Friday/Saturday 11/07/2020

Friday morning I joined OL in the trapping area, where he deployed his pheromone lure, within minutes 4 Lunar Hornet Moths were attracted. Pity we cant do the same for birds.

3 of the 4 Swallows that fledged from the Screen Hide yesterday morning, which is just as well as they would have been barricaded in. 😃  The Black-winged Stilt was still present.

1 of 2 Barn Owls around Boulderwall early this morning

I took another early morning walk across the shingle and causeway to view Burrowes, the main Tern breeding island had at least 8 newly hatched young this morning, let's hope the weather holds for them as they have is very little protection from the elements. No shortage of young Herring Gulls and Lesser Black-backed Gulls around the pit, they are tough little blighters. Also there a 1st summer Little Gull, 6 Common Sandpipers, 4 Ringed Plover and a Dunlin. The area in front of Firth hide is starting to look promising for the autumn.

The Black-winged Stilt still present distantly this morning

Hummingbird Hawk-moth at Galloways

A wander up and Galloways produced the usual Stonechats and Common Whitethroats plus 2 Ravens and a surprise juvenile Corn Bunting but otherwise little of note.

Juvenile Corn Bunting

As I walked around the hay fields this Stoat came bounding towards me until it was too close for me focus on it.

Thursday 09/07/2020

06.50-09.00 from the fishing boats where I joined CP,
Common Scoter: 1E  14W
Gannet: 14E      68W
Cormorant: 3 o/s
Mediterranean Gull: 1W
Sandwich Tern: 7W
Common Tern: 44W
Guillemot: 3W
Swift: 163 out
Swallow: 4 out
Linnet: 4 out
Grey Seal: 1 o/s
Harbour Porpoise: 1 o/s

The only thing of note on my visit to The patch was this Meadow Pipit with what I think is a Hummingbird Hawkmoth caterpillar, I'm sure someone will put me right if I'm wrong.

My daily pic of the Black-winged Stilt taken this morning

2 young Swallows from the nest in the screen hide managed to fly a few feet to the other side of the hide, the image is a little grainy because the birds were sitting in virtual darkness and I had to use 6400 iso to get an image.

The 2 very exposed Islands on Burrowes on which the Common Terns are attempting to nest

A very gloomy walk across the shingle on the public footpath that runs from Boulderwall to the power station across the causeway between Burrowes and the New Diggings. The gloom was made much worse by the fact that 2 weeks ago there were 20+ Common Tern chicks on these islands, today all those chicks were gone, if they had fledged they would still have been around the lake, so I can only surmise that they succumbed to the severe winds we have been experiencing or been predated or both probably. The nesting islands have zero cover or protection for the young Common Terns unlike the TERN rafts, so I fear for the 2 very young birds I saw there this afternoon and those that will hatch from the the few sitting birds that are left. I know Herring Gulls are amber listed, but maybe the RSPB should take a more pragmatic view as I'm sure they do in other cases and move the Herring Gulls off the TERN rafts as soon as they start to build nests, the Herring Gulls will nest elsewhere on the islands. If I were a corporate donor, then saw what had happened to the £1,000s of I'd donated to provide the Terns with a safe nesting platform, I think I'd be more than a little irked.  There are also 2 rafts on the ARC 1 at the moment has nesting Common Terns with chicks, it is impossible to count the numbers from the ground, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were 30+ pairs, unfortunately there is also a pair of Herring Gulls with 3 chicks so I fear for the Common Terns, the other raft has never been deployed due to technical issues I believe. While I was scanning Burrowes for signs of fledged Common Terns  I found 1 Common Sandpiper and 3 Bar-tailed Godwits.

Expensive rafts for 2 pairs of Herring Gulls

Common Tern fishing on Dengemarsh

Now that rafts are no longer deployed on Dengemarsh Common Terns have been lost as breeding species there. As well as Common Gulls.

