Mid May 2019

May 20th. Some early morning light rain.
 The Great White Egret remained on Jackson's Marsh. Birds around included 30 Brent Goose, 4 Pochard, 2 Eider, 4 Little Egret, a Great Crested Grebe, a Marsh Harrier, a Water Rail, 2500 Oystercatcher, 600 Grey Plover, 4 Whimbrel, 2 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Turnstone, 1200 Knot, 2000 Sanderling, 300 Dunlin, 2 Common Sandpiper, 4 Greenshank, 75 Little Tern, a Mediterranean Gull, 4 Stock Dove, 5 Cuckoo, a Short-eared Owl, a Peregrine, 45 Swallow, 2 Grasshopper Warbler, a Black Redstart, a Whinchat, a Tree Pipit and a Yellow Wagtail. Going north were 20 Whimbrel and 2 Greenshank; and south 2 Grey Heron.
 A rain-delayed morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 5 new birds: 2 Chiffchaff, a Blackcap, a Whitethroat and a Sedge Warbler; and 10 retraps: 3 Whitethroat, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Sedge Warbler, a Reed Bunting and 2 Dunnock.

Black-headed Gull, 20th May 2019.

Photo - Ben Ward

Whinchat, 20th May 2019.
Photo - Owen Beaumont

May 19th. Heavy mist, clearing late morning.
 Around, including birds trapped, were a Great White Egret, 2 Whimbrel, a Ruff, a Little Stint, 4 Sandwich Tern, 4 Cuckoo, a Barn Owl, a Short-eared Owl, a Ring Ouzel, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Whinchat and 3 Tree Pipit.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes yielded 7 new birds: a Blackcap, a Reed Bunting, a Great Tit, a Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Linnet and a Meadow Pipit; and 3 retraps: a Dunnock and 2 Chiffchaff.

Little Stint, 19th May 2019.

Photos - James Siddle

Colour flagged Sanderling, 19th May 2019.

Photo - James Siddle

Cuckoo, 19th May 2019.

Photo - Ben Ward

Great White Egret, 19th May 2019.
Photo - Owen Beaumont

Spotted Flycatcher, ringed 19th May 2019.
Photo - George Gregory

May 18th. Brief light early morning rain.
 Birds around were a 3 Eider, a Marsh Harrier, 3 Whimbrel, 4 Ruff, 3 Common Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank, 2 Sandwich Tern, a Turtle Dove, 5 Cuckoo, a Short-eared Owl, a Hobby, 4 Wheatear, 3 Whinchat, 2 Ring Ouzel, a Spotted Flycatcher and a Pied Flycatcher.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 3 new birds: 2 Willow Warbler and a Sedge Warbler; and 9 retraps: 2 Dunnock, 4 Whitethroat, 2 Sedge Warbler and a Wren.

Kestrel, 18th May 2019.
Photo - Stephen Humphreys

Short-eared Owl, 18th May 2019.
Photo - Jim Shaw

Red Kite, 18th May 2019.
Photo - Stephen Humphreys

Short-eared Owl, 18th May 2019.
Photo - Jim Shaw

May 17th. Moderately strong north-easterly wind, with brief light early morning rain.

  A Serin flew around several sites. Around, including birds trapped, were 40 Brent Goose, 3 Eider, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Marsh Harrier, a Whimbrel, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Ruff, 7 Common Sandpiper, a Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank, 72 Little Tern, 6 Cuckoo, a Short-eared Owl, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Ring Ouzel, a Wheatear and 2 Yellow Wagtail. Heading south were 92 Swallow; and north a Swift and 6 Swallow.
 A weather-restricted morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 2 new birds: a Whitethroat and a Ring Ouzel; and 6 retraps: a Dunnock, a Blue Tit, 3 Whitethroat and a Lesser Whitethroat.

