Gibraltar Point Bird Observatory Blog

Late November 2023

November 27th. Rain for most of the day limited activity but Blackbirds were very apparent over the west side, with 68 counted in a sample area. The late Swallow was hawking Roadside Pond and 3 Stonechat were around.

November 26th. A cold, frosty and calm morning. Near still conditions were ideal for listening for passing Siskins, Skylarks and Rock Pipits. Offshore a Little Auk flew south and a Long-tailed Duck arrived from the north and settled on the sea close in. A raft of 1600 Common Scoter were at the mouth of the Wash with another raft of 450 Common Scoter off the north end of the Reserve with 4 Long-tailed Duck, 2 Velvet Scoter and 7 Goldeneye.

November 25th. Again, sea-watching was quiet despite a slight northern element to the wind although Eider numbers showed another increase and a Great Northern Diver went north. The highlight of the morning was the arrival of 3 Bewick's Swans from the east, over the sea, then departing to the south-west. Also around were Snow Bunting, Swallow, Short-eared Owl, 5 Marsh Harrier and a Peregrine.

Long-tailed Tit, 25th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark

Mute Swans, 25th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark

November 24th. A colder day with a north-westerly wind. the wind was not sufficient to create much interest at sea save for a group of 16 Little Gulls moving south, but conditions led to a much increased afternoon tide and a roost of over 15,000 waders.

Meadow Pipit, 24th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark

Stonechat, 24th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark

November 23rd. A brilliant sunrise followed by a bright morning with a westerly breeze. Sightings from the early morning period were fairly routine at sea with a scattering of Common Scoter, Eider, Red-throated Diver and Red-breasted Merganser and a light southerly passage over the West Dunes involving Siskins, Skylarks, Meadow Pipits, Rock Pipits and Chaffinch with 2 Brambling. Elsewhere, the late Swallow was still present and a Hen Harrier was hunting the Old Saltmarsh. At dusk, 8 Marsh Harriers and 3 Hen Harriers came in to roost.

Robin, 23rd November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Teal, 23rd November 2023.

Photo - Paul Neale

Brent Geese, 23rd November 2023.

Photo - Paul Neale

Brent Geese, 23rd November 2023.

Photo - Paul Neale

Wigeon and Gadwall, 23rd November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Ringing Control: Starling, ringed West Terschelling, Netherlands 5 June 2023, controlled GPBO 6 July 2023.

November 22nd. A return to south-westerly winds, with a bright start and good visibility. The morning flight of Common Scoter involved over 1000 moving into the Wash with a single Long-tailed Duck. Eider and Red-throated Diver numbers are also increasing and a Slavonian Grebe was on the sea before flying south. 2 Snow Buntings were mobile and a good spread of waders were feeding along the beach again. Brent Goose numbers increased to 580. Also around were 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap and the regular Swallow.

Brent Geese on Tennyson's Sands, 22nd November 2023.
Photo - Rob Watson

November 21st. A switch of wind direction giving a hint of north, although still quite mild but with rain and poor visibility initially. Sea-watching through the morning into the early afternoon recorded flocks of Kittiwakes moving south and totaling 213, a Great Northern Diver and 19 Red-throated Diver also south, with a Commic Tern, a Manx Shearwater and 31 Little Gull north. Offshore, 2 Long-tailed Duck were with 450 Common Scoter and a Shag was with the Cormorants. A Grey Heron and small parties of Starlings were arriving off the sea.

Mid November 2023

November 20th. A light south-westerly wind and a bright start, even a hint of warmth! A morning sea-watch commenced with the early movement of 600 Common Scoter into the Wash. Also heading south were a Great Northern Diver, 13 Red-throated Diver, an Arctic Tern, 2 Sandwich Tern, a 'Commic' Tern, 4 Little Gull, a Goldeneye, 2 Red-breasted Merganser and 20 Eider. 7 Egyptian Geese arrived from the north and settled on Greenshanks Creek where a good number of waders were feeding including Knot, Dunlin and Redshank. Finches, Pipits and Skylarks were heading south in low numbers but included 12 Brambling, a Snow Bunting and a Twite. Elsewhere, Chiffchaff and Swallow were around Sykes Farm and 2 Water Pipit were around the Freshwater Marsh.

Goldcrest, 20th November 2023.

Photo - Tom Baker

Mute Swans, 20th November 2023.

Photo - Tom Baker

Brent Geese, 20th November 2023.

Photo - Tom Baker

Pied Wagtail, 20th November 2023.
Photo - Tom Baker

November 19th. Few records received today and those received indicated little change, consistent with little change in weather conditions. The late Swallow continued hawking around Sykes Farm.

