April 10th. Cloudy start, then clearing, with light variable wind.
Early morning, a Raven went north, whilst on the sea there were 2 Great Crested Grebes. Along Mill Pond Road were 2 singing Sedge Warblers and a Grasshopper Warbler. On Tennyson's Sands there were a Black-tailed Godwit, 3 Redshank, 31 Avocet and 4 Swallows. On Jacksons Marsh there were a Snipe and a Ruff. Increasingly unusual on the reserve were 2 Red-legged Partridges on Croftmarsh, whilst 4 Crossbills flew over the entrance to the reserve towards North Carpark.
April 9th. Mostly cloudy, with moderate north-easterly wind.
Around the water bodies were 49 Tufted Duck, 44 Teal, 41 Shoveler, 36 Shelduck, 18 Little Grebe, 16 Mallard, 15 Wigeon, 6 Gadwall, 5 Pintail, 2 Mediterranean Gulls, 48 Avocet, 24 Curlew, a Whimbrel, a Ruff, 3 Redshank, a Black-tailed Godwit, 2 Sand Martins and a Spoonbill. Two Sandwich Terns went north along the coast, whilst 2 Yellow Wagtails flew south. Else where on the reserve were two Marsh Harriers, a Barn Owl, a Fieldfare, 15 Swallows, a Sedge Warbler, a Willow Warbler, 7 Chiffchaffs and a Black Redstart along the roadside at the entrance to the reserve.
A morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue provided 4 new birds: 3 Goldfinch and a Chaffinch.
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| Black Redstart, 9th April 2025 Photo - Nigel Lound |
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| Lapwing, 9th April 2025 Photo - Tom Baker |
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| Oystercatcher, 9th April 2025 Photo - Tom Baker |
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| Shelducks, 9th April 2025 Photo - Tom Baker |
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| Lesser Black Backed Gull with Black Headed Gulls, 9th April 2025 Photo - Tom Baker |
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| Chiffchaff soaking up the sun, 9th April 2025 Photo - Tom Baker |
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| male Eristalis intricaria - the Furry Dronefly - widespread but only locally common, 9th April 2025 - Photo - Tom Baker. ID - by Phil Porter. |
Fresh in overnight were a Grasshopper Warbler and a Sedge Warbler on Mill Pond Road, as was a Stonechat in the Coastguard Station garden. Early morning from Mill Hill there were a Whimbrel, a Redpoll, a Short-eared Owl and 2 Marsh Harriers. Jackson's Marsh held a Ruff and a Green Sandpiper. On Croftmarsh there were a Spoonbill and a male Hen Harrier. A pair of Mediterranean Gulls went south along West Dunes, and a Willow Warbler was singing at Sykes Farm. Late morning thermals produced 4 Common Buzzards and 3 Red Kites all drifting south . A pair of Swallows were hawking over Old Saltmarsh mid morning.
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| Green Sandpiper on Jackson's Marsh, 8th April 2025 Photo - Tom Baker |
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| Ruff on Jacksons Marsh, 8th April 2025 Photo - Tom Baker |
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| Spoonbill on Tennyson's Sands, 8th April 2025 Photo - Tom Baker |
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| Spoonbill in the late afternoon sun, 8th April 2025 Photo - Michael Briggs |
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| Spoonbill from Fenella Hope Hide, 8th April 2025 Photo - Michael Briggs |
A Firecrest was showing just along the roadside at the north end of the reserve. A Little Ringed Plover, a Ruff, a Dunlin, 2 Egyptian Geese, a Water Rail and 107 Brent Geese were on Tennyson's Sands, whilst a Green Sandpiper was on Jacksons Marsh. On the Freshwater Marsh there were 2 Water Pipits and a male Hen Harrier. Two Sandwich Terns were offshore, and other birds around included a Willow Warbler, a Sand Martin, 2 Swallows, a Barn Owl and 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers drumming.
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| Buck Roe Deer in the plantation, 7th April 2025 Photo - Nigel Lound |
A look at the sea this morning in the fresh easterly resulted in 8 Sandwich Terns and a Fulmar heading north. Four Water Pipits were around Freshwater Marsh and a Water Rail was on Tennyson's Sands.
