August 10th. Quite cloudy, with increasing south-westerly wind.
Another busy morning with more northern waders arriving in flocks and passing into the Wash, Swallows and Sand Martins moving south, a roost of 2000 Sandwich Terns, 8 Arctic Skuas around and another 6 south, 5 Spoonbills feeding along Greenshank's Creek and and a Wheatear by the Visitor Centre. Also heading south were 2 Tree Pipits and 2 Marsh Harriers. There were good numbers of Willow Warblers around the East Dunes again - over 40 with a mixed tit and warbler flock. A Cattle Egret was on Freshwater Marsh briefly before flying north, whilst a juvenile Cuckoo was out from Mill Hill.
In the late afternoon 3 Cattle Egrets were seen flying south from the south end of the Golf Course where two of them had been associating with the cattle. A hour later, whilst counting the waders on Tennyson's Sands, the 3 Cattle Egrets flew in from the south and landed with the cattle on Croftmarsh, where they stayed feeding until 8pm at least.
Also on Tennyson's Sands during the evening were 374 Black-tailed Godwit, 113 Avocet, 68 Lapwing, 7 Snipe, 2 Wood Sandpiper, a Greenshank, a Spotted Redshank, a Great White Egret, 64 Pied Wagtail, a Kingfisher, 2 Buzzard and a Barn Owl.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Mike Polling, produced 11 new birds: 7 Willow Warbler, a Whitethroat, a Reed Bunting, a Robin and a Bullfinch; and 3 retraps: 2 Wren and a Dunnock.
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Wheatear, 10th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale  Cattle Egret, 10th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson  Cattle Egret, 10th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
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Greenshank, 10th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Green and Common Sandpipers, 10th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
Early morning Tennyson's Sands held impressive numbers of waders with 370 Black-tailed Godwit, 271 Redshank, 120 Avocet, 20 Golden Plover, 18 Dunlin, 4 Spotted Redshank, 3 Common Sandpiper, 3 Wood Sandpiper and 2 Green Sandpiper.
Along the shore 7 Fulmar and 21 Arctic Skua moved south, with a further 5 Arctic Skua blogging, whilst a distant skua shearing north was probably a Long-tailed Skua. Some nice flocks of summer- plumaged northern waders were also arriving down the tideline including Black-tailed Godwits, Turnstones, Sanderling, Dunlin and Knot. A female Wheatear was still at the Wash Viewpoint whilst a few Swifts moved south. Sadly, a large dead Sperm Whale was noted out on the old Wainfleet Bombing Range.
In the dunes Willow Warbler numbers increased again. A mixed tit and warbler flock moved south through East Dunes involving 42 Willow Warblers. Over Croftmarsh during the afternoon there were 2 Red Kites and a Peregrine, whilst on Tennyson's Sands later there was a Buzzard.
Late afternoon a count of Tennyson's Sands resulted in 418 Black-tailed Godwit, 109 Avocet, 105 Lapwing, 8 Redshank, 3 Greenshank, a Spotted Redshank, 2 Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper, a Wood Sandpiper and 4 Snipe.
Ringing Control: Whitethroat, ringed Isle of May, Fife, 25 May 2024, controlled GPBO 23 June, 25 June, 27 June and 8 July 2024.
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Peregrine Falcon, 9th August 2024 . Photo - Jack Hood |
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Red Kites, 9th August 2024 . Photo - Jack Hood |
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Red Kite, 9th August 2024 . Photo - Jack Hood |
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Water Rail, 9th August 2024 . Photo - Jack Hood |
Early morning flying south was a Marsh Harrier, whilst the Green Woodpecker was again in the Plantation. A Tree Pipit flew over East Dunes. At the Wash Viewpoint a Wheatear was present, whilst on the Haven 4 Common Sandpiper were roosting, and a Tree Sparrow flew south over.
Offshore, a Cory's Shearwater flew south, having earlier been reported as a large shearwater further up the coast. At the North End of the reserve on the beach there were, amongst other species, a Roseate Tern and a Curlew Sandpiper and a Marsh Harrier. Also along the beach were 4000 Knot, 2500 Grey Plover whilst moving south were 6 Whimbrel, 25 Black-Tailed Godwit and 45 Swallow.
Mid afternoon from Harvey's Hide there were 3 Wood Sandpiper, 3 Spotted Redshank, 100 Avocet, 7 Spoonbill, 21 Dunlin, a Mediterranean Gull and the female Scaup.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 6 new birds: 2 Willow Warbler, a Chiffchaff, a Wren, a Bullfinch and a Dunnock; and a retrap Dunnock.
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Wood Sandpiper, 8th August 2024. Photo - Rikki Clark |
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Snipe, 8th August 2024. Photo - Rikki Clark |
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Little Ringed Plover, 8th August 2024. Photo - Rikki Clark |
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Greenshank, 8th August 2024. Photo - Rikki Clark |
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Marsh Harrier, 8th August 2024. Photo - Rikki Clark |
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Sand Martin, 8th August 2024. Photo - Rikki Clark |
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| Bullfinch, ringed 8 August 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
August 7th. Mostly cloudy, with increasing south-westerly wind.
