September 25th. Mostly clear, with light southerly wind.
Flying north-west out of New Saltmarsh roost were 300 Pink-footed Geese. It was a good morning for covering the census area and counting common birds such as Robins which have clearly been increasing over the last week. Chiffchaffs were also well represented and 5 Stonechat were new arrivals. Not so much attention paid to vis mig this morning that in any event, seemed lighter than recent days, but with more Reed Buntings and Skylarks in the mix.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 5 new birds: a Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, a Reed Bunting and a Blue Tit; and 2 retraps: a Great Tit and a Wren.
September 24th. Cloudy start, clearing somewhat, with light southerly to south-easterly wind.
Flying north-west out of New Saltmarsh roost were 325 Pink-footed Geese. Around were a Wheatear (on Old Saltmarsh), 2 Jays (including 1 trapped and ringed) and several Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps. Visible migration largely involved Meadow Pipits heading south from early morning. Kingfishers were along the River and Greenshank's Creek and a Spotted Redshank was on the River. It was still busy offshore with Gannets, Red-throated Divers, Arctic Skuas and Wigeon moving - the highlights were a Puffin, a Long-tailed Skua, a Manx Shearwater, 5 Little Gull and a Fulmar.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 12 new birds: 2 Chiffchaff, 6 Reed Bunting, a Blue Tit, a Goldfinch, a Dunnock and a Jay; and 4 retraps: a Great Tit and 3 Blue Tit.
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| Jay, ringed 24 September 20926. Photo - George Gregory  Bar-tailed Godwit, 24th September 2026. Photo - Jack Hood  Greenshank, 24th September 2026. Photo Jack Hood  Ringed Plover, 24th September 2026. Photo - Jack Hood. |
September 23rd. Cloudy, with increasing south-westerly then northerly wind and occasional light rain.
Flying north-west out of the Wash early morning were 750 Pink-footed Geese. The sea was buzzing with bird activity with c1000 Gulls and Terns in the feeding flock, good numbers of Red-throated Divers, Gannets, Auks and Arctic Skuas heading south with 6 Little Gulls, 3 Manx Shearwaters and a juvenile Long-tailed Skua. A difficult 2.5 hour session trying to keep track of numbers, particularly while pulses of Pipits, Hirundines and Linnets were moving south over the beach and dunes too.
Two Whooper Swans were the first of the autumn and 3 Spotted Redshanks were on Tennyson's Sands
An evening sea-watch was very busy again around the feeding flock and with birds moving south including more Gannets and Red-throated Divers. A juvenile Sabine's Gull (presumably yesterday's bird) was offshore again with 2 juvenile Long-tailed Skuas, and a Black Tern. Heading south were a Great Skua, 7 Manx Shearwaters and 2 Sooty Shearwaters. The Sooty Shearwaters were unusual in that both were extremely close and flying south - pretty much all Sooty Shearwaters off Gibraltar Point are always heading north. They may have been attracted by the feeding flock as were two Manx Shearwaters and up to 6 Arctic Skuas with the 2 Long-tailed Skuas.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 2 new birds: a Wren and a Robin; and a retrap Robin.
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| Pink-footed Geese, 23rd September 2026. Photo - Jack Hood |
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| Spotted Redshanks, 23rd September 2026 Photo - Mike Watts |
Flying north-west early morning were 600 Pink-footed Geese, and south-west 120 Pink-footed Geese.
Hundreds of Gulls and Terns were again involved in a large feeding flock over the sea with the morning highlight being an adult Sabine's Gull, initially close in but then drifting out to sea where it blogged for a while landing on the water occasionally. Other than that, the main theme of the morning was incoming parties of Teal - some 700 had arrived form the north by 0900hrs. Also offshore were 2 Manx Shearwaters, 2 Arctic Skuas, several Red-throated Divers and many Gannets. One of the two ringtail Hen Harriers came out of roost and hunted the outer dunes and beach area early morning. The feeding flock was checked late afternoon in the hope that the morning's adult Sabine's Gull had joined but there was no further sign of it. However, a very smart juvenile Sabine's Gull was a new arrival, showing well before landing on the sea and lost amongst the various other small gulls and terns etc. Also this evening were another Manx Shearwater, 4 Little Gulls, 10 Arctic Skuas, a Fulmar, more Red-throated Divers and Gannets.
Otherwise, little coverage of the dunes today, but a Brambling arrived in the East Dunes in the afternoon - first of autumn.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 24 new birds: a Chiffchaff, a Wren, 2 Robin, a Great Tit, a Goldfinch, 16 Blue Tit, a Song Thrush and a Kingfisher; and 2 retraps: a Long-tailed Tit and a Great Tit.
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| Kingfisher, ringed 22 September 2026. Photo - George Gregory |
September 21st. Partly cloudy, with light south-westerly wind.
Flying north-west out of the Wash early morning were at least 1800 Pink-footed Geese. A further 500 came over from Norfolk later. This morning's recording effort gave a snapshot of overland migration and sea passage in limited time and in tricky sunny conditions. Although a similar range of species to recent days was involved, the impression was of reduced numbers overall. However, 2 juvenile Hen Harriers hunting the saltmarsh and outer dunes together provided an opportunity to count many flushed Meadow Pipits and Skylarks! Along the dune frontage there was a Short-eared Owl, 2 Stonechats and 2 Wheatears, with another Stonechat at the Visitor Centre. Three Kingfishers today included two together along the River Steeping. Two Jays flew south.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes yielded 12 new birds: a Goldcrest, a Chiffchaff, 3 Robin, a Blackcap, 2 Reed Bunting, a Blue Tit, 2 Great Tit and a Dunnock; and 2 retraps: a Long-tailed Tit and a Robin.
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| Kingfisher, 21st September 2026 Photo - Kev Wilson |
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| Short-eared Owl, 21st September 2026. Photo - Kev Wilson |
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| Jay, 21st September 2026. Photo - Ste Taylor |
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| Goldcrest, ringed 21 September 2026. Photo - George Gregory |
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