Wednesday 30th September

The Great White Egret was present in the estuary for a second day, as was the juvenile Osprey. Also present single Black and Little Tern with 20 Sandwich and five Common Tern, 650 Wigeon, 114 Shelduck, 52 Great Black-backed and seven Mediterranean Gull.

Great White Egret - Dean Hall

Wader counts included 112 Dunlin, 64 Ringed Plover, 17 Bar and nine Black-tailed Godwit, 16 Greenshank, 15 Sanderling, three Curlew Sandpiper, two Golden and two Grey Plover, a Ruff and a Whimbrel.

Greenshank - Dean Hall

Dunlin & Sanderling - Dean Hall

The overnight winds had died down before first light with at least 80 Gannet, mostly distant, heading south along with 17 Common Scoter, two Balearic Shearwater and a 1CY Little Gull. Elsewhere a Sparrowhawk was hunting Linnet in The Bight, two Wheatear were on the Golf Course and migrants included six Chiffchaff and two Blackcap.

Other Wildlife: A brisk southwesterly across the flower meadows reduced the number of butterflies to a single Clouded Yellow and few Common Blue, with a couple of Specked Wood in more sheltered areas. 

Also affected by windy conditions, several Dune Scarab Aegialia arenarius blown onto the beach. On the Dune Ridge, a tiny Restharrow stiltbug Gampsocoris punctipes, almost unnoticed is the moving sand, together with a Field Damselbug Nabis feris.

Gampsocoris punctipes - Alan Keatley

 Field Damselbug Nabis feris - Alan Keatley

Dune Scarab Aegialia arenarius - Alan Keatley

Tuesday 29th September

A Great White Egret in the estuary was the pick of the new arrivals, feeding on the mudflats and moving with the dropping tide towards Cockwood, before being flushed by an Osprey. It was again present in Shutterton Creek early evening. Still a scarce visitor, this is the longest onsite stay yet!

Great White Egret - Jim Summers

Great White Egret - Kevin Rylands

Three Pintail and two Shoveler were fresh in with the Wigeon and Teal, with 103 Shelduck and 24 Dark-bellied Brent Geese in The Bight. Waders included single Spotted Redshank and Whimbrel, with counts of 92 Dunlin, 85 Ringed Plover, 39 Knot, 27 Turnstone, 18 Bar and eight Black-tailed Godwit, 17 Greenshank, 17 Sanderling and four Grey Plover.

Ringed Plover - Jim Summers

Dunlin - Jim Summers

Sanderling - Jim Summers

Also in the estuary, 44 Great Black-backed and five Mediterranean Gull, 21 Sandwich and three Common Tern, 19 Little Egret and two Kingfisher. 

Elsewhere 20 Common Scoter were offshore, the b was on the Golf Course and migrants included at least five Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and a Goldcrest in the blown out bushes and a Wheatear in the saltmarsh. 

Other Wildlife: Two Grey Seal were on Bull Hill, and despite the conditions, a small increase in Rush Veneer.

Monday 28th September

Wader counts from the estuary included 353 Redshank, 70 Ringed Plover, 63 Dunlin, 42 Knot, 28 Greenshank, 24 Sanderling, 21 Black-tailed Godwit, two Whimbrel and the Spotted Redshank. Also present 225 Teal, 198 Wigeon, three Mediterranean Gull and a Sandwich Tern.

Elsewhere a Reed Warbler was at the Main Pond, with seven Chiffchaff, three Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Goldcrest on site, a Buzzard flew low east over The Bight and seven Pheasant were clearing Dead Dolphin Wood of inverts. 

Other Wildlife: The sunshine brought out a good selection of nectaring insects including a few Migrant Broadtail Eupeodes corollae and a Lunuled Broadtail E. luniger with other hoverflies including Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax and Batman Hoverfly Myathropa florea. 

Migrant Broadtail Eupeodes corollae - Alan Keatley

Lunuled Broadtail Eupeodes luniger - Alan Keatley

Ivy Bee Colletes hederae are now out en masse, joined by Red Admiral and Painted Lady on Ivy. Still a few Clouded Yellow, although numbers have dropped. A Banded Ragwort Picturewing Sphenella marginata was noted together with an Ectophasia crassipennis in the Back Meadow.