Ring Ouzel, ringed 17th May 2019.
Photo - George Gregory

Ruff, 17th May 2019.
Photo - Owen Beaumont

May 16th. On Jackson's Marsh were 4 Spoonbill and a Greenshank; on Tennyson's Sands were a Pochard, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Knot, a Common Sandpiper and a Spotted Redshank; on Croftmarsh 4 Ruff; and on Fenland Lagoon 2 Greenshank. Birds around included 2 Pink-footed Goose, 87 Brent Goose, 2 Eider, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 15 Whimbrel, a Little Stint, 28 Little Tern, 3 Sandwich Tern, 4 Arctic Tern, a Yellow-legged Gull, 2 Turtle Dove, 5 Cuckoo, a Short-eared Owl, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Wheatear, 2 Yellow Wagtail, a Crossbill and a Corn Bunting. Flying south were a Hobby and 89 Swallow; and north a Gannet, a Greenshank and a Swift.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Keith Collett, resulted in 2 new Chiffchaff; and 4 retraps: a Great Tit, 2 Whitethroat and a Dunnock.

Yellow-legged Gull, first summer, 16th May 2019.

Photo - Ben Ward

Ruff, 16th May 2019.
Photo - Jim Shaw

Avocet, 16th May 2019.
Photo - Jim Shaw

May 15th. On Jackson's Marsh were a Pochard, a Great Crested Grebe, 3 Spoonbill and a Yellow Wagtail; and on Tennyson's Sands 4 Grey Plover, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Knot, 4 Ruff, a Spotted Redshank and a Greenshank. Around were 30 Brent Goose, a Marsh Harrier,  4 Cuckoo, a Short-eared Owl, a Peregrine, a Hobby, a Grasshopper Warbler, 5 Wheatear and a Tree Pipit.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 3 new birds: 2 Sedge Warbler and a Whitethroat; and 2 retraps: a Great Tit and a Whitethroat.
 A morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by Mike Polling provided a new Sedge Warbler; and 8 retraps: a Chiffchaff, 4 Whitethroat, a Sedge Warbler and 2 Dunnock.

Spoonbill, 15th May 2019.

Photo - Ben Ward

Spoonbill, 15th May 2019.
Photo - Owen Beaumont

 Tawny Owl, 15th May 2019.
Photo - Jim Shaw

Small Copper, in copula, 15th May 2019.

Photo - Ben Ward

Brown Hare, 15th May 2019.
Photo - Jim Shaw

May 14th. A female Kentish Plover was discovered late in the evening feeding with Ringed Plover on the estuary, soon after the flock flew south towards Wainfleet. Birds around, including those trapped, were 2 Pink-footed Goose, a Barnacle Goose, 66 Brent Goose, a Pochard, a Grey Partridge, a Marsh Harrier, 350 Ringed Plover, 4 Whimbrel, a Greenshank, 60 Little Tern, a Collared Dove, 9 Cuckoo, a Short-eared Owl, a Peregrine, a Hobby, 6 Mistle Thrush, a Redwing, 2 Grasshopper Warbler, a Firecrest, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Pied Flycatcher, 6 Wheatear and a Bullfinch. Going south were 3 Buzzard, 13 Common Scoter and 44 Swallow.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 6 new birds: 2 Chaffinch, a Blackcap, a Whitethroat, a Dunnock and a Mistle Thrush; and 7 retraps: 3 Sedge Warbler, a Dunnock, 2 Wren and a Whitethroat.

Kentish Plover, 14 May 2019.

Video - Ben Ward

Kentish Plover, 14th May 2019.

Photo - Owen Beaumont

Wheatear, male Greenland type, 14th May 2019.

