LANDGUARD - 30th August

 Low cloud and bits of drizzle in the morning with a light northerly breeze produced at least a bit of expectation that there would be some grounded migrants through the day and this did indeed prove to be the case as the light smattering of birds seen included 4 Wheatears, 3 Tree Pipits, a Whinchat, 3 Pied Flycatchers, a Redstart, a Yellow Wagtail, a Willow Warbler, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, a Whitethroat and a Meadow Pipit – amazingly the first one in the Obs area since late April!

Tree Pipit

Sparrowhawk

Juvenile Sanderling from Walberswick yesterday

(not) LANDGUARD - 25th August

 Indulged in the special-kind-of-torture that is trudging up and down Blakeney Point; it was decent conditions with light winds and a bit of drizzle at dawn, it was hardly jumping with migrants but what was there did include a smart first-winter Red-backed Shrike at the point, 4 Whinchats, 2 Spotted Flycatchers and 2 Willow Warblers.   

Other birds during a pleasant morning comprised 4 Spoonbills in the bay where there was also 4 Greenshanks, 4 Whimbrel and plenty of super-smart summer plumaged Grey Plover before the tide came in, an Arctic Skua chasing terns offshore, a single juvenile Arctic Tern and 9 Stonechats.

Turnstone

Dunlin

Spotted Flycatcher

LANDGUARD - 24th August

 A nice, calmish start with some cloud cover but the NNE wind picked up significantly by mid-morning blowing the clouds away; again, there was a little scattering of migrants across the area which today included 3 Pied Flycatchers, my first Redstart of the autumn, 5 Willow Warblers, 2 Lesser Whitethroats and a Yellow Wagtail.   

Also of note was a juvenile Arctic Skua sat on the sea just offshore for a while, a Fulmar and 86 Teal south at sea.   

I then had a rush of blood and drove up to north Norfolk for a walk along Blakeney Point tomorrow morning, I had a short walk in the evening (didn’t even make it to Halfway House) but the only birds of note were 4 Greenshank, a couple of distant Spoonbills and a single Whinchat.

Whinchat

LANDGUARD - 23rd August

 A nice day with a light northerly breeze and light cloud cover; it was perhaps, the first day of proper autumn – in terms of autumn passerines anyway as a little scatter of migrants across the area comprised my first Whinchat, Pied Flycatcher and Tree Pipit of the autumn, 2 Wheatears, 11 Willow Warblers, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 5 Lesser Whitethroats, 4 Whitethroats and a lovely juvenile Cuckoo which found a mist-net early doors.   

Conversely, the offshore passage was quieter today but birds of note did consist of 108 Teal, 8 Gadwall and 2 Oystercatchers whilst terns, after last night were conspicuous by their absence!

Cuckoo - only the second I've ever ringed!

Pied Flycatcher

Lesser Whitethroat

(just) LANDGUARD - 22nd August

 A quiet morning spent at Bawdsey Quay and East Lane didn’t produce too much of note with no obvious migrants other than a couple of Willow Warblers; a little look at Melton, late morning produced the usual waders including my first Spotted Redshank for this site along with a pristine summer plumaged Grey Plover, 56 Lapwings, 340+ Black-tailed Godwits, 16 Ringed Plovers, 20 Curlew, 2 Turnstone, a Common Sandpiper, 19 Greenshank and 130+ Redshank while a Kingfisher and a Tufted Duck which flew upstream were also new for me here.   

The day’s highlight though was in the evening with an unprecedented southerly tern movement which comprised a massive 1,476 Common Terns (there were probably some Arctics in there as well but..), easily the highest ever total here; in amongst these were 6 Black Terns (two adults and four juveniles), 2 Little Terns and 92+ Sandwich Terns.

LANDGUARD - 21st August

 Super-flat calm and overcast through the day with the feather-light breeze swinging round into the SE by late-morning – too late for today but it does provide a touch of anticipation for next week!   There was a varied bit of offshore, southerly passage in the morning which comprised 4 Shoveler, 103 Teal, 16 Oystercatchers, 6 Grey Plover, 6 Whimbrel, 2 Curlew, 29 Ringed Plover, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Dunlin, 3 Herons, 4 Shelduck, a Common Scoter and a Fulmar.   