Ivy Bee Colletes hederae - Jim Summers

Banded Ragwort Picturewing Sphenella marginata - Alan Keatley

Nearer the ground the bugs Dicyphus annulatus and Gampsocoris punctipes on Rest-harrow, the groundbugs Trapezonotus arenarius and Peritrechus geniculatus, plus a barkfly Pteroxanium kelloggi.

Trapezonotus arenarius - Alan Keatley

Pteroxanium kelloggi - Alan Keatley

With a large low tide a visit to rockpools below Langstone Rock revealed several large Dotted Sea Hare Aplysia punctata and a Conger Eel amongst the usual mix of anemones, molluscs and crabs. 

Dotted Sea Hare Aplysia punctata - Kevin Rylands

Snakelocks Anemone - Kevin Rylands

Sunday 27th September

Counts from the morning high tide included a September record 98 Shelduck, the autumn arrival for this species recently becoming earlier each year on site. Other wildfowl included 488 Wigeon, 280 Teal, five Dark-bellied Brent Geese and a Great Crested Grebe. 

Waders included 68 Dunlin, 63 Ringed and four Grey Plover, 40 Turnstone, 28 Knot, 24 Sanderling, 21 Greenshank, 15 Bar and two Black-tailed Godwit and two Whimbrel.

Also present, an increase of 17 Mediterranean Gull (eight ad, 3CY, eight 1CY) and an Osprey, with 14 Grey Heron, including nine high N in two flocks. 

Grey Heron, Black-headed Gull & Greenshank - Kevin Rylands

Saturday 26th September

Counts from the estuary included 464 Wigeon, 308 Curlew, 280 Teal, 79 Dunlin, 68 Ringed and 13 Grey Plover, 27 Knot, 25 Sanderling, 17 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 17 Greenshank, 16 Bar and eight Black-tailed Godwit, 16 Sandwich Tern, seven Mediterranean and a 1CY Yellow-legged Gull, two Pintail, two Whimbrel, a Kingfisher and a Spotted Redshank.

Little Egret - Kevin Rylands

Elsewhere nine Grey Heron flew high N, six Common Scoter were offshore, a Grey Wagtail was at the Main Pond and a Wheatear was in The Bight. 

Friday 25th September

The first 16 Dark-bellied Brent Geese of the autumn in The Bight early morning headlined a significant arrival of wintering wildfowl with 402 Wigeon, 340 Teal, 64 Shelduck and four Pintail in the estuary.  

Also present an Osprey fishing on the dropping tide, a Great White Egret briefly on the rising tide before heading SW, three juvenile Curlew Sandpiper, a Spotted Redshank and a Golden Plover. Counts included 351 Redshank, 65 Dunlin, 53 Ringed and two Grey Plover, 15 Bar and three Black-tailed Godwit, 15 Knot, 14 Greenshank, 11 Sanderling, seven Sandwich and a Common Tern, two Mediterranean Gull, two Whimbrel and a Kingfisher. 

Great White Egret - Lee Collins

Elsewhere a Spotted Flycatcher was in the Buffer Zone, with five Chiffchaff, four Blackcap, two Goldcrest and a Firecrest in the bushes and the Red-legged Partridge on the Golf Course.

Kestrel - Lee Collins

Other Wildlife: A Fox was foraging on Finger Point mid morning and at least half a dozen Clouded Yellow were on the wing.

Common Blue - James Marshall

Thursday 24th September

A Spotted Redshank was in the estuary corner over the evening high tide with 50 Ringed Plover, 26 Sandwich Tern, 23 Sanderling, 19 Dunlin, 19 Greenshank and, offsite, an Osprey in the estuary,  

Elsewhere a Kingfisher was at the Main Pond, the Red-legged Partridge was on the Golf Course and a Mediterranean Gull flew south offshore.

Other Wildlife: Favourable weather for insects in calm sunshine including a migrant Locust Blowfly Stomorhina lunata and several species of hoverflies on Michaelmas Daisy with good numbers of Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax, several Stripe-faced Dronefly E. nemorum, Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus, Common Globetail Sphaerophoria scripta, Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus and Humming Syrphus S. ribesii.

