August 20th. Partially cloudy, with increasing south-westerly wind.
The wader roost held 36000 Knot, 1800 Grey Plover, 2200 Oystercatcher, 900 Bar-tailed Godwit, 4000 Sanderling, 7500 Dunlin and 8 juvenile Curlew Sandpipers.
Two Ospreys passed through during the day; an adult early morning and a juvenile in the evening, in what has been a record year for Osprey sightings. Offshore 2 Fulmars, a Black Tern and 14 Manx Shearwaters moved south.
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Osprey, 20th August 2024. Photo - Ste Taylor |
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Curlew Sandpiper, 20th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
A Spotted Flycatcher with a Pied Flycatcher in East Dunes was the first of the autumn, and there were reasonable warbler numbers in the dune scrub. Swallows and House Martins passed through in waves with several Yellow Wagtails and 2 Tree Pipits. A minimum of 17000 Knot came up to roost, although probably some were missed before the count commenced. Redshanks, Sanderlings and Turnstones continue to arrive down the tideline with a single Curlew Sandpiper. There were 2 Caspian Gulls and 2 Yellow-legged Gulls along the foreshore today, and single Marsh Harrier and Merlin around.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 5 new birds: a Willow Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, a Robin and a Woodpigeon; and 2 retraps: a Robin and a Great Tit. Several Wasp Spiders were found around the dunes south of the Visitor Centre.
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Knot leaving the roost, 19th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
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Spotted Flycatcher, 19th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
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Yellow Wagtail, 19th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
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Caspian Gull, 19th August 2024. Photos - Kev Wilson  Robin, 19th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson  Photo - Mike Gas |
Good numbers of Swallows were on the move this morning with a fair number of Sand Martins and the first appreciable movement of House Martins. Also heading south were 6 Tree Pipit, 25 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Tree Sparrow, 2 Bullfinch, 3 Spoonbill and a Hobby. Flocks of waders were arriving form the north in small groups; predominantly Sanderling and Redshank but also Dunlin, Knot, Turnstone and Black-tailed Godwit.
A juvenile Spotted Redshank was a new arrival and a juvenile Black Tern settled with other terns. Over 3000 terns were again in the beach roost - today's flush event was attributable to a male nudist! A party of 9 Arctic Skuas were settled on the Haven, with 3 blogging and another 9 heading south more distantly. 2 Caspian Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull were amongst the large gulls on the beach, with another Yellow-legged Gull on Tennyson's Sands. Other birds around included a Ring-necked Parakeet, 2 Marsh Harrier and 8 Kestrel.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 9 new birds: 2 Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, 3 Robin, a Reed Bunting, a Kestrel and a Woodpigeon; and 2 retraps: a Dunnock and a Whitethroat.
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Little Tern with juvenile, 18th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson  Spotted Redshank, 18th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson  Sandwich Tern, 18th August 2024. Photo - Ste Taylor |
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| Kestrel, ringed 18 August 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Kestrel, ringed 18 August 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Woodpigeon, ringed 18 August 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Woodpigeon, ringed 18 August 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
August 17th. A clear blue sky morning warming up quickly in the perfectly calm conditions, then quite cloudy.
Early news from Tennyson's Sands involved 2 adult Water Rails with 4 chicks from Harvey's Hide and 18 Spoonbills from Fenella Hope Hide. Later, another 3 adult Water Rails were recorded further north along the lagoon with 2 Ruff, 3 Green Sandpiper, 3 Spotted Redshank, 2 Great White Egrets and the regular Pintail. 2 Cattle Egret were around the Freshwater Marsh early. The majority of yesterday's new arrivals seemed to have moved on. However, there was a light southerly passage of Swallows, a Bullfinch over east Dunes, 4 House Sparrows south-west over Sykes Farm, whilst 2 Whinchat and 2 Stonechat were still visible on Old Saltmarsh from the Visitor Centre. There was a big influx of Common Terns (800+) on the beach along with 3300 Sandwich Terns, 3 Black Terns and a Little Gull but many dispersed after being flushed by a jogger down the beach. Other birds around included Short-eared Owl and Curlew Sandpiper.