Also of note were 3 Yellow Wagtails, a Grey Wagtail, 14 Swallows and 4 Willow Warblers.   

The day’s highlight came in the evening when there was a juvenile Black Tern feeding off the jetty with a juvenile Little Tern and a handful of Common and Sandwich Terns.

Pebble Hook-tip and Riband Wave

LANDGUARD - 19th August

 Largely overcast through the morning but it [surprisingly] stayed dry and the WNW breeze stayed light; southerly passage comprised 9 Teal, 24 Oystercatchers, a Knot, a Hobby out at sea, 7 Common Sandpipers (three on the jetty and four south), 5 Curlew, a Turnstone, 2 Ringed Plover, a Dunlin, a Grey Plover, 4 Sand martins and 13 Swallows.   

Also of note were 140 Common Terns and 40 Sandwich Terns leaving the river at first light, the first Spotted Flycatcher of the autumn caught at dawn, 4 Willow Warblers, 3 Yellow Wagtails and 2 Wheatears.

A very worn Radford's Flame Shoulder - the first for Landguard and second for Suffolk

(not) LANDGUARD - 18th August

 Another good walk round Minsmere from first thing produced the highlights of a Glossy Ibis showing well from North Hide (been there a couple of days) and a slightly frustrating BEE-EATER which I heard calling when I was just about to enter the woods by West Hide but despite running back out into the open I couldn’t for the life of me get a glimpse of it – apparently it flew high west over the site offices.   

There was a very different feel to the place from last time (about two weeks ago) as the vast majority of the terns had left – only c60 Commons and a handful of Sandwich remaining (all the Little Terns have gone) and there were obvious increases in Teal and Snipe; totals comprised 75+ Gadwall, the first two returning Wigeon, 175+ Teal, 125+ Avocets, 3 Little Ringed Plovers, single Whimbrel, Golden Plover and Bar-tailed Godwits, 120 Black-tailed Godwits, 9 Ruff, 65 Dunlin, 30 Snipe, 7 Common Sandpipers, 7 Green Sandpipers, 14 Spotted Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 7 Little Gulls, 3 Spoonbills which flew south over the scrapes, a Kingfisher and 3 Lesser Whitethroats amongst other warbler scattered around, some of which may have been migrants.

Bittern

Linnet

Reed Warbler

LANDGUARD - 17th August

Grey, overcast and chilly throughout with a brisk westerly breeze bringing little spells of drizzle; a quiet day on the bird front with the few bits heading south consisting of 12 Curlew, 31 Dunlin, a Golden Plover, 2 Grey Plover, 2 Knot, 45 Oystercatchers, 3 Redshank, 11 Ringed Plover and 2 Turnstone.   

The few other birds included 8 Willow Warblers, a Yellow Wagtail and a re-trap Nightingale from the 13th.   

A walk along the Deben at Melton in the afternoon at low tide produced the highlight of an adult Caspian Gull along with a nice array of waders including single Grey Plover and Green Sandpiper (both my first here), 42 Ringed Plover, a Turnstone, 12 Dunlin, 2 Common Sandpipers, 190 Redshank, 6 Greenshank and 310+ Black-tailed Godwits while three Teal were also my first here.   

There was then another bit of a tern movement offshore in the evening which tonight comprised 316 Common Terns and 212 Sandwich Terns along with 2 Grey Plover, 14 Turnstone, 10 Dunlin and another Purple Sandpiper.

Caspian Gull

LANDGUARD - 16th August

 Plenty of cloud and plenty of the brisk NW wind produced a chilly, autumnal day, degenerating into a spell of rain in the afternoon; southerly passage again provided most of the interest through the morning as birds on the move comprised 21 Black-headed Gulls, 65 Common Terns, 4 Dunlin, 3 Greenshank, a Grey Plover, 2 Knot, 33 Oystercatchers, 32 Redshank, 10 Ringed Plover, 2 Whimbrel, 8 Sand Martins and 32 Swallows.   

A Willow Warbler, 4 Wheatears and a Yellow Wagtail were the only other birds of note.   