Locust Blowfly Stomorhina lunata - Alan Keatley

Common Globetail Sphaerophoria scripta - Alan Keatley

Day flying moths included Fig-leaf Skeletoniser Choreutis nemorana and a Silver Y.  A nationally scarce Dune Spurgebug Dicranocephalus agilis was a good find in The Bight, plus a late Mournful Wasp Pemphredon lugubris in the Entrance Bushes.

Dune Spurgebug Dicranocephalus agilis - Alan Keatley

Mournful Wasp Pemphredon lugubris - Alan Keatley

Fig-leaf Skeletoniser - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere more Ivy Bee Colletes hederae in evidence, a Painted Lady and several Clouded Yellow moving through and three Grey Seal on Bull Hill.

Wednesday 23rd September

A Ruff was a new arrival in the estuary with counts including 260 Curlew, 143 Wigeon, at least 50 Dunlin, 35 Sandwich and two Common Tern, 34 Knot, 18 Sanderling, 16 Greenshank, 11 Bar and two Black-tailed Godwit, three adult Mediterranean Gull, two Whimbrel and two Kingfisher.

Elsewhere three Red Kite flew east early afternoon, the first September record for the Warren, with 60 Swallow, a few Meadow Pipit and a Buzzard also overhead. Offshore 34 Balearic Shearwater flew east early evening and 15 Common Scoter were on the sea.

 Other Wildlife: A Grey Seal was off Langstone Rock.

Tuesday 22nd September

An overcast start saw a small fall of migrants including the first Spotted Flycatcher of the autumn, at least 12 Chiffchaff, six Blackcap and single Goldcrest, Whitethroat and Willow Warbler. Also present 100+ Linnet, 20 Goldfinch and, on the sea wall, two Grey Wagtail.

Spotted Flycatcher - Dean Hall

An Osprey was in Shutterton Creek on the rising tide with a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper in the Bight at high tide. Counts from the estuary included 136 Teal, 74 Ringed Plover, 44 Dunlin, 30 Knot, 28 Sanderling, 26 Sandwich Tern, 18 Greenshank, 12 Wigeon, eight Bar and a Black-tailed Godwit, two Kingfisher and a Whimbrel. A Kingfisher was also watched fishing off the beach perching up on groynes.  

Other Wildlife: In the afternoon sunshine insect activity increased on ivy with several Ivy Bee Colletes hederae, a late worn Hairy-saddled Colletes C. fodiens and hoverfly Humming Syrphus S. ribesii. Across the reserve at least ten Clouded Yellow with a few moving through on Warren Point.

 Hairy-saddled Colletes C. fodiens - Alan Keatley

Ivy Bee Colletes hederae - Alan Keatley

Humming Syrphus S. ribesii - Alan Keatley

Clouded Yellow - Kevin Rylands

Along the beach and Warren Point dune specialists included a Strand-line Burrower Broscus cephalotes, a seaweed rove beetle Cafius xantholoma under driftwood and spider wasps; Leaden Spider Wasp Pompilus cinereus and Bristle-tailed Anophilus A. infuscatus, plus a Sand Bear Spider Arctosa perita.

Sand Bear Spider Arctosa perita - Dean Hall

 Bristle-tailed Anophilus A. infuscatus - Alan Keatley

Strand-line Burrower Broscus cephalotes - Alan Keatley

Cafius xantholoma - Alan Keatley

On Sycamore leaves several Harlequin Ladybird variants including a yellow emerging adult, the wings yet to harden and change colour to reveal the patterning. 

Harlequin Ladybird - Alan Keatley

Common Darter - Dean Hall

Monday 21st September

No sign of the Pectoral Sandpiper, with fewer waders present over high tide than yesterday. Counts from the estuary included 240 Redshank, 83 Teal, 55 Ringed Plover, 51 Sandwich and a Common Tern, 34 Knot, 20 Sanderling, 17 Greenshank, 13 Dunlin, 12 Wigeon, 11 Bar and eight Black-tailed Godwit, two Whimbrel and a Kingfisher.

Sandwich Tern - Jim Summers

Elsewhere seven Common Scoter and a summer-plumaged Red-throated Diver, the first of the autumn, were offshore, a few Meadow Pipit, a Grey Wagtail and a Reed Warbler were on the Golf Course, with the first small movement of 10 Skylark overhead

Other Wildlife: A Grey Seal was feeding off Langstone Rock and just a couple of Clouded Yellow were recorded.