Birds around included 54 Little Egret, 8 Kestrel, 3 Marsh Harrier, a Green Woodpecker (West Dunes), a Tree Pipit, and the first autumn Pied Flycatcher (in the Plantation).
During the morning from Mill Hill there were 110 Swallow, 80 House Martin and 40 Sand Martin south, whilst there were 5000 Knot, 2000 Grey Plover, 35 Ringed Plover and 50 Bar-tailed Godwit heading up the beach from the estuary, along with 900 Sandwich Tern and 60 Common Tern on the beach roost. The highlight though was an Osprey that headed high south over North Building at 0925hrs. Tennyson's Sands held 342 Redshank, 320 Black-tailed Godwit, 107 Avocet, 70 Lapwing, 8 Snipe, 3 Spotted Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 4 Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Wood Sandpiper, a Little Ringed Plover, 118 Teal, 2 Water Rail (with young chick) and 24 Spoonbill.
During the late afternoon/early evening a Greenshank was on Fenland Lagoon whilst on Tennyson's Sands there were 126 Black-tailed Godwit, 124 Lapwing, 108 Avocet, 3 Dunlin, 3 Wood Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper, a Green Sandpiper, 3 Snipe, a Little Ringed Plover, 8 Spoonbill and 24 Little Grebe (including 2 very young chicks, presumably a 2nd brood or a failed 1st brood re-attempt, the high water levels really seeming to aid Water Rail and Little Grebe breeding attempts).
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 12 new birds: a Wren, 5 Willow Warbler, a Robin, 2 Whitethroat, a Blackcap, a Reed Warbler and a Sedge Warbler; and 5 retraps: 3 Dunnock and 2 Wren.
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Water Rail pair with chick, 7th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Water Rail pair with chick, 7th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Green Sandpiper, 7th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale  Redshanks, 7th August 2024. Photo - Jack Hood |
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Black-tailed Godwit, 7th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Snipe, 7th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
Early morning movement involved 150 Sand Martins south and an arrival of Kestrels, mostly juveniles. Up to 10 were hunting around the Old Saltmarsh with another 5 elsewhere. 8000 Knot came up to roost at high tide. On Tennyson's Sands during the morning were 25 Spoonbill, 3 Wood Sandpiper, 3 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Spotted Redshank, a Green Sandpiper, 2 Greenshank, 4 Snipe, 5 Common Sandpiper and a female Scaup.
Late afternoon on Tennyson's there were 289 Black-tailed Godwit, 67 Avocet, 4 Wood Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper, 4 Common Sandpiper, 7 Dunlin, 7 Snipe, 3 Golden Plover, a male Ruff, a Greenshank, a Grey Heron, a Pochard, a Mediterranean Gull, a male Marsh Harrier and the female Scaup from North Hide. There were also 3 Water Rail chicks (very young) with their parents on Tennyson's Sands visible from Harvey's Hide (The 3rd confirmed pair to be successful on the lagoons).Three Red Kites were over the adjacent farmland, 600 Starlings were on wires over Croftmarsh and the evening tern/gull roost contained single Roseate Tern, Black Tern and Yellow-legged Gull.
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Water Rail and chicks, 6th August 2024. Photo - Jack Hood |
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Water Rail and chicks, 6th August 2024. Photo - Jack Hood |
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| Female Scaup on Tennyson's Sands, 6th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson  Photo - Kev Wilson  Kestrel, 6th August 2024. Photo - Rikki Clark |
Around were a Barn Owl, a Marsh Harrier, a Green Woodpecker, 56 Little Egret, 14 Spoonbill and 300 Starling. On the Wash were 4400 Knot and 300 Grey Plover, whilst heading south into the Wash were 1200 Sandwich Tern and 23 Whimbrel. Also heading south were 80 Swift, 2 Sand Martin and 29 Swallow.
On the Lagoons there was a good selection of waders with 300+ Black-tailed Godwit, 72 Avocet, 62 Lapwing, 15 Snipe, 6 Greenshank, 3 Spotted Redshank, 3 Little Ringed Plover, 3 Green Sandpiper, 2 Wood Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpiper and a Ruff.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 4 new birds: a Willow Warbler, a Blackcap, a Linnet and a Dunnock; and a retrap Wren.
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Wood sandpiper, 5th August 2024. Photo - Stuart Ainsworth |
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Green sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover, 5th August 2024. Photo - Stuart Ainsworth |
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Greenshanks, 5th August 2024. Photo - Stuart Ainsworth |
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Common Tern and Black-headed Gull, 5th August 2024. Photo - Stuart Ainsworth |
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| Moulting adult male Linnet, ringed 5 August 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
August 4th. Cloudy, with light south-westerly wind.