A good seawatch in the evening for the last hour and a bit before dusk produced an excellent push of terns, comprising 445 Common Terns (the second highest ever total here) and 220 Sandwich Terns (the highest ever count here!) along with a further Grey Plover, 6 Ringed Plover, 1 Curlew, 2 Turnstone, 8 Dunlin and 6 Mediterranean Gulls.

(not) LANDGUARD - 15th August

 A few hours spent at Bawdsey Quay first thing produced the only birds of note through the day which was highlighted by a lovely Wood Warbler at the entrance to the picnic site with a decent tit and warbler flock which also contained 9+ Willow Warblers, 12 Long-tailed Tits, a Treecreeper and a few Blackcaps and Whitethroats.    

Also of note here were at least 8 Yellow Wagtails, the Little Owl, again perched at its window and 7 Teal and a Whimbrel offshore.

Wood Warbler

Swallows at East Lane

LANDGUARD - 14th August

 A lovely, sunny, warm day with light westerly winds; the day’s highlight came mid-afternoon when the BLACK STORK which had been tracked heading south over various sites in Suffolk north of us, somehow snuck past Felixstowe and past the far side of the port without us seeing it before I picked it up circling on the far side of the river over Harwich/Shotley from where it gained height and seemed to drift away, along the Stour and into Essex – rubbish views for us and [more than slightly] out of the Obs recording area but an impressive bird even at that range!   

Totals heading south through the morning – actually in the recording area comprised 3 Dunlin, 4 Grey Plover, 8 Oystercatchers, a Ringed Plover, a Marsh Harrier, 240 Swallows and 27 Sand Martins.   

Grounded migrants were thin on the ground in the fine weather but did include another Nightingale, the first Garden Warbler of the autumn, 3 Willow Warblers and 3 Wheatears.

LANDGUARD - 13th August

 Largely cloudy with a moderate SW breeze, kind of an average weather day; there was again, like most days now a trickle of birds heading south at sea, this time highlighted by an early returning Purple Sandpiper (the third earliest autumn record after birds on 30th July 1989 and 11th August 2003).   

Other totals comprised 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 9 Grey Plover, 4 Knot, 5 Little Egrets, 12 Oystercatchers, 3 Redshank, 32 Ringed Plovers, 6 Turnstone, a Whimbrel and a Teal.   

Elsewhere there was a Black Redstart (seemingly the only one hanging around, after the successful breeding attempts), a Peregrine out at sea which had second thoughts about its pelagic travels, landed on an inbound container ship and hitched a ride back into port, 2 Wheatears and 6 Willow Warblers while 5 Sand Martins, 8 Swallows and 60 Swifts headed south.

Female Emperor from the Heligoland trap

LANDGUARD - 12th August

 Pretty clear skies at first light but heavy cloud soon rolled in and while it stayed dry with light winds, it was overcast throughout the morning; the highlights comprised a Great White Egret which flew south far out at sea and a Nightingale (probably the one that was seen yesterday) found a mist-net mid-morning.   

A few birds heading south at sea today comprised 15 Black-headed Gulls, 3 Common Gulls, a Curlew, 5 Grey Plover, 29 Oystercatchers, 22 Ringed Plovers, a Sanderling, 2 Turnstone, 3 Whimbrel, 2 Shoveler and 13 Teal.   

Elsewhere 6 Barnacle Geese flew north, 8 Sand Martins and 6 Swallows flew south and 5 Willow Warblers were the only other grounded migrants.

Nightingale

I caught this Southern Migrant Hawker in the Heligoland trap this morning, there has been a big arrival/influx/emergence into the UK this year and this is the third record for the Obs after two in July. 

(not) LANDGUARD - 11th August

 A little jaunt north into Lincolnshire for a walk round Frampton Marsh RSPB in the morning produced a great mix of stuff highlighted by the long-staying, moulting adult 2 PACIFIC GOLDEN PLOVERS on the saltmarsh, they initially weren’t visible but I picked them up on call flying in from somewhere inland to land in full view, just in front of the seawall.   

Other notable bits comprised a smart, breeding plumaged Cattle Egret (complete with extensive orange colouration) on one of the islands, kind of associating with 15 Spoonbills, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, a Whimbrel, 60+ Ruff, 3 Little Stints, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 5 Common Sandpipers, 6 Green Sandpipers, 9 Spotted Redshank, 15 Greenshank and 3 Wood Sandpipers in amongst huge numbers of Black-tailed Godwits, Knot, Dunlin and Grey Plover as we were there over high tide, at least 3 Short-eared Owls on the saltmarsh fighting with Marsh Harriers and Kestrels and plenty of Yellow Wagtails feeding around the cattle.

