain or drizzle. The overcast conditions were perfect for viewing the sea or wader roost to the east which were the two main focal events of the morning. The wader roost was again spectacular with a further increase in small waders, reaching 14,060 Dunlin and 2800 Sanderling. Offshore, birds of interest were mostly heading south: a Grey Phalarope, Great Northern Diver (landed on sea), 19 Red-breasted Merganser, 5 Velvet Scoter, 3 Goldeneye, 36 Little Gull, 8 Sandwich Tern, 2 Common tern, 3 Arctic Tern, 3 'Commic' Tern, 2 Pomarine Skuas (one appeared to take out a Blackbird over the sea), 2 Arctic Skuas and a Skua sp.
Gannet, 1st November 2023.
Photo - Tom Baker
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Velvet Scoters, 1st November 2023.
Photo - Nige Lound
Little Egret, 1st November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark
Black-headed Gull, 1st November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark
