04/11/2024

A superb male Brambling trapped today

Good numbers of finches were moving over the peninsular this morning, with some dropping into the trapping area and finding the mist nets, along with plenty of Crests and Thrushes.

A male Firecrest

A male Redpoll

 
As I started off on my bike ride I heard a once familiar rattle, a Mistle Thrush was being pursued by a Crow across the field in front of my garden, the first I have recorded from the garden for 4 years. As I headed for Scotney the local Little Owl was sheltering from the East wind, further along the track an adult female Sparrowhawk was flushing 100s each of Lapwings and Golden Plover. The 3 Barnacle Geese were still on the Scotney Sward but very little else.

Little Owl

Adult female Sparrowhawk

Female Brambling

On the reserve a female Brambling was frequenting the feeders at the visitor centre car park. Fro Dennis's A Black-necked Grebe and a Slavonian Grebe still present.

As dusk fell from Hanson hide 18 Cattle Egrets dropped in before going to roost

Yesterday a young Song Thrush came in off the sea at the fishing boats exhausted, immediately diving under a boat to rest and recover, eventually it came out and made its way in land. 

A Northern Wheatear on the reserve yesterday, quite possibly the last I'll see this year.

02/11/2024

The majority of this mornings Brent Geese were high and distant

A very dismal day but at least it remained dry. I was only out for the morning due to domestic engagements this afternoon.

The only other news was of a Water Pipit around the hay fields, 2 Black-necked Grebes, a Slavonian Grebe and a Red-throated Diver on Burrowes Pit all per TW.

07.45-11.00 from the Hide with OL & RW

Brent Goose: 3,798W      11E
Shoveler: 4W
Wigeon: 116W
Pintail: 16W
Teal: 26W
Common Scoter: 189W     2E
Red-breasted Merganser: 1W
Great-crested Grebe: 2 present
Grey Heron: 2W
Curlew: 2W
Sandwich Tern: 3W
Little Gull: 14W
Kittiwake: 14W
Black-headed Gull: present n/c
Mediterranean Gull: 5W     14E          
Common Gull: present n/c
Herring Gull: present n/c
Great Black-backed Gull: present n/c
Lesser Black-backed Gull: present n/c 
Arctic Skua: 1W  1E  
Guillemot: 1W  
Auk: 139W    18E
Red-throated Diver: 2W      2 present 
Sooty Shearwater: 1E
Gannet: 201W.   422E
Cormorant: present n/c
Harbour Porpoise: 4

A shockingly poor image of the Sooty Shearwater

01/11/2024

I knew it was going to be a good day today when as I drove down the estate road early this morning Dave Bunney flagged me down pointing to a Yellow-browed Warbler in the top of his conifer tree, unfortunately it quickly flew north into the next garden and then carried on going North. I joined Owen in walk around the Desert, there was obviously more Thrushes around than there been lately, though not large numbers, a few Redpolls and Siskins flew over but again not large numbers. We continued on into the trapping area hearing a few Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs and finches going over and flushing a few Redwing, Song Thrush and Blackbirds but nor really seeing much. Soon a message from Tom he'd caught not 1 but 2 Yellow-browed Warblers in the same net and a Siberian Chiffchaff there as well. We duly watched him ring the birds and took some quick snaps just before they were released. Not long after another message he'd caught another Siberian chiffchaff, filled shortly after by another about a Bullfinch he'd caught a very scarce bird on the peninsular these days and one just about annual. Several Firecrests and Goldcrests were caught along with good numbers of Redpolls.

Early afternoon I made a visit to the reserve where there were 2 1w Caspian Gulls and 3 Yellow-legged Gulls on Burrowes. On Boulderwall fields 13 Cattle Egrets.

Female Bullfinch the rarest bird of the day on the peninsular

Yellow Browed Warblers

Siberian Chiffchaff

A colder looking Siberian Chiffchaff

 

One of a number of Redpolls caught today

Godcrest

At least 3 Firecrests also caught today

Still at 2 Dartford Warblers around