Nothing really jumped in front of the camera at Frampton so here's a Lackey and the evidence that the Leaf-cutting Bees at Landguard had a busy summer (you can see where one was disturbed just before it could complete its cutting on the top left of the bottom leaf!)

LANDGUARD - 10th August

 A lovely, warm, sunny day with a light westerly breeze which was mainly notable for the first half-decent arrival of 21+ Willow Warblers of the autumn and whilst not a huge number it was great to see little groups of migrants flitting around the bushes!   

Other birds of note were thin on the ground but did include 10 Barnacle Geese north, 16 Common Terns, 24 Sand Martins south, 12 Oystercatchers, 2 Sparrowhawks, a Turnstone and 4 Whimbrel.

LANDGUARD - 9th August

 The weather was all over the place right through the day with numerous showers sweeping through, the wind picking up and then dropping down again and the sun appearing and disappearing every so often; once again the main interest was offshore where totals heading south included 21 Oystercatchers, 9 Grey Plover, 16 Turnstone, 8 Dunlin, a Pochard, 4 Sanderling, 9 Ringed Plover, a Bar-tailed Godwit, 12 Redshank, 3 Curlew, 8 Golden Plover and 4 Common Scoter whilst 111 Swifts also went south.

LANDGUARD - 6th August

 After some overnight rain it was a breezy morning bringing waves of clouds scudding across the sky, changing the light conditions over the sea every five minutes but despite this sometimes-challenging seawatching, that’s where most of the day’s interest lay.   Totals heading south today comprised 18 Bar-tailed Godwits, 66 Common Terns, 21 Curlew, 3 Dunlin, a Gadwall, 9 Golden Plover, a Greenshank, 24 Grey Plover, 4 Knot, 7 Oystercatchers, a Redshank, 4 Ringed Plover, a good 60 Teal, 10 Tufted Ducks and 7 Whimbrel.   

The odds and ends over the land included a Hobby south in the afternoon, a House Martin, 109 Swifts, a Willow Warbler and yesterday’s Wheatear still.

LANDGUARD - 5th August

 Wonderfully flat calm first thing with plenty of sunshine and a slowly increasing onshore breeze eventually bringing cloud and a few spots of rain by early evening; there was a good selection of birds heading south over the sea through the morning which comprised a Spotted Redshank – a Landguard tick and the first one here since 2015 which flew past with four Redshanks, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 5 Curlew, a Dunlin, 2 Grey Plover, 18 Oystercatchers, 4 Turnstone, 17 Whimbrel, 27 Common Scoter, 35 Teal and a 3 Pochard.   

On the land, birds included the first Wheatear of the autumn, a Green Woodpecker which eventually found the Heligoland trap, 2 Sand Martins, 6 Swallows and 4 Barnacle Geese which flew north.

Green Woodpecker

(not) LANDGUARD - 4th August

 Lovely, calm and sunny for a walk round Minsmere from first light; the highlights were inevitably the smart wader duo that have been present for the last couple of days with great views of a PECTORAL SANDPIPER and a WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER, both on East Scrape, sometimes together in the same scope view.   

Other birds round the reserve included a fine array of waders comprising 220+ Avocets, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Whimbrels, 125+ Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Turnstone, 6 Ruff, 25+ Dunlin, 3 Snipe, 6 Common Sandpipers, 7 Green Sandpipers and 19+ Spotted Redshanks as well as a single Little Gull, 30+ Little Terns (including a few smart juveniles – apparently not from anywhere local), one Bittern in flight, a Hobby, 4 Woodlarks on Whin Hill, a single Dartford Warbler along the front and my first returning Wheatear of the autumn on the beach.   

A little look at Melton on the way back then produced some good wader counts including 432 Black-tailed Godwits and 13 Greenshank – both the highest numbers I’ve seen here so far.

A couple of White Admirals

Wheatear

Cool looking Zonaria volucella - a pretty big, Hornet-mimicing Hoverfly