Cormorants, 19th November 2023.
Photo - Jason Virgin

November 18th. Mild conditions again but a wet morning, not ideal for birding. However, a few records from the sea included a Great Northern Diver , 50 Common Scoter and 2 male Goldeneye heading south. Clearer conditions in the evening resulted in a very productive Hen Harrier roost survey, with 3 ringtails arriving at the roost along with 5 Marsh Harriers, A Goosander flew into the Wash and a Swallow was hawking around Sykes farm

November 17th. A light south-westerly breeze, dry, bright and remaining mild. following the morning wader count on the high tide, a sea-watch was productive, commencing with a Great Northern Diver heading north, then another arriving from the south landed on the sea. A while later a party of 4 Great Northern Divers flew high south into the Wash together - an unprecedented sight for the Reserve. A Long-tailed Duck was offshore briefly and a Skua sp (probably Pomarine) was harassing a feeding flock of 15 Little Gulls, 2 Sandwich Terns and several Kittiwakes. Two Woodcock and several parties of Starling arrived over the sea. Inland, it was apparent that there had been a significant arrival of Blackbirds with over 420 counted over the west side alone. Vis mig involved small parties of Finches, pipits and Skylarks, a single Snow Bunting and 10 Whooper Swans. 7 Corn Bunting were seen over the Wash Viewpoint and a good day for raptors produced 2 Common Buzzard, 3 Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Merlin, 2 Peregrine, 2 Kestrel and 2 Sparrowhawk.

Fieldfare, 17th November 2023.

Photo - Paul Neale

Dunlin, 17th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Rock Pipits - rarely seen out in the open at 'Gib', 17th November 2023.
Photo - Nige Lound

November 16th. Moving south were a Black-throated Diver, 233 Common Scoter, a Skua sp and 12 Red-breasted Mergansers over the sea and more finches over the dunes. Birds around included 200 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, a Woodcock, a Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard, 10 Goldcrest, 50 Redwing, 10 Stonechat and 3 Cetti's Warblers.

2 Cetti's Warblers, 16th November 2023.
Photo - Stuart Ainsworth

Dunlin, 16th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark

November 15th. Visible migration included more finches south, together with 2 Lapland Bunting; and 38 Pink-footed Goose north. Around were a Woodcock, 3 Sparrowhawk, a Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard, a Fieldfare and 2 Goldcrest.

Brent Goose, 15th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark

November 14th. Fairly mild conditions with a light south-westerly wind. Visible migration involved parties of finches heading south including Brambling and Siskin. There was a good variety of birds offshore: 2 Great Northern Divers on the sea, a Black-throated Diver south, 3 Goldeneye, 2 Goosander, 5 Red-breasted Mergansers, 12 Little Gulls, 3 Great Crested Grebes, a few Eider and Auks and various flocks of Common Scoter. Two Marsh Harriers headed south over the sea together. 3 Swallow remained, feeding over the Plantation.

Redshank, 14th November 2023.

Photo - Rikki Clark

Black-headed Gull, 14th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark

November 13th. Around 1700 Pink-footed Geese left the roost at dawn and there followed a fairly quiet day. 10 Pintail flew south offshore, 500 Knot were feeding along the beach with other waders and gulls and flocks of Starlings were arriving off the sea. Other birds around included Swallow, Hen Harrier, Merlin and Woodcock.

Little Egret, 13th November 2023.

Photo - Rikki Clark

Mute Swan, 13th November 2023.
Photo - Rikki Clark

November 12th. A frosty start after a clear night with a cool south-easterly breeze. A small number of Redwing, Fieldfare and Blackbird were arriving soon after dawn and a probable Little Bunting circled the West Dunes calling several times but did not land. Vis mig was much quieter than of late but finch flocks ere passing through intermittently during the day. A Snow Bunting flew south and a Ring-necked Parakeet briefly joined a large flock of Woodpigeons. A Firecrest near Aylmer was probably the same bird as seen there recently. Offshore, there was some wildfowl movement involving Wigeon and Brent Geese, but also 12 Red-breasted Merganser and a Goldeneye along with 22 Little Gulls and a Sandwich Tern.

Sunrise, 12th November 2023.
Photo - Rob Watson

Wigeon, 12th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Grey Heron, 12th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Redshank, 12th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Buzzard, 12th November 2023.
Photo - Rob Watson

November 11th. Around 1800 Pink-footed Geese were seen - with many coming out of roost from the Wash and flocks heading out south-east to Norfolk. Also over the sea 107 Whooper Swans headed south in 7 herds and 17 Little Gulls moved south. It was busy again for vis mig down East Dunes, with Brambling, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Siskin and Skylark in the greatest numbers and some large flocks of Woodpigeon, Variety was provide by 5 Crossbill, 12 House Sparrow, 2 Sparrowhawk, and single Yellowhammer, Twite and Bullfinch all moving south, A Treecreeper remained around the Plantation and 2 Whooper Swans were on Tennyson's Sands with 250 Brent Geese.

A very late Speckled Wood butterfly was still on the wing.

Whooper Swans, 11th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Whooper Swans, 11th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Marsh Harrier, 11th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Black-tailed Godwit, 11th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Stonechat, 11th November 2023.
Photo - Paul Neale

Early November 2023

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

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

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

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.

Snowy Waxcap, 2nd November 2023.

Photo - Bethany McGuire

Sordid Blewit, 2nd November 2023.

Photo - Bethany McGuire

Blackening Waxcap, 2nd November 2023.

Photo - Bethany McGuire

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

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

Ringing Control: Lesser Redpoll, ringed Teindland Forest, Moray 30 September 2023, controlled GPBO 28 October 2023.