Success catching a very small Pike

Cattle Egret on Hayfield 3

The hay fields have all been mown, there was 1 adult Lapwing there, but it looks like a blank year for rearing Lapwings and Redshanks. Several pairs of each nested and some hatched young but I and other watchers never saw any young more than a few days old, just too many predators and abysmal weather. 

The cows admiring the Cattle Egrets plumage

Yellow Wagtail bathing by Hay field 3

This pristine female Sussex Emerald flew against the wind the c3 Kilometres to end up in my MV. When i put it in a pot it started laying eggs so I took it back to the shingle and released in some Wild Carrot.

Another pristine moth this True Lover's Knot. Less than annual in my trap.

This very smart micro moth Lozotaeniodes formosana is a fairly regular visitor to my trap.

Wednesday 08/07/2020

Treecreeper in the lighthouse garden yesterday

This Treecreeper is probably the rarest bird I've seen on the peninsular so far this year, I think it is only the 3rd one I have seen in the last 10 years against at least 7 Short-toed Treecreepers. I was very lucky to get this image of this very elusive bird as it only sat for a millisecond in the open, usually it was only being seen as it flew between the Sycamore and the Pine. Mondays Melodious Warbler was even more elusive, I only saw that once, again for just a millisecond.  

Black-winged Stilt on the ARC last night 

The Black-winged Stilt is now into it's 3rd week at the ARC and can be surprisingly elusive when it roosts in the Purple Loosestrife. A Greenshank was new in last night and 2 Great White Egrets were present. The sea continues to be quiet but hopefully will get better in the next few days. 

At last UPS have mailed me to say they are delivering my Canon 1DX MK11 sometime today. After being without for the last 3 weeks having sent it off for some much needed TLC. The backup 7D MK11 just doesn't even come close to the performance of the 1DX MK11.

1 of 2 Great White Egrets present yesterday evening

My daily snap of the Black-winged Stilt taken mid afternoon

15.50-17.00 from the fishing boats:

Common Scoter: 37E

Gannet: 4E  23W

Cormorant: 3 o/s

Great Skua: 1W

Kittiwake: 1W

Mediterranean Gull: 9W

Common Tern: 26 o/s

Grey Seal: 1

Harbour Porpoise: 2

With the winds settled in the West the MV has produced little of note. 

Tuesday 06/07/2020

06.15-07.45 the bund. numbers supplied by AJG

Great-crested Grebe: 5 o/s

Gannet: 34W

Cormorant: present n/c

Mediterranean Gull: 2W

Common Tern: 7 down

Sand Martin: 8S

Swift: 1S

Juvenile Yellow-legged Gull at The Patch

I joined Sam P at The Patch this morning, he had already seen 3 Yellow-legged Gulls before I arrived, the bird pictured, another juvenile and 3 cal year bird that was still loafing on the beach while I was there. At Least 7 Mediterranean Gulls were present, also a yellow colour ringed Black-headed Gull that refused to show us the ring.

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull at The Patch

Adult Mediterranean Gulls at The Patch

F1VT Herring Gull

17.15-18.15 from the fishing boats:
Common Scoter: 12E
Great-crested Grebe: 1E
Fulmar: 1W
Gannet: 18W     6E
Cormorant: 3 o/s
Kittiwake: 3W
Mediterranean Gull: 6W
Sandwich tern: 2W
Common Tern: 14W
Guillemot: 1W
Common Swift: 76 in
Harbour Porpoise: 2 o/s
Grey Seal: 1
This evening at the ARC the long staying Black-winged Stilt was still present, also 7 Little Egrets 3 of which were juveniles, 28 Black-tailed Godwits which is a high number for this site, 2 Dunlin, a Peregrine, a Hobby, a Cuckoo, 2 Yellow Wagtails and the usual Marsh Harriers.

Black-winged Stilt with juvenile Little Egret

Black-winged Stilt

28 Black-tailed Godwits, 1 has yellow rings and flags but to distant to sort out

Dusky Sallow although common in my trap it is a looker. 