Photo - Ben Ward

May 13th. Two Common Crane came from the north at 1600, settling to roost distantly out from Wash Viewpoint prior to departing later in the day. A female Montagu's Harrier was discovered late in the evening, briefly quartering saltmarsh to the south of the reserve.  On Tennyson's Sands were a Pintail, a Pochard, a Great Crested Grebe, a Knot, 3 Dunlin, a Common Sandpiper, 4 Spotted Redshank and a Greenshank. Around, including birds trapped, were a Pink-footed Goose, 68 Brent Goose, a Marsh Harrier, a Hen Harrier, 5 Cuckoo, 2 Short-eared Owl, a Green Woodpecker, a Merlin, a Hobby, 2 Peregrine, a Spotted Flycatcher, 5 Wheatear, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Yellow Wagtail, a Bullfinch and a Corn Bunting. Heading south were a Red Kite, 3 Marsh Harrier, 8 Buzzard, a Sparrowhawk, 8 Swift, a Sand Martin, 44 Swallow and 12 House Martin.
 A morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue, including the second session of CES, yielded 35 new birds: 2 Wren, a Chiffchaff, a Long-tailed Tit, 11 Whitethroat, 4 Sedge Warbler, 6 Goldfinch, 4 Linnet, 2 Reed Warbler, a Blackcap, a Bullfinch, a Song Thrush and a Blackbird; 20 retraps: a Chaffinch, 2 Blackbird, a Blackcap, 4 Whitethroat, a Wren, a Chiffchaff, 2 Long-tailed Tit, a Sedge Warbler, 2 Great Tit, 4 Dunnock and a Willow Warbler; and a control Whitethroat.

Montagu's Harrier, 14th May 2019.

Photo - Ben Ward

Reed Warbler, 13th May 2019.

Photo - Jim Shaw

Avocet, 13th May 2019.

Photo - Jim Shaw

Marsh Harrier, 13th May 2019.

Photo - Jim Shaw

Short-eared Owl, 13th May 2019.

Photo - Jim Shaw

Bullfinch, ringed 13th May 2019.
Photo - George Gregory

May 12th. Birds around, including those trapped, were a Grey Heron, a Great White Egret, a Marsh Harrier, a Hen Harrier, 4 Whimbrel, 4 Black-tailed Godwit, a Ruff, a Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank, a Turtle Dove (first of the year), 2 Short-eared Owl, 7 Cuckoo, a Hooded Crow, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, a Pied Flycatcher, a Redstart, 6 Wheatear, 16 Sedge Warbler, 5 Reed Warbler, a Garden Warbler, 19 Blackcap, 20 Whitethroat, 8 Willow Warbler, 10 Chiffchaff, a Wood Warbler, 2 Yellow Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, a Tree Pipit and a Brambling. Heading north were a Spoonbill, 2 Swift and 20 Swallow; and north-west 5 Buzzard.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 11 new birds: a Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, a Robin, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, a Garden Warbler, a Chaffinch and 2 Sedge Warbler.

Wood Warbler, 12th May 2019.
Photo - Paul Johnson

Wood Warbler, 12th May 2019.
Photo - Paul Johnson

Swallow, 12th May 2019.
Photo - Paul Johnson

Hooded Crow, 12th May 2019.

Photo - Steve Humphreys

Holly Blue, nectaring on Hawthorn, 12th May 2019.

Photo - Ben Ward

Willow Warbler, 12th May 2019.
Photo - Paul Johnson

May 11th. Prolonged rain around mid morning.
 Around, including birds trapped, were 71 Brent Goose, 3 Pochard, 4 Eider, a Great White Egret, a Marsh Harrier, 5 Whimbrel, a Common Sandpiper, a Greenshank, 46 Little Tern, 2 Mediterranean Gull, 5 Cuckoo, 2 Short-eared Owl, a Merlin, a Hobby, 6 Pied Flycatcher, 6 Redstart, 13 Wheatear, a Whinchat, 2 Garden Warbler, a Wood Warbler, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Tree Pipit, a Brambling and a Corn Bunting. Flying north were 6 Swift and 6 Swallow; and south a Woodlark, 296 Swallow and a Tree Pipit.
 A rain-interrupted morning ringinmg session in East Dunes, with Keith Collett, produced 5 new birds: 2 Willow Warbler, a Linnet, a Robin and a Lesser Whitethroat; and 3 retraps: a Willow Warbler, a Whitethroat and a Goldfinch.

Pied Flycatcher, 11th May 2019.

Photo - Ben Ward