LANDGUARD - 10th October

 Fairly clear first thing albeit a bit hazy with mist and murk just inland but it clouded over a few hours in, bringing some drizzle (dawn would have been better for that!); there was a nice little selection of random migrants across the area highlighted by a smart and sometimes vocal Yellow-browed Warbler which somehow managed to avoid all the nets, a Dartford Warbler glimpsed briefly near the cottage (only the eleventh for Landguard) which, as they do, spent sometime following a Stonechat (itself not very common here!) and a Mistle Thrush – an overdue Landguard tick for me.   

Other birds included 39 Chaffinches, 4 Grey Wagtails, 3 Rook, 2 Jackdaws, 4 Bramblings, a Wheatear, 19 Skylark, 9 Siskin, a House Martin, 8 Swallows, a Reed Bunting, a Goldcrest, a Great-spotted Woodpecker, 25 Robins, 3 Blackcaps and 20 Chiffchaffs.

Stonechat

Wheatear

(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

LANDGUARD - 27th April

 After two days with nothing really to mention apart from the brisk, cold, NE wind, it was a gorgeous morning, very calm and partly cloudy, soon becoming warm and clear (although the cool easterly breeze was still making its presence felt); there were again few grounded migrants but those few that were present represented a significant improvement and comprised 2 Chaffinches, 2 Chiffchaffs, a Blackcap, 2 Lesser Redpolls, 7 Wheatears and 3 Willow Warblers.  

There were a few birds on the move in the fine conditions through the morning including 30 Bar-tailed Godwits and 48 Whimbrel north, mainly in one mixed flock at dawn, 24 Common Scoter north, a dark phase Arctic Skua which came out of the river, stole a fish from a Lesser Black-back and carried on north, a House Martin with 11 Swallows south and the first 2 Little Terns of the year north.

Wheatear

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Herring Gull - This bird spent most of the winter in Norwich before coming back here to its natal area this spring

LANDGUARD - 28th March

 Overcast with a strong, blustery SW wind; there was a touch of variety offshore through the morning which included 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 2 Knot, a Dunlin, a Sanderling, a Fulmar, 3 Gannets, a Great-crested Grebe, 2 Red-breasted Mergansers, 7 Red-throated Divers, 4 Shoveler, 3 Tufted Duck and a probable 3cy Yellow-legged Gull which came in, following the dredger but disappeared at the river mouth.   

The land was understandably quiet in the tricky conditions however I did catch a new Firecrest in the few nets I could open; single Chiffchaff and Goldcrest were also present.

Wheatear from yesterday

SWEDEN - 13th October

 A very similar day to yesterday but calmer, sunnier and warmer which meant that the nets were again fairly quiet with the usual spread of Goldcrests, Robins and Wrens, highlighted by another Norwegian ringed Chiffchaff.   

The fine conditions meant that plenty of birds were heading south again but today they were extremely high up so I didn’t actually see very much just lots of specks up there in the blue; once I got my eye in though most notable were 950+ Woodpigeons zooming south in big flocks very high up along with a Sparrowhawk, a Grey Wagtail, a Hawfinch and lots of Greylag flocks arriving from the north.   

Also of interest were several hundred Cranes which, instead of heading off to feed at first light as normal, hung around until mid-morning until leaving purposefully to the south – a very distinctive change in behaviour prior to the next leg of their migration.   

Cycled south down the coast in the afternoon as far as Gamla Köpstads where migrants included 4 Wheatears, 2 Grey Wagtails, a White Wagtail, 20+ Twite, 2 Brent Geese and 3 Bar-tailed Godwits while numerous flocks of Barnacle Geese, Greylag Geese and Cranes moved south and there were some big kettles of spiralling Buzzards extremely high and in the distance totalling at least 88 birds.

Tree Sparrows

Brent Goose

Wheatear

Twite

Barnacle Geese heading south

SWEDEN - 11th October

 A fine morning for ringing after a couple of rubbish days, the nets were busy and all I had to do was sit there and ring as the birds were brought to me; the catch consisted of the usual migrants in amongst which were a whopping 40 Wrens (!), 18 Chiffchaffs including a decent looking Siberian Chiffchaff (an eastern-bird at least), 15 Robins and 2 (latish) Reed Warblers but only one re-trap Blackcap.   

There wasn’t too much time to look around but birds seen included the adult male Marsh Harrier again, 2 Little Grebes and 3 White-tailed Eagles.   

In the fine afternoon I cycled south along the railway line where the highlights were 3 Black Redstarts along the tracks / construction site – all super-smart adult males in full song, a male Redstart also along the railway and a Wheatear further south on the coast.

Siberian Chiffchaff (just)

Black Redstart

Redstart

Wheatear

SWEDEN - 6th October

 Heavy rain just before dawn promised some new arrivals and the nets were busy first thing with many Robins, Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Goldcrests highlighted by a late Redstart; it soon tailed off though leaving the overhead passage to watch again dominated by thousands of Meadow Pipits moving south on a broad front with regular big flocks passing over the Obs mixed in with Chaffinches, Bramblings, Siskins and Skylarks plus single Mistle Thrush and Grey Wagtail.   

I cycled over to the north shore of the reserve and out to the point there in the afternoon ever accompanied by flocks of Meadow Pipits heading the opposite direction along with a single Lapland Bunting but it was fairly quiet out there in amongst the gardens with a late Willow Warbler, a Wheatear and 2 Northern Long-tailed Tits the highlights although there was a heavy sprinkling of Goldcrests, Chiffchaffs and Robin in pretty much every garden or hedgerow.  

