Friday 5th September

The juvenile Sabine's Gull remained on the beach or close offshore until at least 11am, before moving towards offshore sand bar on receding tide, There was no further sign amongst the large feeding flocks offshore. Also offshore 17 Balearic Shearwater and two Arctic Skua. 

Sabine's Gull - Lee Collins

Sabine's Gull - Dave Jewell

At least 140 Common and 30 Sandwich Tern were present split between the estuary and offshore with a juvenile Little Gull, an adult Roseate Tern and single juvenile Arctic and Black Tern hidden within. 

Two juvenile Curlew Sandpiper were in The Bight over the evening high tide, with counts from the estuary including 240 Dunlin, 38 Teal, 15 Knot and five Whimbrel. 

Passerine migrants included six Wheatear, with one perched on a yacht's rigging in the estuary, three Whitethroat, three Sand Martin and two Willow Warbler. 

Other Wildlife: Continuing good numbers of Large White and Rush Veneer likely included new arrivals as six Painted Lady were fresh in. 

Painted Lady - Dave Jewell

A few solitary wasps were active including several Bee-wolf Philanthus triangulum, Early Ancistrocerus nigricornis and Small-notched Mason Wasp A. gazella with a female Common Mini-miner Andrena minutula and a Hairy-saddled Colletes C. fodiens representing the solitary bees and the sawfly Athalia cordata.

Early Mason Wasp Ancistrocerus nigricornis - Alan Keatley

Athalia cordata - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere two Grey Seal were in the estuary, a few Migrant Hawker, including an ovipositing female, and a couple of Common Darter were at the Main Pond and a Dune Jumper Marpissa nivoyi was on the Dune Ridge, the reserve is the main Devon site for this nationally scarce spider. 

Dune Jumper Marpissa nivoyi - Alan Keatley