Sunday 05/07/2020

07.30-08.00 from the fishing boats courtesy of AJG, RW & CP
Common Scoter: 5E
Fulmar: 5W
Manx Shearwater: 7W
Gannet: 31W
Cormorant: present n/c
Mediterranean Gull: 2 around
Common Tern: 8W
Guillemot: 1W
Swift: 3S
The paucity of Terns and Cormorants off shore presumably means that there is still not much in the way of small fish in the bay.

1 of 2 juvenile Wheatears by the fishing boats today

11.50-12.50 from the fishing boats:
Common Scoter: 12E
Manx Shearwater: 2W
Gannet: 11W  3E
Cormorant: 3 o/s
Kittiwake: 2W
Common Tern: 5W
Grey Seal: 1
Harbour Porpoise: 2
In my 2 visits to the ARC today I did not see the Black-winged Stilt, but I was assured that it was still present, I'm guessing it was roosting among the Purple Loosestrife. 2 Dunlin were present and 4 juvenile Black-headed Gulls, also again high numbers of Swifts with a few Sand and House Martins. Once again the wind made it impossible to try and count the Common Tern nests and chicks.

One of the many Swifts foraging over the lakes

This afternoon a long walk around Lydd, through the cricket pitch out to Brett's batching plant and back past the lakes was pleasant enough with Sally for company, bird wise we saw little with once again the wind howling all around us.

This Scarce Bordered Straw was the highlight in a meagre catch in the moth trap this morning.

Saturday 04/07/2020

Black-winged Stilt this morning on the ARC

When I finished going through a very poor catch in the moth trap this morning, I went to the ARC where the Black-winged Stilt was still strutting around albeit quite distantly. Over the lake 100s of Swifts, Swallows, Sand and House Martins were hawking, along with the nesting Common Terns. I have no idea how well they are doing as it very difficult to see onto the raft, nigh on impossible during this windy spell.

Black-winged Stilt with Little Egret and a single Mediterranean Gull taken on Thursday

A long walk from home this afternoon around Galloways and the hay fields saw little in the wind, but several Yellow Wagtails were nice.

Manx Shearwater the highlight of this evenings sea watch

This evenings sea watch from the fishing boats 17.15-18-15:

Manx Shearwater: 1W

Gannet: 14W

Cormorant: 2 on sea

Common Tern: 18W

Common Swift: 14 out

A somewhat slow and cold watch, the obvious highlight being the single Manx Shearwater.

 Plumed Fan-foot a scarcity in my trap 01/07/2020

Shore Wainscot another scarcity in my trap 01/07/2020

Wednesday 01/07/2020

Gull-billed Tern

It would seem that the Gull-billed Tern has now departed, I've certainly not seen it for the last 2 days nor have any of the other locals. The Black-winged Stilt is hanging on.

Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

Gull-billed Tern

A short sea watch today was predictably disappointing, with just a handful of Gannets and Common Terns and a single Mediterranean Gull among the loafing Gulls at The Patch. It would seem that there is very low quantities of fish off Dungeness, all the Gannets flew through without trying to feed, no Sandwich Terns and no Harbour Porpoises which would normally be guaranteed this time of year. I have no idea whether the problem is sea temperature, over fishing or some other natural cause I just hope it is a one off year but I fear not.

The Black-winged Stilt was still present today

I took a long walk this afternoon around Galloways across the hay fields and reserve and back via the fields in front of my house. Highlights being several newly fledged Yellow Wagtails, 2 Cuckoo's Peregrine, Hobby, 100s each of Swifts and Sand Martins feeding over the fields and 3 Great White Egrets, the ditches were relatively quiet but I suspect the birds are busy feeding young or incubating.

Bordered Straw

The moth trap was a little better this morning , producing my first Bordered Straw of the year, 3rd Laingmaid's Yellow Underwing. first Dark Swordgrass of the year, 32 Silver Y, and 100+ Xylostella.

Laingmaid's Yellow underwing