My usual look over the estuary in the evening from the Obs produced a first-winter Little Gull and a smart looking first-winter Baltic Gull  - well, a small, tapered looking, really defined looking young Lesser Black-back anyway; along with a 1cy female Peregrine (the third individual I’ve seen here) and 2 Greenshank of note.

Redstart

Wheatear

SWEDEN - 11th September

 A good morning at Ason with some early morning cloud cover but inevitably becoming sunny and windy by mid-morning; the nets and bushes were however very quiet with 2 Lesser Whitethroats and 4 Blackcaps the highlights of a meagre haul.   

The best of the day was the overhead passage dominated by 700+ Chaffinch / Brambling going over in mixed flocks much higher up than previous days on the bridge; there was a fine mixture of other stuff heading south through the morning which included 2 Yellowhammers, 5 Reed Buntings, 7 Hawfinches, 4 Crossbills, 2 Redpolls, 110+ Siskins, a Greenfinch, 22 Swallows, a Tree Pipit, 2 Meadow Pipits, 2 Grey Wagtails, 2 Fieldfares, a Mistle Thrush, 3 Coal Tits with a few flocks of Blue Tits, 14 Jackdaws (surprisingly scarce here), a loose flock of 12 Jays, 3 Sparrowhawks and a flock of 12 Taiga Bean Geese.   

Other birds not really caught up in the southerly passage included a massive adult male Parrot Crossbill which spent some time calling loudly on treetops near the bridge but I’m not sure whether it went back north or went south, a Kingfisher by the bridge, a Hobby which stationed itself out over the middle of the lake and was seen chasing various passerines over the water, 2 Black Woodpeckers, 58 Wigeon, 31 Goldeneye, a few waders heading west comprising 11 Dunlin, a Ringed Plover, 9 Snipe and a Greenshank, an adult Great Black-backed Gull, 2 Marsh Harriers, at least 4 White-tailed Eagles and an adult male Wheatear on the bridge.   

A little walk in the evening to Vallen and back produced a fine adult male Hen Harrier which flew across the fields, 2 Whooper Swans, a good pre-roost build-up of 76+ White Wagtails and 2 Yellow Wagtails on ploughed fields, 4 Ruff, a Spotted Redshank, an Osprey, a White-tailed Eagle and a Peregrine.   

Parrot Crossbill

Hawfinch

Wheatear

Jays

Goldeneye

Taiga Bean Geese

Hen Harrier

SWEDEN - 30th August

 The nets had a bit of life in them at Ason in the morning as bits included single Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart, Garden Warbler and Treecreeper while other birds in the calm, overcast conditions comprised a group of 11 Taiga Bean Geese which appeared from nowhere on the lake with some Greylags (the first returning birds), a single Grey Wagtail south, a Common Sandpiper, 2 White-tailed Eagles, 2 Black Woodpeckers, 3 House Martins and 2 Tree Pipits.   

A productive walk round the eastern part of the reserve, over by Sörön from lunchtime in the still calm and overcast conditions (feeling a bit autumnal!) produced a notable influx of c40 Pintail and 30+ Wigeon, a few waders flying around with Dunlin and Ringed Plover heard and 5 Spotted Redshanks and 2 Greenshanks seen, a few raptors comprising 2 Ospreys, 2 Sparrowhawks, a Hobby and most notably 2 Red Kites together over by Sörön (rare here and only my second in Sweden), my first Long-tailed Tits on the reserve (heard on the edge of Sörön) and a few migrants scattered around including a Garden Warbler, 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 2 Goldcrests, 4 Spotted Flycatchers, a Whinchat, 5 Wheatears, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 4 Tree Pipits, a Brambling  and a single Hawfinch by the house.   

Treecreeper – not bad for a familiaris but kind of an intergrade I guess, it had a nice, pale, frosty back and bright white underparts but the supercillium could have been better

Spotted Flycatcher

Red Kites

Wheatear

SWEDEN - 8th July

Bar a spell of rain as a front moved to the south of us it was a decent ringing session at Fågelsjön as the highlights included 2 Marsh Warblers, some Bearded Tits, a female Yellow Wagtail, a juvenile Whinchat and 4 re-trap Great Reed Warblers; not much else was seen although the were more than normal waders flying around – all the usual species but encouraging nonetheless.   

The afternoon followed this theme with a long walk round the reserve producing some excellent visible migration with a steady stream of Swifts pouring in from the north and presumably carrying on south although there were hundreds whirling over the lakes (750+ put down for the day) as well as quite a few very high Black-headed Gull flocks also heading south.   

The highlight though was on Löten as I inadvertently timed my arrival with two huge, heavy rain showers which slowly swept across the site and as they were just moving through (although it was still raining) waders started to call with 22+ Greenshank, 40+ Wood Sandpipers, 3 Redshank and some Curlew all suddenly launching into the sky to head away high to the south – a fabulous sight with the air full of ‘tuu’s’ and twitters as the migrant birds which had just been waiting out the rain continued on their way south, brilliant!   

Totals for the afternoon comprised 14 Curlew Sandpipers, 3 Bar-tailed Godwits, a Little Ringed Plover, 14 Curlew, 9 Snipe, 4 Green Sandpipers, 3 Spotted Redshank, a good 44 Greenshank, 65 Wood Sandpipers, 3 White-tailed Eagles in a field at Hammarmaden and a Hobby.

Whinchat

Bearded Tit

Nuthatch from the other day

Female Blue-headed Wagtail

Wheatear

Hobby