Late June 2012

June 30th: Still windy, occasional rain. Southward Swift passage was moderate. On Tennyson Sands were an adult Mediterranean Gull, 17 Little Gulls, 10 Sandwich Terns, 3 Black-tailed Godwits, a Green Sandpiper and a Little Ringed Plover.

June 29th: Very windy. Tennyson Sands held 16 Little Gulls, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Green Sandpiper and 2 Little Ringed Plovers. A few Swifts headed south.

June 28th: Light rain early morning, cloudburst mid afternoon. On Tennyson Sands were 33 Little Gulls, 40 Sandwich Terns and 2 Little Ringed Plovers. Southward Swift passage was light. Flying around were 42 Crossbills and a Short-eared Owl. The first Avocet chick of the year appeared.

June 27th: A moderate number of Swifts and 5 Black-tailed Godwits flew south. Starling flocks increased in number and size. On Tennyson Sands were 12 Little Gulls and 2 Little Ringed Plovers. The Spoonbill paid another brief visit. On the beach were 30 Sandwich Terns and offshore were 200 Common Scoters. The first juvenile Skylark was seen.
A ringing session in East Dunes provided 38 birds trapped, nearly all juveniles, including 8 Starlings.

                                       Juvenile female Starling (George Gregory)

June 26th: Tennyson Sands held 19 Little Gulls and a Green Sandpiper. A Spoonbill and a Kingfisher paid brief visits.
The sixth CES session was done this morning, resulting in 11 new birds ringed, including 4 juvenile Long-tailed Tits, and 11 retraps.

                                        Juvenile Long-tailed Tit (George Gregory)

June 25th: Wind decreasing. A small number of Swifts went south. On Tennyson Sands were 24 Little Gulls. Offshore were 73 Sandwich Terns and 3 Kittiwakes. Around were 13 Crossbills.
A ringing session in East Dunes this morning produced, of interest, another juvenile Coal Tit, a juvenile Chiffchaff and 2 juvenile House Sparrows. In the 1960s and 1970s the latter species was caught here in the thousands or hundreds annually, but in recent decades it has been caught less than annually.

                                      Juvenile House Sparrow (George Gregory)

June 24th: Rain, slowly decreasing wind. On the water bodies were 16 Black-tailed Godwits and 8 Little Gulls. Around the beach were an Arctic Tern and 8 Sandwich Terns. Heading south were several thousand Swifts.

June 23rd: Wind, rain. Waders were represented by a Spotted Redshank just coming out of summer plumage, a Little Ringed Plover, a Black-tailed Godwit and a Green Sandpiper. Little Gulls numbered at least 8. Hundreds of Swifts trickled south.

June 22nd: Rain, wind. On Tennyson Sands were 9 Little Gulls. Several thousand Swifts flew south.

June 21st: Rain most of day. On Tennyson Sands were 10 Little Gulls. There was a moderate passage of Swifts south.

Mid June 2012

June 20th: A Common Rosefinch flew south calling over East Dunes. Around were 22 Little Gulls, a Mediterranean Gull and a Green Sandpiper.

June 19th: On the water bodies were 10 Little Gulls and 5 Black-tailed Godwits.
The fifth CES session was done this morning, resulting in 20 new birds ringed, including the first juvenile Chiffchaffs and Lesser Whitethroats of the year, and 5 retraps.

                                        Juvenile Lesser Whitethroat (George Gregory)

June 18th: Rainy morning. Little Gulls, at various sites, totalled 18. A first-summer Mediterranean Gull was on Tennyson Sands.

June 17th: Wind decreasing but still occasional rain. On Tennyson Sands were 3 Little Gulls, and on Jackson's Marsh a Black-tailed Godwit. There was a moderate passage of Swifts south. A Marsh Harrier, a Hobby and a Green Sandpiper were noted.
The recent rain has made ringing sessions few and far between, but has ensured a fine showing of Southern Marsh Orchids.

                                     Southern Marsh Orchids (George Gregory)

June 16th: Again windy, occasional rain. Again several hundred Swifts headed south into wind. A Red Kite appeared and the Black-tailed Godwit and 2 Little Gulls were around.

June 15th: Windy, occasional rain. Hundreds of Swifts and some House Martins flew south into the wind. A Black-tailed Godwit was on Jackson's Marsh.

June 14th: Rainy early morning, sunny later. Flying around were 14 Crossbills, possibly the same group as yesterday. On Tennyson Sands were 8 Little Gulls.

June 13th: Better weather. Only 1 Little Gull was on Tennyson Sands. Other notables included 14 Crossbills. The first juvenile Shelducks appeared.
Ringing on East Dunes resulted in the first juvenile Whitethroats being caught.

June 12th: Still a bit windy. There were still 5 Little Gulls on Tennyson Sands, and 8 more headed north offshore, as did 38 Gannets and 21 Sandwich Terns . A Short-eared Owl and a Hobby were around.

June 11th: Rainy again. On Tennyson Sands were 7 Little Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull. A Peregrine flew over.

Early June 2012

June 10th: Much better weather. Little Gulls numbered 4. Other notables were a Garden Warbler trapped on East Dunes and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flying over there.

June 9th: Still windy, not so much rain. A wing-tagged Red Kite arrived from the north. A Crossbill and 3 Arctic Terns went south. A Coal Tit, a Green Sandpiper and a Little Gull were present.

June 8th: Windy and rainy, so few observations. Several hundred Swifts headed south into the wind. A Great Skua, a Little Gull and 10 Crossbills were around. There was no sign of the Canvasback-type ducks.

June 7th: A total of 44 Crossbills was noted. At least 5 Little Gulls were present. In the evening 2 Canvasback-type ducks appeared on Jackson's Marsh.
Birds ringed on East Dunes this morning included a juvenile Coal Tit.

                                         Juvenile Coal Tit (George Gregory)

June 6th: Heading south were 17 Crossbills. There were 23 Little Gulls recorded, including 17 south. A Painted Lady was seen.
Ringed birds this morning on East Dunes included the first Swallow of the year, a female with a brood patch.

                            
                                          2+CY female Swallow (George Gregory)

June 5th: Crossbills numbered 100+ including 63 south. Around were 5 Little Gulls, a Greenshank and 2 Little Ringed Plovers.
The fourth CES session was done this morning, resulting in 5 new birds ringed and 8 retraps.

June 4th: A Hawfinch in the Plantation was the best bird. Others included 4 Little Gulls, a Mediterranean Gull, a Montagu's Harrier, a Red Kite, a Little Stint and a Jay.

June 3rd: Rain all day, reducing observations. However, a Montagu's Harrier, a Hobby, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, a Little Gull, a Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Little Stints and a Yellow Wagtail were seen.

June 2nd: On the water bodies were a Spoonbill, a Curlew Sandpiper, 2 Little Ringed Plovers and 6 Little Gulls. A Montagu's Harrier, a Hobby and a Common Buzzard represented the raptors. Offshore were 4 Manx Shearwaters, a Common Tern, 8 Gannets and 2 Great Crested Grebes. A late Pink-footed Goose, 3 Brent Geese, 17 Turtle Doves and a Crossbill were around.

June 1st: Mostly a rainy then soggy day. The most notable birds were 2 Pink-footed Geese, a Red Kite and 2 Short-eared Owls.
Birds ringed included 3 Barn Owl pulli.