July 31st. A moderate south-westerly breeze with a bright start, becoming overcast with occasional rain showers.
A Cattle Egret arrived on Tennyson's Sands early afternoon before moving over to Croftmarsh to feed amongst the cattle. Otherwise, the action out at sea was pretty much as the last few days and the lagoons were busy with waders again, including an increase of Black-tailed Godwits up to 653. A near-fledged Cuckoo was on Tennyson's Sands being fed by host Reed Warblers when it was taken by a Sparrowhawk. The apparently summering Redwing put in another appearance after being heard calling.
July 30th. Increasing south-westerly wind.
A Whinchat was trapped and ringed in East Dunes early morning. Offshore, as the tide dropped, an impressive feeding flock developed involving 350 Sandwich Tern, 140 Gannet, 40 Kittiwake and 400 large Gulls with several Arctic Skua in attendance. Other Terns, Gannet, Gulls and waders were moving south in good numbers. Added to that, a strong southerly passage of Swallow commenced with Sand Martin, Swift and a few Wagtails. A challenge for the recorder and todays 'counts' over a two hour session will have to be rough estimates! in addition to the Whinchat, a Wheatear and a Green Woodpecker were both firsts of the autumn.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 12 new birds: 7 Wren, a Chiffchaff, a Whinchat, a Great Tit, a Sedge Warbler and a Swallow; 2 retraps: a Dunnock and a Chiffchaff; and a control Kestrel.
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| Kestrel, controlled 30 July 2023. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Whinchat, ringed 30 July 2023. Photo - George Gregory  Little Egret 30th July 2023. Photo - Rikki Clark  Common Darter, 30th July 2023. Photo - Rikki Clark |
July 29th. Generally mild but with brief afternoon light rain.
Another brilliant morning for birding along the coastal strip with counts including 500 Gannet, 160 Kittiwake, 28 Arctic Skua, 1100 Sandwich Tern, 45 Common Scoter, a Manx Shearwater and wader flocks migrating south with Swallow, Swift and Sand Martin. On Tennyson's Sands were 3 Little Ringed Plover, a Greenshank and 8 Spoonbill. In the dune scrub, another moderate increase in Willow Warbler. Also around were a Kingfisher and a Merlin.
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July 28th. A dry, calm, warm and humid day.
Good numbers of birds along the foreshore and out at sea again this morning: Gannet, Sandwich Tern, Kittiwake and Arctic Skua. A group of 5 Arctic Skua headed off inland and 3 Manx Shearwater flew south. Good numbers of waders were on the lagoons including 10 Greenshank and 5 Spotted Redshank and a Wood Sandpiper was a new arrival. A number of Willow Warbler trapped and seen were new in and a good Swallow passage was ongoing through the morning.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Miriam Hall, resulted in 15 new birds: 4 Willow Warbler, 5 Wren, a Chiffchaff, a Long-tailed Tit, 3 Robin and a Lesser Whitethroat; and 15 retraps: 5 Whitethroat, 3 Chiffchaff, a Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Dunnock, a Great Tit and a Blue Tit.
July 27th. Rain until early morning, then isolated showers in the morning, becoming dry and warm later.
The first scan of the sea from south to north at 0645hrs resulted in a large count of 732 Gannet fishing and slowly moving south along with good numbers of terns, Kittiwake and Arctic Skua, blogging, feeding and moving south. Overall totals up to 0845hrs were 1061 Gannet, 311 Kittiwake, 1250 Sandwich Tern, 42 Common Tern, 75 Arctic Tern, 17 Guillemot, 2 Razorbill, 37 Arctic Skua and a Manx Shearwater. 4 of the Arctic Skua circled high and went inland. A Short-eared Owl circling high over the beach found itself getting mobbed by an Arctic Skua. Other birds on the move during the period included 500 Swift, 30 Sand Martin, a Spoonbill, a Pintail, a Hobby and 10 Whimbrel, 2 Greenshank along with other waders.
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July 26th. On Tennyson's Sands were 4 Spotted Redshank, a Ruff, 6 Greenshank and 18 Spoonbill.
The ninth session of CES, with Miriam Hall, was done this morning. The 39 new birds were 5 Wren, 6 Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, 3 Robin, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Reed Warbler, 6 Blackcap, 10 Whitethroat, 2 Blue Tit and 3 Dunnock; and the 4 retraps were a Wren, a Sedge Warbler, a Dunnock and a Chiffchaff.
July 25th. A very brief spell of light rain in morning, otherwise mostly dry with light wind.
Highlights from the morning watch were over 500 Sand Martin moving south, 11 Arctic Skua offshore, 900 Sandwich Tern on the beach with 30 Kittiwake and 9 Arctic Tern, small groups of incoming waders and an Osprey. Other birds around, including those trapped, were a Cuckoo and 3 Grasshopper Warbler.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 8 new birds: 2 Linnet, a Great Tit, a Grasshopper Warbler, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Whitethroat and a Kestrel; and 2 retraps: a Great Tit and a Blue Tit.
A morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by Mike Polling provided 7 new birds: a Wren, 3 Reed Warbler and 3 Sedge Warbler; and 3 retraps: a Whitethroat, a Goldfinch and a Chiffchaff.
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| Grasshopper Warbler, ringed 25 July 2023. Photo - George Gregory  Rosy Rustic, 25th July 2023. Photo - Beth McGuire  Large White, 25th July 2023. Photo - Beth McGuire  Seven-spot Ladybird, 25th July 2023. Photo - Beth McGuire |
July 24th. Prolonged rainy spells.
Around were a Greenshank, a Little Gull, 1100 Sandwich Tern, 150 Gannet and 6 Spoonbill. There was a large arrival of thousands of ladybirds.
July 23rd. Overcast but dry with moderate south-westerly breeze and becoming brighter and humid.
Recording did not commence until 0815hrs but Swift passage was underway down the West Dunes, waders were arriving down the shoreline, including Turnstone, Knot and Whimbrel and there was a roost of over 600 Sandwich Tern, being joined by small numbers of Arctic Tern. Kittiwake were arriving form the north and also joining the roost - an exceptional total of 192! 60 Gannet and 3 Arctic Skua moved south with a further 4 Arctic Skua chasing terns over the foreshore. A Grasshopper warbler was still reeling along Mill Pond Road and a Grass Snake was seen.
July 22nd. Rain of varying intensity throughout the whole day and generally poor visibility.
Along the foreshore were 1200 Sandwich Tern, with a further 250 moving south, along with a few Common Tern and 2 Arctic Tern. 3 Arctic Skua were around early morning. On the lagoons were 2 Little Stint, 5 Common Sandpiper, 4 Spotted Redshank, 539 Black-tailed Godwit ,9 Greenshank and 128 Redshank. A brief but intense Swift passage was noted during moderate rain early evening.
July 21st. A big day for Swallows, with a feeding flock of around 150 around the River Steeping and a further 500 moving south during the morning.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Miriam Hall, produced 6 new birds: 3 Wren, a Willow Warbler, a Whitethroat and a Linnet; and 2 retraps: a Whitethroat and a Dunnock.
