Lesser Whitethroat (halimodendri) and a Shorelark!

 Early this morning after doing some domestic stuff I checked my phone and found several missed calls and texts, all regarding a Lesser Whitethroat that had been trapped in the Heligoland at the observatory. I unhurriedly made my way to the observatory thinking I'd missed the bird and arrived just as the bird was about too be released, so many thanks are due to David and Jacques for allowing me to take some quick images before they released the bird back into The Moat where it quickly disappeared into the thick cover of Blackthorn. I believe the bird shed a couple of feathers whilst being extracted from the catching box, so hopefully DNA sample will prove its ID conclusively.

 Lesser Whitethroat (halimodendri)?

  Lesser Whitethroat (halimodendri)?

  Lesser Whitethroat (halimodendri)?

 Lesser Whitethroat (halimodendri)?

I joined Jacques and Richard on a wander around the trapping area mid morning, where a few Firecrests, Goldcrests and Long-tailed Tits were mainly heard by the others, as I struggle to hear them these days, very little else of note was seen or heard.

Shorelark at the puddles today

Late morning I received another call from Jacques telling me had relocated yesterdays Shorelark back at the fishing Boat puddles. I was quickly on site along with most of the other locals. I stayed at the puddles for the rest of the afternoon using my car as a hide, I was eventually rewarded with superb views of the Shorelark

 Late afternoon as the last of the visitors was leaving Jacques deployed a couple of baited traps, within minutes the Shorelark trapped itself. It was quickly processed and released at the same spot. When I left at dusk it was still happily scratching around the puddles picking up seemingly microscopic seeds.

While I was at the puddles the yellow ringed Caspian Gull put in an appearance, a few Brent Geese flew east and a few Mediterranean Gulls and Kittiwakes were offshore. I heard of no news from the reserve today or anywhere else on the peninsular.