Birds around included a Buzzard. An Osprey was on the telegraph poles again, visible from Harvey's Hide. Reported on the LBC sightings page were 20 Spoonbill, 4 Curlew Sandpiper, 3 Wood Sandpiper, 3 Spotted Sandpiper presumably all on Tennyson's Sands.
The tenth session of CES was done this morning. The 21 new birds were 2 Wren, 4 Blackcap, 6 Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Blue Tit, 3 Goldfinch, a Sedge Warbler, a Dunnock and a Kestrel; and the 5 retraps were a Robin, a Dunnock, a Wren, a Chiffchaff and a Whitethroat.
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| Kestrel, ringed 4 August 2014. Photo - George Gregory |
August 3rd. Overcast, with a light southerly breeze, dry and becoming warmer and wetter later in the morning with a lengthy period of drizzle/light rain.
Early morning highlights were 2 Tawny Wave Moths trapped overnight, Swallows and Sand Martins moving south with 45 Swifts, 3 Red Kites and 2 Marsh Harriers, an arrival of 11 juvenile Kestrels and good numbers of Arctic Skuas including birds patrolling the beach and Haven. Meanwhile Tennyson's Sands held 3 Wood Sandpipers and 3 Little Ringed Plovers 2 Spotted Redshanks, a juvenile Ruff, 361 Black-Tailed Godwits, 126 Avocet and 21 Spoonbill.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 3 new birds: a Wren and 2 Willow Warbler; and 3 retraps: a Wren, a Whitethroat and a Robin.
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Sparrowhawk flushing Black-tailed Godwits off Tennyson's Sands, 3rd August 2024. Photo - Jack Hood |
August 2nd. Mostly cloudy with light south-easterly wind, becoming warmer through the day and hot early evening.
The highlight of a morning sea watch was a juvenile Black Tern south and 28 Arctic Skuas. There was a small arrival of Willow Warblers. Also during the morning there was a Barn Owl hunting, a Water Rail on Jackson's Marsh with 4 Green Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper and a Wood Sandpiper. From Harvey's Hide there were 2 Curlew Sandpiper and a colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwit.
Late afternoon, Tennyson's Sands held 378 Black-tailed Godwit, 98 Lapwing, 96 Avocet, 20 Spoonbill, 7 Snipe, 5 Dunlin, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Wood Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper, 3 Spotted Redshank, a Greenshank, a Redshank, 2 Common Tern, a Lesser Black Backed Gull and the regular female Pintail.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 10 new birds: 2 Wren, 5 Willow Warbler, a Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and a Lesser Whitethroat; and 3 retraps: a Blackcap and 2 Dunnock.
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Wood Sandpiper, 2nd August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Juvenile Water Rail, 2nd August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Snipe, 2nd August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Snipe, 2nd August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Spoonbills, 2nd August 2024. Photo - Jack Hood |
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Greenshank, 2nd August 2024. Photo - Jack Hood |
The male Hen Harrier showed up again this morning, hunting the southern marshes, but there was no sign of the Osprey. Four Cattle Egrets flew south over the Visitor Centre, and later a Glossy Ibis arrived on Tennyson's Sands. This bird flew out across the Wash early evening. Sanderling and Dunlin were arriving along the beach early morning whilst an increase of Common Terns was noted amongst the Sandwich Tern roost and feeding flock offshore. 12 Arctic Skuas patrolled the Haven with another 8 offshore around the feeding flock. A further 10 went south.
A good selection of waders again around the reserve, mostly on the the lagoons, included 250 Black-tailed Godwit, 125 Avocet, 61 Lapwing, 3 Curlew Sandpiper, a Wood Sandpiper, 13 Common Sandpiper, 3 Green Sandpiper, a Snipe, 3 Spotted Redshank, 17 Greenshank, 10 Dunlin, 10 Golden Plover, 20 Whimbrel and a Little Stint. On Jackson's Marsh a small Water Rail chick was noted, the 2nd pair to have confirmed breeding success on the reserve this year.
Also noted on Tennyson's Sands were a juvenile Water Rail, 11 Spoonbills and a moulting female Marsh Harrier. The Green Woodpecker was again around the Cycle Track near the entrance to Sykes Farm. A Short-eared Owl was over the Wash Viewpoint during the morning.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 6 new birds: a Wren, 2 Chiffchaff, a Reed Warbler and 2 Blackcap; and 5 retraps: a Blackcap, a Chiffchaff, a Dunnock and 2 Whitethroat.
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Glossy Ibis, 1st August 2024. Photo - Phil Espin  Wood Sandpiper, 1st August 2024. Photo - Tom Baker  Spotted Redshank, 1st August 2024. Photo - Tom Baker  Little Ringed Plover, 1st August 2024. Photo - Tom Baker  Common Sandpipers, 1st August 2024. Photo - Jack Hood  Black-tailed Godwits, 1st August 2024. Photo - Jack Hood  Common Darter, 1st August 2024. Photo - Tom Baker
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