May 31st. Small groups of Starling were on the move, including the first juvenile of the year. 6 Cuckoo again included the group of 3 at North End. Birds around included a pair of Shoveler, the summering immature male Eider, 31 Curlew on Croftmarsh, 8 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Ruff, a Common Sandpiper, 3 Jay and a Crossbill. In the evening 2 Hobby were hunting moths up and down Outer Ridges.
A Black-tailed Skimmer was newly emerged on Freshwater Marsh.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 6 new birds: 3 Whitethroat, a Great Tit, a Robin and a Dunnock; and 7 retraps: 2 Dunnock, a Meadow Pipit, 2 Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Linnet.
May 30th. There are potentially 5 territories
of Grasshopper Warbler and 3 of Cetti’s Warbler on the reserve currently, A day
total of 6 Cuckoo included a group of 3 together at North End.
A group of 19 Little Egret had assembled at the river haven. Other birds
around included 2 Great Crested Grebe, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Ruff and 3
Whimbrel.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 6 new birds: 2 Linner, a Whitethroat and 3 Great Tit; and a retrap Lesser Whitethroat.
May 29th. 4 female Ruff were newly arrived on
Croftmarsh, with a Common Sandpiper and a male Shoveler. Another male
Shoveler was on the Mere.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 5 new birds: a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Linnet, a Goldfinch and a Dunnock; and 2 retraps: a Great Tit and a Robin.
May 28th. Two Yellowhammer territories were ongoing over the west side of the reserve and a pair of Little Ringed Plover
are nesting. A Redwing remained in East Dunes and a flock of 25 Curlew was
on the Haven. Other birds around included an Eider, 220 Oystercatcher, 20 Grey
Plover, 2 Turnstone, 900 Sanderling, 20 Dunlin, 2 Sandwich Tern, 21 Little
Tern, a Marsh Harrier and a Short-eared Owl. Heading south were 26 Swallow, 2
House Martin, a Jay, a Siskin and 12 Starling.
A morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue, including the third session of CES, was done this morning. The 11 new birds were 2 Chiffchaff, 4 Long-tailed Tit, 2 Robin, a Whitethroat, a Sedge Warbler and a Blackbird. The 21 retraps were a Blackbird, 2 Blackcap, 6 Sedge Warbler, 3 Wren, a Whitethroat, a Robin, a Chiffchaff, 2 Dunnock, 2 Blue Tit, a Long-tailed Tit and a Lesser Whitethroat.
May 27th. A male Common Rosefinch was
briefly in song in East Dunes in the morning. Heading south were a Buzzard,
26 Swallow and 3 House Martin; and north an Arctic Tern. Birds around included
a Dark-bellied Bent Goose, a Black Swan, a Pochard, an Eider, 2 Cuckoo, 350
Knot, 2320 Sanderling, 450 Dunlin, a Greenshank, 2 Mediterranean Gull, 2 Jay and a
Marsh Harrier.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 4 new birds: 3 Whitethroat and a Sedge Warbler; 9 retraps: a Blue Tit, 3 Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Great Tit, a Wren and a Dunnock; and a control Sedge Warbler with a MUSEUM PARIS ring.
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| Philodromus fallax, the nationally rare 'Crab Spider', 27th May 2020. Photo - Ben Ward |
May 26th. Nothing moved in any great numbers this morning but there was a good variety of species. Heading south were a Red Kite, 2 Buzzard, a Heron, 44 Swallow, 2 Little Egrets, 3 Yellow Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, an Alba Wagtail and 2 Siskin. 2 Whimbrel went north. Birds around included a Wigeon, an Eider, a Peregrine, a Short-eared Owl, 4 Cuckoo, 17 Common Gull, 10 Little Egret, 2 Grasshopper Warbler reeling, 2 Jay, 2 Crossbill and a late Redwing.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 8 new birds: a Linnet, a Blackcap, 2 Whitethroat, 2 Goldfinch, a Great Tit and a Starling; and 6 retraps: 2 Dunnock, 3 Whitethroat and a Great Tit.
May 25th. A southbound Turtle Dove was the
highlight of the migration watch, which involved a light passage of Linnet,
Goldfinch, Swallow and House Martin. A skulking female Golden Oriole was
discovered in East Dunes in the morning. Birds around included 6 Cuckoo,
220 Oystercatcher, 3 Turnstone, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Kittiwake, 2
Mediterranean Gull, 4 Sandwich Tern a Jay and 3 Crossbill.
Broad-bodied Chaser and Four-spotted Chaser were recorded on the ponds down
Mill Pond Road.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes yielded 12 new birds: 7 Goldfinch, a Chaffinch, a Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting, a Great Tit and a Mistle Thrush; and 9 retraps: a Lesser Whitethroat, a Great Tit, 4 Dunnock, a Goldfinch and 2 Whitethroat.
A morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by Jenni Godber yielded 6 new birds: 2 Robin, 3 Whitethroat and a Sedge Warbler; and 8 retraps: 4 Sedge Warbler, 3 Long-tailed Tit and a Whitethroat.
May 24th. A light seabird movement involved 5
Kittiwake, 12 Auk sp, 23 Little Tern. 6 Gannet, a Guillemot, 2 Eider and a
Common Scoter all south. Birds around included 2 Sand Martin and 20 Swallow 3
Eider, 3 Cuckoo, 4 Grey Plover, 37 Ringed Plover, 13 Bar-tailed Godwit, 7
Turnstone, 45 Knot, 190 Sanderling, 9 Dunlin, 2 Jay and the Cetti’s Warbler on
territory.
May 23rd. Another strong passage of Swallows,
House Martin and Swift with lower numbers of Linnet and Goldfinch. Also
heading south were a Red Kite, a Buzzard, a Collared
Dove, 2 Lapwing, a Heron and singles of Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail and Alba
Wagtail. A Fulmar passed south close inshore and small numbers of Knot and Sanderling passed into the Wash. Birds around included a Cuckoo, a Greenshank and a
Treecreeper.
May 22nd. There was a good variety of birds around and on
the move today, with a strong passage of Swallow, House Martin and Swift.
A Bee-eater briefly
hawked with 6 Swallow north of Mill Hill in the morning before becoming lost to
view on the east side of the dune and presumably flew south. Offshore, gulls were
moving south including several Lesser Black-backed Gull and a Mediterranean Gull.
Two male Velvet Scoter heded south with 7 Common Scoter, and later a female
Velvet Scoter followed with 9 Tufted Duck. 14 Brent Geese headed
out north-east. Wader counts included 280 Oystercatcher at roost with 970
Sanderling (750 roost). Other birds around included a Peregrine, 2 Grey
Partridge, 2 Cuckoo, 7 Whimbrel, a Greenshank, a Treecreeper, a Spotted
Flycatcher and a Siskin.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 2 retraps: a Whitethroat and a Great Tit.
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| Velvet Scoter, 22nd May 2020. Photo - Kev Wilson |
May 21st. There was a light passage of Swallow, with a few
House Martin and a Sand Martin early morning. Birds around included a Spoonbill,
which flew across to Norfolk, a Jay and 3 Black-tailed Godwit.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 3 new birds: 2 Whitethroat and a Dunnock; and 7 retraps: 2 Robin, 4 Dunnock and a Whitethroat.