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| Yesterday's Firecrest, 5th April 2025 Photo - Helen Wines |
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| Yesterday's Firecrest, 5th April 2025 Photo - Helen Wines |
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| Water Rail, 6th April 2025 Photo - Ste Taylor |
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| Yesterday's Firecrest, 5th April 2025 Photo - Ste Taylor |
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| Comma Butterfly, 6th April 2025 Photo - Jeremy Eyeons |
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| Chaffinch, 6th April 2025 Photo - Jeremy Eyeons |
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| Little Grebe, 6th April 2025 Photo - Jeremy Eyeons |
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| Cormorants, 6th April 2025 Photo - Jeremy Eyeons |
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| Canada Geese, 6th April 2025 Photo - Jeremy Eyeons |
A Firecrest was new in, singing and showing well along Sykes Farm Track all day. There were two Bramblings in the Sycamores in West Dunes, whilst a Sand Martin went north over Tennyson's Sands. A Willow Warbler was the first of the year, feeding vigorously along Mill Pond Road, where two Swallows were hawking. The first Ruff of the year was on Jackson's Marsh, whilst Tennyson's Sands held 4 Pochard, 2 Pintail, a Black-tailed Godwit, a Sand Martin and a Water Rail. Elsewhere on the reserve there were 2 Green Woodpeckers, 36 Avocet, 52 Teal, 51 Tufted Duck and 39 Shoveler.
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| Singing male Firecrest, 5th April 2025 Photo - Nigel Lound |
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| Singing male Firecrest, 5th April 2025 Photo - Nigel Lound |
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| Singing male Firecrest, 5th April 2025 Photo - Nigel Lound |
On the water bodies were 61 Tufted Duck, 46 Teal, 39 Shoveler, 38 Shelduck, 22 Little Grebe, 9 Gadwall, 8 Wigeon, 2 Pintail, 2 Water Rails, 33 Avocets, 8 Little Egrets and a Great White Egret. Late in the afternoon a Little Ringed Plover was on Moat Scrape and was joined by presumably yesterday's Spoonbill a short time later. A Marsh Harrier hunted across Tennyson's Sands as 39 Brent Geese arrived. A Short-eared Owl was over the south end of the Golf Course as was a Barn Owl. A Green Woodpecker was about as were 2 Red-legged Partridges, 12 Chiffchaffs, a Brambling, a Redwing, a Yellowhammer, a Swallow, and a Sand Martin. Also, 3 Blackcaps were new in.
A ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by Jenni Godber produced 2 new birds: a Chiffchaff and a Chaffinch.
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| Buck and Doe Roe Deer along the Cycle Track, 4th April 2025 Photo - Michael Briggs |
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| Roe Deer on Jackson's Meadow, 4th April 2025 Photo - Michael Briggs |
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| Muntjac Deer, 4th April 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| Buzzard, 4th April 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| Meadow Pipit, 4th April 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
A Spoonbill was a pleasant surprise on Tennyson's Sands early morning, whilst on the water bodies totals were 78 Tufted Duck, 55 Teal, 47 Mallard, 46 Shoveler, 38 Shelduck, 26 Wigeon, 18 Little Grebe, 6 Gadwall, 2 Pintail, 31 Avocet, 4 Redshank, a Black-tailed Godwit and a Water Rail. A Great White Egret was on Croftmarsh as was a male Marsh Harrier. Around the reserve were 2 Green Woodpeckers, 7 Chiffchaffs, a Yellowhammer and a Barn Owl.
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| The first Spoonbill of the year, 3rd April 2025 Photo - Nigel Lound |
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| Male Yellowhammer, 3rd April 2025 Photo - Nigel Lound |
A Woodlark was flushed from West Dunes during the late afternoon and flew south, possibly landing near South Carpark. A Yellowhammer singing was also noteworthy in the West Dunes. The water bodies around the reserve held 60 Tufted Duck, 50 Teal, 37 Shoveler, 36 Shelduck, 16 Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, 2 Pintail and 20 Avocet.
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2nd April 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2nd April 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
Around the water bodies on the reserve were 75 Tufted Duck, 28 Shoveler, 7 Gadwall, 4 Pintail and the female Goldeneye still on Tennyson's Sands. Also there were 32 Avocet and a Black-tailed Godwit. A Great White Egret went south over the Plantation, and then later in the day a Water Pipit was heard over Sykes Farm. Over Croftmarsh was a ringtail Hen Harrier. A Cetti's Warbler was seen from North Hide on Tennyson's Sands, and a Fieldfare was near the reserve entrance early on. Corn Buntings around the Hump were down to just 6 birds, and around the Visitor Centre was a female Stonechat. Also reported during the day around the Visitor Centre was a Black Redstart, thought to be a male so probably a different bird to the long stayer that wasn't seen yesterday or today.
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| Barn Owl, 1st April 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
