Friday 26th July 2013

Coverage of both high tides produced 24 Ringed Plover, 60 Dunlin, 43 Sanderling, 1 Knot, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit, 12 Whimbrel, 23 Redshank, 3 Turnstone, 3 Common Sandpiper and hundreds of Oystercatcher and Curlew.  Also present 130+ Sandwich Tern, 2 Common Tern and 2 (ad & juv) Mediterranean Gull.  Apart from a Swift overhead and a Green Woodpecker in the trees, everywhere else pretty much drew a blank.

Wildlife News: the male Long-tailed Blue butterfly that flew into the kitchen of a nearby property yesterday (!) was safely released within the Back Meadow this afternoon where it remained on view for over an hour, much to the delight of an assembled group of admirers. It likely roosted there. Common Blue, Brown Argus, Small Skipper, 'browns' and 'whites' etc festooned the un-cut area of meadow. 

Long-tailed Blue 29/07/13 © Nick Moran

Long-tailed Blue 29/07/13 © John Marchant

 

Wednesday 24th July 2013

Some new arrivals with best counts on both high tides of 13 Ringed Plover, 36 Sanderling, 80 Dunlin, 19 Whimbrel, 5 Bar-tailed Godwit, 19 Redshank, 2 Turnstone and a Snipe.  Amongst the hundreds of Black-headed Gull along the beach were 5 Mediterranean Gull (incl a juv again) and 4 Common Gull.  The 173+ Sandwich Tern flocks contained many juvs.  The breezy southerly produced a Balearic Shearwater, 47 Manx Shearwater, 2 Fulmar, 33 Kittiwake and a Guillemot.  Single Green Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker were in the trees and a new brood of Pheasant poults were being vigorously protected from passers-by by the hen on Warren Point.

Monday 22nd July 2013

More of the same hot, dry weather and species wise little change too with wader counts of 417 Oystercatcher, 56 Sanderling, 53 Dunlin, 22 Whimbrel, c.395 Curlew, three Ringed Plover, two Bar-tailed Godwit and 3 Turnstone. Other records included nine Common Tern in with the 93 Sandwich Tern; five Mediterraean Gull (incl a juv) and a Dutch rung Common Gull.  Apart from the pair of Stonechat still, little bird interest was found amongst the bushes.

A Fox showing well on the Golf Course over the weekend.  © Lee Collins

Sunday 21st July 2013

A vocal Roseate Tern was in front of the hide this evening with counts from the estuary including 468 Curlew, 130+ Sandwich Tern, 88 Dunlin,15+ Whimbrel, seven Bar-tailed Godwit and single Ringed Plover, Redshank and Greenshank. Elsewhere a Red-throated Diver and 115 Common Scoter were offshore, 72 Sanderling were on the beach, at least five Mediterranean Gull were on site, the Slavonain Grebe was in Shutterton Creek and five Sand Martin flew through.

Greenshank 21/07/13 © Dave Jewell

 

Another couple of darvic rung Sandwich Tern were recorded today, a juvenile (White NL1) and its probable parent (Red ELV) from the same colony as yesterday's bird, Markenje, near Ouddorp, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands. The parent was rung at Heist, West-Vlaanderen, Belguim in July 2007, whilst the colour ring was added when it was retrapped on the Ythan estuary, near Aberdeen in August 2011. The next sighting was on Markenje in June 2013 before it appeared at the Warren this morning.

What is most interesting is that this is a bird that chose to migrate north in 2011 (in its 5th calender year), but this year migrated in a different direction. This would suggest that terns indeed make a choice, to migrate north, south or west after the breeding season, showing that a network of protected sites are essential for the survival of this species. Thanks again to Pim Wolf and, in Scotland, Ewan Weston for the rapid dissemination of ringing data.

Wildlife News: The welcome first Ringlet of the year was around the Entrance Bushes.

Saturday 20th July 2013

Counts from the estuary continue to increase slightly day by day with 104 Dunlin, 52 Sanderling, 29 Great Black-backed Gull, nine Mediterranean Gull, eight Redshank, eight Ringed Plover, three Bar-tailed Godwit and two Turnstone, with the Slavonian Grebe off Cockwood. Elsewhere it was quiet with just a couple of Common Tern, including a presumed first summer, offshore amongst the Sandwich Tern.

Details of a darvic rung juvenile Sandwich Tern seen this morning have already been received.  White N-50 was rung in the nest on 25th June at Markenje, near Ouddorp, Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands. Many thanks to Pim Wolf and the Tern Team for the information.

 

View Sandwich Tern 20 July 2013 in a larger map

 

Wildlife News: A total of 14 species of butterfly were recorded today including Small Skipper, now scarce on site, Brown Argus, Comma and Small Tortoiseshell. There have still not been any sightings of Green Hairstreak, Ringlet or Marbled White on the Warren this year. Also on the wing good numbers of Six-spot Burnet, at least one Five-spot Burnet, a single Silver Y and several Black-tailed Skimmer. 
 

Black-tailed Skimmer 20/07/13  © Lee Collins

 

Friday 19th July 2013

The end of the breeding season and return migration is increasingly apparent with 40+ juveniles in a total of 205+ Sandwich Tern, the first juvenile Great Black-backed Gull and the first three juveniles in a count of seven Mediterranean Gull. Other counts from the estuary included 49 Dunlin, 27 Sanderling, including a Ghanaian ringed bird, three Common Tern, two Redshank and two Turnstone. Passerines were represented by the first autumn Garden Warbler, only the second of the year, and a handful of Sand Martin.

Sanderbling 19/07/13 © Lee Collins

 

Thursday 18th July 2013

The Slavonian Grebe was off Cockwood but no other news was received.

Wednesday 17th July 2013

The Slavonain Grebe was in the estuary with 170+ Sandwich Tern, 70+ Dunlin, five Bar-tailed Godwit, an adult Mediterraean Gull and a Gadwall.

Tuesday 16th July 2013

A juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was on the beach off John's Watch with a second summer Mediterraean Gull mid evening, also on the beach six Sanderling. Elsewhere 90 Dunlin and three Bar and a Black-tailed Godwit were in the estuary with 160+ Sandwich Tern and the Slavonian Grebe.

Wildlife News: Several hundred Marsh Helleborine are now in flower in Greenland Lake whilst the first Great Green Bush Cricket are in voice around site.

Monday 15th July 2013

Two summer plumaged Knot were in the Bight with 300+ Curlew, 255 Oystercatcher, 105+ Sandwich Tern and 47 Dunlin.