Thursday 13th August

Counts from the estuary included 259 Ringed Plover, 133 Dunlin. 60 Sandwich and 23 Common Tern, with another 47 'commic' tern distantly offshore, and six Teal with a Wheatear and a Yellow Wagtail around The Bight.

Yellow Wagtail - Lee Collins

Quiet in the bushes, with just a few Chiffchaff, Blue and Great Tit trying to find food in the trees and a juvenile Great Spotted Woodpecker tapping on a branch. Elsewhere two Great Crested Grebe were offshore and the Teal remains on the Main Pond with Mallard, and a Kingfisher passed through.

Teal - Alan Keatley

Other Wildlife: The hot weather seems to have suppressed insect activity with fewer butterflies; just a single Clouded Yellow and Painted Lady, with a few Small White passing through. At the Main Pond a couple of Migrant Hawker, Emperor and a pair of Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Hoverflies included the migrant Large Stripe-back Helophilus trivittatus on Water Mint. 

New for the Recording Area were a pair of Nysius senecionis groundbug, associated with Common Fleabane and Ragwort, first UK record was in 1992; it is now common and widespread in southern Britain so therefore not unexpected new addition.

Nysius senecionis - Alan Keatley

Wednesday 12th August

A half hour seawatch from 6.15am saw a a large movement of at least 154 Balearic Shearwater east with many others not counted much further out. Also offshore six 'commic' tern and an Arctic Skua flew south.

In the estuary a juvenile Marsh Harrier headed south high over The Bight, with wader numbers similar to recent dates with a juvenile Black-tailed Godwit and Common Sandpiper in The Bight. 

Marsh Harrier - Lee Collins

Tuesday 11th August

A juvenile Little Ringed Plover was a new arrival over the evening high tide along with counts including 238 Ringed Plover, 145 Sandwich and 16 Common Tern, 102 Dunlin, 18 Sanderling, 12 Greenshank, nine Mediterranean Gull, seven Knot, five Turnstone, three Bar-tailed Godwit, two Grey Plover and a Common Sandpiper.

Dunlin - Lee Collins

Elsewhere 40 Greenfinch and two Wheatear were on Warren Point, a Teal was on the Main Pond and two Arctic Skua were offshore.

Other Wildlife: The remaining flowers are going over very quickly in the dry hot weather with most of Wild Carrot in seed and some Heather turning brown, leaving Common Fleabane and Water Mint as the main nectar source.

Eleven species of butterfly were on the wing, including five Clouded Yellow, four Painted Lady and a Comma, with most species struggling to find suitable plants for egg-laying. A Small Red-eyed Damselfly was at the Main Pond, numbers are much lower this year.  

A selection of nectaring hoverflies included several Common Dronefly Eristalis tenax, Stripe-faced Dronefly E, nemorum, Batman Hoverfly Myathropa florea and single Pied Plumehorn Volucella pellucens and Hornet Plumehorn V. zonaria. 

Pied Plumehorn Volucella pellucens - Alan Keatley

Batman Hoverfly Myathropa florea - Alan Keatley

Also on the wing numerous Bee-wolf Philanthus triangulum, however its main prey, Honey Bee appear almost non-existent on site at the moment.

Monday 10th August

Counts from the evening high tide included 205 Redshank, 185 Ringed Plover, 110 Sandwich Tern, 92 Dunlin, 34 Sanderling, seven Greenshank, four Bar-tailed Godwit, three Turnstone, three Common Tern, two Grey Plover, two Mediterranean Gull and a red Knot.

Other Wildlife: The first Migrant Hawker of the year was at the Main Pond with single Clouded Yellow, Holly Blue and Painted Lady the most notable butterflies. 

Sunday 9th August

Counts from the estuary included 155 Sandwich and four Common Tern, 215 Redshank, 135 Ringed Plover, 51 Whimbrel, 34 Dunlin, 26 Sanderling, 12 Greenshank, eight Mediterranean Gull, five Bar-tailed Godwit, two Grey Plover, two Turnstone and the Black Swan.

Elsewhere the Red-legged Partridge was on the Golf Course, 50 Swallow and five House Martin were overhead and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was offshore.

Ringing News: New Sandwich Tern from Belgium, a juvenile, and the Netherlands, an adult were present alongside a Polish bird. With a Spanish ringed bird noted yesterday the Warren is a key part of the international flyway.

Other Wildlife: A Grey Seal was on Bull Hill, with several Clouded Yellow, Rush Veneer and a Vestal on the wing.

Clouded Yellow - Lee Collins

Saturday 8th August

Counts from the estuary included 220 Redshank, 155 Ringed Plover, 95 Sandwich and two Common Tern, 52 Whimbrel, 49 Dunlin, 21 Mute and a Black Swan, 12 Sanderling, 10 Greenshank, eight Mediterranean Gull, four Bar-tailed Godwit and two Grey Plover.