During the afternoon a Silver-washed Fritillary was seen along the Cycle Track near Jackson's Marsh and a Southern Migrant Hawker seen at Square Pond along Mill Pond Road.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Mike Polling, yielded 3 Willow Warbler, a Wren, a Reed Warbler, a Whitethroat and a Robin; and 2 retraps: a Dunnock and a Wren.
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Little Gull, 17th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
There was an arrival of Willow Warblers, with 110 counted in sample areas of the reserve including 18 new birds trapped in East Dunes. 8 Willow Warblers were seen mobbing a perched Sparrowhawk near North Car Park early morning. There were good numbers of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs too with an increase of Sedge Warblers following very low recent counts - most of these were juveniles. Whitethroats remain in low numbers, but clearly new Lesser Whitethroats had arrived. A Tree Pipit and 3 Whinchat on the East Dunes were also new arrivals. A single Whinchat and 2 Stonechat remained on Rock Ridge near the Visitor Centre and 2 Hobby were seen simultaneously with a regular bird hunting over the outer dunes. The Water Rail and chicks continued to show very well in front of Harvey's Hide.
An Osprey (apparently a juvenile) arrived from the north-west, circled over the beach, gaining height and drifted away.
Other birds around included a Great White Egret, a Short-eared Owl, a Marsh Harrier, a Swift, 3 Bullfinch, a Mediterranean Gull, a Wood Sandpiper (Jackson's Marsh), 2 Little Stint, 3 Greenshank, 2 Spotted Redshank (Harvey's Hide) and a Grasshopper Warbler (Mill Pond Road). Late afternoon 4 Wasp Spiders were seen near the Wash Viewpoint.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 26 new birds: 18 Willow Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Reed Warbler, a Robin and 2 Whitethroat; and 13 retraps: a Wren, 2 Willow Warbler, a Blackcap, 8 Long-tailed Tit and a Blue Tit.
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Mediterranean Gull juvenile, 16th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Great White Egret, 16th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Greenshank, 16th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Early morning view over Tennyson's Sands, 16th August 2024. Photo - Nige Lound |
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Four Water Rail chicks, 16th August 2024. Photo - Nige Lound |
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Water Rail and chick, 16th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Water Rail and chicks, 16th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Water Rail and chicks, 16th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Whinchat, 16th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
The over-summering adult Redwing was retrapped in East Dunes and had almost finished its complete summer moult. Many terns were roosting on the beach and sand bars again this morning with up to 20 Arctic Skuas around. Small groups of northern waders were arriving along the shore, including an adult Curlew Sandpiper with a Dunlin flock. Elsewhere another 3 Curlew Sandpipers included the first juvenile of the autumn and 2 on Tennyson's Sands, which also hosted 2 of today's 3 Little Stints, a Ruff, 2 Spotted Redshank, 3 Greenshank and a brief Garganey that left with Teal. A Wood Sandpiper was on Jackson's Marsh. Also around were the 2 Whinchat, a Stonechat, 2 Sparrowhawk, 2 Marsh Harrier and a Peregrine.
A wind-shortened morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 2 new birds: a Wren and a Linnet; and 4 retraps: a Redwing, a Dunnock and 2 Wren.
2 Whinchats and a Stonechat, 15th August 2024.
Video - Stuart Ainsworth
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| Over-summering moulting adult Redwing, retrapped 15 August 2024. Photo - George Gregory  Peregrine Falcon, 15th August 2024. Photo - Jason Virgin  Peregrine Falcon, 15th August 2024. Photo - Jason Virgin  Arctic Skuas, 15th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson  Red Underwing, 15th August 2024. Photo - Stuart Ainsworth  Devil's Coach-horse, 15th August 2024. Photo - Stuart Ainsworth |
August 14th. Another warm day with a north-westerly breeze and quite hazy.
