May 31st. Strong northerly wind, with rainy spells in early to mid morning.
The Great White Egret was on the Freshwater Marsh. Also around were 2 Spoonbills, a Barn Owl, 2 Siskin, 80 House Martin and 6 Cuckoos. An evening seawatch produced 18 Gannet, 8 Fulmar, 7 Auk sp, 2 Commic Tern and a Kittiwake heading north and a Great Crested Grebe.
May 30th. Rainy spells, with increasing north-westerly wind.
The morning recording started well with a Golden Oriole in song briefly around North Car Park before the rain set in. The Firecrest was again singing regularly despite the poor weather and it was ranging over a considerable distance of dune scrub. Over 100 Swifts were feeding over the Plantation with other birds moving through. A new Red-backed Shrike was found in scrub west of North Building Ridge. Two Fulmars flew south offshore, 200 Hirundines and 120 Swift were feeding over the Reserve, the Pintail was on Tennyson's Sands and 2 late Wheatears were around. Swift passage continued through the day even in moderate rain.
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May 29th. Cloudy, brief light rainy spells and increasing south-westerly wind.
Swifts continued passing south - over 800 by 1000hrs with 130 House Martins and 3 Red Kites, with a day total around 1800. Yesterday's Firecrest was singing around Mill Hill despite the rain, Cuckoos had increased to 6 including 3 together, a Little Gull was over the Mere, a Great White Egret around the Freshwater Marsh, a Wheatear new in on the beach, a Red-throated Diver south offshore and the first Spotted Redshank of the year on the Haven. A Marsh Warbler was in song late morning in the East Dunes.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes provided just a retrap Reed Bunting.
May 28th. Clear start, becoming cloudy, with light south-easterly wind.
A number of Swifts, House Martins and Swallows went south with 2 Red Kites. An Osprey flew out to sea late afternoon. Also around were Pintail, Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, Barn Owl and Hen Harrier.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 7 new birds: a Firecrest, a Great Tit, a Robin, 3 Blue Tit and a Sedge Warbler; and 2 retraps: a Dunnock and a Blue Tit.
May 27th. Somewhat soggy start after yesterday's rain, but becoming quite sunny with increasing south-westerly wind.
Much of the early morning period was spent trying to identify a mystery song that was only given in short, subdued bursts from deep cover in the East Dunes. Meanwhile, Swifts, House Martins and Swallows were drifting south overhead. Eventually, the warbler became more vocal, revealing itself as an Icterine Warbler, but never breaking into full song. With patience, views and photos were obtained. A Spotted Flycatcher was nearby and a passage of Red Kites involved 14 birds moving south. A Shag flying south followed an unusual run of seabird records and on that subject the 2 Red-breasted Mergansers were again on Seacroft Lagoon. Other birds around included a Great White Egret on the Freshwater Marsh and a ringtail Hen Harrier hunting the Old Saltmarsh.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in a new Lesser Whitethroat; and a retrap Whitethroat.
May 26th. Pretty miserable conditions all day, with overnight rain continuing until early afternoon when there was a clear spell before an impressive thunderstorm with torrential rain. The most unusual record today was of 2 Red-breasted Merganser on Tennyson's Sands. Other birds around included a Spoonbill, a Marsh Harrier, 2 Greenshank, 3 Black-tailed Godwits and a Mediterranean Gull.
Ringing Recovery: Blackbird, ringed GPBO 17 October 2013, ring only found with a metal detector from a Racoon Dog faeces pile, Joen rata, Finland 20 May 2024.
May 25th. Light north-easterly wind with light rain developing late morning.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 2 new birds: a Goldfinch and a Coal Tit; and a retrap Sedge Warbler. The Coal Tit show the blue-grey back, grey-tinged flanks and very large black bib of the continental subspecies.
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| Coal Tit, ringed 25 May 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Coal Tit, ringed 25 May 2025. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Coal Tit, ringed 25 May 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
May 24th. Cloudy, with moderate south-westerly wind. There was good visibility over the sea early on at which time a Great Northern Diver and a Little Gull flew south with an unusual number of Kittiwake - 79 headed south in 3 flocks. After yesterday's movement, there were few Swift but it was great to watch migrating Swallow moving through, low over the beach. Sanderling numbers continue to build on spring migration with approximately 2100 - mostly summer-plumaged birds. For the third day in a row, vocal parties of Ringed Plover were leaving the Haven and heading high north - presumably Tundra subspecies birds. Elsewhere, a vocal Bee-eater went over the Visitor Centre early morning and a Spotted Flycatcher was in East Dunes.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 8 new birds: 2 Long-tailed Tit, a Chaffinch, a Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting and 3 Dunnock; and 3 retraps: a Whitethroat and 2 Dunnock.
A morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by David Vincent produced 2 new birds: a Sedge Warbler and a Great Tit; and 9 retraps: 4 Sedge Warbler, a Chiffchaff, a Great Tit, 2 Wren and a Dunnock.
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| Long-tailed Tit, ringed 24 May 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
May 23rd. Cloudy, with increasing south-westerly wind. The wind direction meant that attention returned to recording visible migration overland, and despite the wind strength there was a very good movement of Swift - 1100 passing south in 2 hours with 110 Swallow, 60 House Martin, some late Chaffinches and a Red Kite. Offshore, 2 Little Gull moved south while the regular 3 Little Gull were on Tennyson's Sands with 3 Spoonbill. A male Red-backed Shrike was found along the seaward edge of the East Dunes, north of Mill Hill and showed well. Other birds around included 2 Grasshopper Warbler, 3 Cuckoo, a Hobby, 2 Common Sandpiper and 3 Red-breasted Merganser.
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May 22nd. Overnight rain continued through the day with few breaks until it ceased mid afternoon. The wind changed from northerly to south-westerly. There was low coverage today due to the rain. Highlights were 3 Spoonbill and 3 Little Gull around the lagoons, 5 Whimbrel, 2 Yellow Wagtail and a Greenshank. A movement of Geese was noted in the evening with large parties exiting the Wash to the north-east. 420 were Brent Geese but another 350 were too distant for positive identification, the possibility of Pink-footed Geese not eliminated.
May 21st. Mostly cloudy, with moderate northeasterly wind.
Spoonbills had increased to a flock of 7 on Tennyson's Sands this morning. Offshore, highlights were Red-throated Diver, 3 Fulmar, 35 Common Scoter and a flock of 11 Razorbill north and a further 20 Common Scoter on the sea. Other birds seen included a Woodlark, a Hobby, a Marsh Harrier, 2 Little Gull, a Barn Owl and 2 Little/Temminck's Stint that flew north.