Elsewhere a Green Woodpecker and the Red-legged Partridge were on the Golf Course and an Osprey was off site further up the estuary. 

Ringing News: With several new arrivals in recent days over 100 Exe-ringed Oystercatcher are now back for another winter on the estuary. 

Other Wildlife: In the warm sunshine migrant moths were active with several Silver Y in the flower meadows, plus a Vestal, Rusty-dot Pearl, Hummingbird Hawkmoth and several Rush Veneer. Also, on the wing, five Jersey Tiger near the station and at least ten Clouded Yellow and fifteen Painted Lady.

Jersey Tiger - Alan Keatley

The tiny braconid wasp Agathis tibialis, a parasitoid of the moth Dark Fleabane Neb Apodia martinii, was with its host in Dead Dolphin Wood. The wasp lays its eggs onto the larvae in Common Fleabane using its long ovipositor. A few male wasps were in attendance with the oviposting female.

Agathis tibialis - both Alan Keatley

Dark Fleabane Neb Apodia martinii - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere on the Dune Ridge a female Sand Lizard and the nationally scarce Dune Wolf Xerolycosa miniata and in, so far, a poor year for hoverflies single Hook-barred Spearhorn Chrysotoxum festivum and Golden-tailed Leafwalker Xylota sylvarum were noted.

Golden-tailed Leafwalker Xylota sylvarum - Alan Keatley

Dune Wolf Xerolycosa miniata - Alan Keatley

Hook-barred Spearhorn Chrysotoxum festivum - Alan Keatley

Thursday 6th August

A single Common Tern was with the 140 Sandwich Tern assembled at high tide in the estuary, but wader numbers were much reduced with only three Dunlin and three Whimbrel in the Bight and 22 Sanderling and a Ringed Plover on the beach.

Whimbrel - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere a Kingfisher was at the Main Pond, second brood juvenile Stonechat were on site and a Wheatear was in The Bight.

Other Wildlife: Good numbers of Clouded Yellow continue with at least eight in Greenland Lake with half a dozen Painted Lady. Other migrant insects included White-clubbed Glasswing Scaeva pyrastri and a few Compost Hoverfly Syritta pipiens. 

White-clubbed Glasswing Scaeva pyrastri - Alan Keatley

Other records included a Grey Seal off Langstone Rock, with nectaring Small Spot-eye Eristalinus sepulchralis and several Twist-winged Parasite Fly Ectophasia crassipennis, it is a good year for this recent colonist; first UK record in 2019, numbers have increased year on year.

Small Spot-eye Eristalinus sepulchralis - Alan Keatley

Twist-winged Parasite Fly Ectophasia crassipennis - Alan Keatley

Wednesday 5th August

At least 200 Sandwich Tern remain in the estuary with other counts including 99 Ringed Plover, 40 Dunlin, 26 Sanderling, two Common Tern and two Grey Plover.

In the bushes four Willow Warbler were certainly migrants but four Blackcap and a Reed Warbler could well have been fledged on site.

Ringing News: Amongst the marked Sandwich Tern were several more juveniles from Hampshire colonies and a bird ringed as a chick in the Netherlands in May 1996 and recorded here in 2015, 2019-, 2020 and 2021. At over 30 years old, this bird is just a few months from being the oldest recorded Sandwich Tern in the UK.

Tuesday 4th August

Counts from the estuary included 223 Sandwich and seven Common Tern, 100 Ringed and two Grey Plover, 28 Dunlin, 12 Greenshank, nine Mediterranean Gull, four Black and a Bar-tailed Godwit, two Common Sandpiper and two Turnstone.

Elsewhere relatively quiet for passerines on the reserve, 34 Sanderling were on the beach, the Red-legged Partridge was on the Golf Course and the female Mallard is doing well with her eight ducklings still at the Main Pond.

Other Wildlife: A Lesser Thorn-tipped Longhorn Pogonocherus hispidus on Hemp-agrimony by the station was just the second site record.

Lesser Thorn-tipped Longhorn Pogonocherus hispidus - Alan Keatley

Eight Clouded Yellow and five Painted Lady were on the wing with the usual butterflies, but with no Gatekeeper, so the season may be over for the species. A few moths on the wing included a migrant Vestal, whilst nectaring bees noted included male and female Green Furrow Bee Lasioglossum morio and Geoffroy's Blood Bee Sphecodes geoffrellus.

Vestal - Alan Keatley

Geoffroy's Blood Bee Sphecodes geoffrellus - Alan Keatley

Saturday 1st August

Ringing News: A total of 12 colour-ringed Sandwich Tern were noted over the high tide, including a return of the Israeli ringed bird previously seen on 10th July.

Sandwich Tern - Lee Collins