Offshore 7 Arctic Skuas left their roost on the sand bar, a further 3 were blogging and another 6 went south. There were plenty of Sandwich Terns on the reserve again today: at least 3200 but a full evening roost count was not carried out. At least 350 Common Terns were present too. 4 juvenile Mediterranean Gulls passed south and an adult flew towards the roost late evening. 2 juvenile Caspian Gulls were on the beach. The 2 Little Stints remained on Tennyson's Sands with a good selection of waders.
A Whinchat was found by the Visitor Centre in the morning but a look there late evening revealed the presence of 2 Whinchats with 2 Stonechat. Other birds around included a Green Woodpecker and a Hobby.
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Whinchat, 14th August 2024. Photo - Phil Hyde |
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Common Buzzard, 14th August 2024. Photo - Ste Taylor |
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Sandwich Tern, 14th August 2024. Photo - Ste Taylor |
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Great White Egret, 14th August 2024. Photo - Ste Taylor |
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Curlew, 14th August 2024. Photo - Ste Taylor |
Not much movement again in the calm and warm conditions but around 1600 Sandwich Terns and 400 Common Terns were on the beach with 30 Arctic and 2 Black Terns mixed in. House Martin numbers had built up to 145, and there were 2 Tree Pipits around the East Dunes and a single Pied Flycatcher in West Dunes. An adult Little Stint was a new arrival on Tennyson's Sands, and this was joined later by a juvenile.
A Willow Emerald Damselfly as in the East Dunes.
The eleventh session of CES was done this morning. The 17 new birds were a Willow Warbler, 2 Wren, a Chiffchaff, a Blackcap, a Robin, 4 Swallow, a Sedge Warbler, 3 Whitethroat, 2 Goldfinch and a Dunnock; and there were 2 retrap Whitethroat. The Swallows showed the range of head and throat markings.
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| Adult female Swallow, ringed 13 August 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Juvenile Swallow, ringed 13 August 2024. Photo - George Gregory |
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| Juvenile Swallow, ringed 13 August 2024. Photo - George Gregory  Willow Emerald Damselfly, 13th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
August 12th. Mostly sunny, then cloudy, and very warm, with fresh south-easterly wind.
Aside from ringing, coverage was very limited this morning. However, an hour on Mill Hill produced a northbound Great Skua and a Cattle Egret circling before heading out across the Wash. Other birds around included 2 Pied Flycatcher, a Hobby, a Bullfinch, a Stonechat and a Grey Wagtail.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes yielded 2 new birds: a Lesser Whitethroat and a Robin; and a retrap Blackcap.
The first Hummingbird Hawk Moth of the year was also seen.
August 11th. Mostly sunny, with light wind gradually shifting to the east.
The 3 Cattle Egrets were seen around Freshwater Marsh early morning, and there was a Whinchat on Rock Ridge. Flying north were 2 Spoonbill, but there was very little movement otherwise in the calm and hot conditions. This provided an opportunity to check Sandwich Terns for colour rings of which there were several. From Harvey's Hide 2 Mediterranean Gulls were present along with 2 Spotted Redshanks whilst on Croftmarsh, 2500 Starlings had amassed on the wires. Other birds around included Green Woodpecker, Great White Egret, Kingfisher, Pintail, Stonechat, 2 Wheatear and a Bullfinch.
A Pied Flycatcher was a new arrival in the early afternoon.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes, with Liam Andrews, provided 3 new birds: a Willow Warbler, a Whitethroat and a Sedge Warbler; and 3 retraps: a Dunnock and 2 Wren.
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Pied Flycatcher, 11th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
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Mediterranean Gull, 11th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Spotted Redshanks, 11th August 2024. Photo - Stuart Ainsworth |
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Avocet, 11th August 2024. Photo - Paul Neale |
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Arctic Tern, 11th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
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Sandwich Terns, 11th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
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Sedge Warbler, 11th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
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Harebell, 11th August 2024. Photo - Kev Wilson |
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Reed Warbler, 11th August 2024. Photo - Stuart Ainsworth |
