A quiet few days on the birding front as we have been stuck in this northerly airflow with accompanying weather ranging from persistent rain to warmish, blazing sunshine; the few highlights have comprised a Bonxie which flew up the river on the 16th (the same individual that was seen on the 12th - with distinctively large white wing flashes, especially on the underside), a few bits over the sea on the 17th including 5 Common Scoter, 4 Barnacle Geese and a flock of 18 Starlings in off and a Short-eared Owl which was flying south offshore, heading for an Essex landfall on the 18th along with a single Starling which nearly got to the shore but was knocked into the sea and devoured by a gang of Herring Gulls! There was little change at Trimley Marshes in the afternoon of the 19th with the Tundra Bean Goose still present with the White-fronts and a slight increase to 35 Avocets.
Friday, 19 March 2021
Monday, 15 March 2021
LANDGUARD - 15th March
A lovely day with light winds and plenty of sunshine (still a chill in the air though); there were a few birds through the morning including 1,250 Cormorants offshore, a Fieldfare, a Fulmar, 5 Goldfinches, 3 Greenfinches, 2 Long-tailed Tits, 4 Meadow Pipits, 2 Redwings, 3 Robin, a Rook, a Siskin and 2 Sparrowhawks – including one which came in off the sea.
Walked down to Trimley Marshes in the afternoon where things hadn’t really changed too much since my last visit with the flock of geese containing 33 White-fronted Geese, the Tundra Bean Goose, 2 Pink-footed Geese and 7 Barnacle Geese still present, a Great White Egret, 2 Little Egrets, 4 Marsh Harriers, 27 Avocets, loads of ducks still, a few waders roosting at high tide, a Cetti’s Warbler and the only hint of spring – a Chiffchaff.
The only slightly interesting thing was a Kestrel flushed off a half-eaten Black-headed Gull; I can’t see a Kestrel catching it but I haven’t seen one eating carrion before…
Sunday, 14 March 2021
LANDGUARD - 14th March
Similar again but the wind had dropped a notch with a corresponding increase in birds seen through the morning with some migrants heading south; birds of note comprised 6 Shelduck, 2 Golden Plover and 2 Knot over the sea, an adult Mediterranean Gull, a further increase to 770 Cormorants, a Kestrel which headed south off the point, a Rook, 2 Jackdaws, a Skylark, a Firecrest heard again, 3 Redwing, 2 Meadow Pipits, 6 Chaffinches and a Siskin.
A late afternoon seawatch for an hour was interesting with a pair of Peregrines seen far out at sea hanging over an incoming container ship, three adult Mediterranean Gulls and 11 Dunlin and a Knot south at sea.
LANDGUARD - 12th and 13th March
A similar couple of days with the very strong westerly wind dominating anything you do, a few birds were seen through the morning on both days but obviously nothing was caught. On the 12th birds included a flock of 24 Barnacle Geese north first thing, 22 Brent Geese, a Stock Dove south, a Golden Plover, a Woodcock in the compound at dawn, a Bonxie lingering off the river mouth before heading north, an adult Mediterranean Gull and 6 Jackdaws south.
The 13th then produced 16 Brent Geese, 7 Shelduck, 2 Golden Plover and a Knot over the sea, single Gannet and Fulmar, an increase to 633 Cormorants heading to their feeding grounds, a Rook, 2 Firecrests calling in the compound first thing and 5 Redwing.
Thursday, 11 March 2021
LANDGUARD - 10th and 11th March
A tough couple of days as we were blasted by force 6-9 WSW with constant rain on the 10th but just a few showers on the 11th; there predictably wasn’t too many birds to mention with 2 Mediterranean Gulls and a Razorbill offshore on the 10th.
A morning seawatch on the 11th then produced 3 Pintail and a Grey Plover south before we erected some nesting Ringed Plover protection fences and then I finally caught up with the single Purple Sandpiper in the recording area, feeding unconcernedly in the teeth of the gale on the pier at the point.
Tuesday, 9 March 2021
LANDGUARD - 9th March
A pretty nice day with light NW winds and plenty of warm sunshine (the wind still had a chilly kick to it though); birds overhead through the morning were highlighted by a Red Kite which flew south the drifted over across the port. Other birds included an influx of corvids with 21 Carrion Crows and 4 Rooks, a Chaffinch, 2 Greenfinches and a Grey Wagtail while in the bushes there were a few new Blackbirds, an increase to 29 Linnets, 4 Redwings and 3 Robins.
A pleasant little walk up the River Orwell in the afternoon from Levington Marina produced the highlight of 3 Scandinavian Rock Pipits on the saltmarsh which were starting to get some nice colour; other birds included loads of waders along the river with 600+ Knot dominating along with 30 Grey Plovers and 300 Dunlin, 2 Cetti’s Warblers, a Stonechat and 3 Green Woodpeckers.
A little seawatch in the late afternoon produced 3 Herons north far out to sea, 10 Shelduck north and a Curlew out.
Monday, 8 March 2021
LANDGUARD - 8th March
Nice and calm again but with complete cloud cover and a haze in the distance reducing visibility; the wind had switched round slightly producing a little trickle of early migrants overhead (the bushes were still pretty quiet though!) which included 3 Yellowhammers, a Reed Bunting, 11 Siskin, 3 Greenfinches, 6 Chaffinches, a Rock Pipit and a Grey Wagtail while offshore 2,922 Cormorants were counted and two Mediterranean Gulls flew along the shore in the evening (an adult and a first-winter).
A Chiffchaff and a new Blackbird were caught in the morning and a Firecrest was calling from the Compound in the evening.
