Tuesday 26th September

A visit over the evening tide saw a Curlew Sandpiper in the Bight with six Arctic Skua attracted in by good numbers of Kittiwake. Also offshore six Common Scoter and an Eider.

Monday 25th September

Both the low high tide and the bushes were quiet with low numbers of birds, in contrast to an early morning seawatch that produced an impressive 242 Balearic Shearwater south with several Arctic Skua and good numbers of feeding Kittiwake in the bay.

A juvenile Osprey was the highlight in the estuary with 48 Great Black-backed Gull, 43 Ringed Plover and four Sandwich Tern in the Bight with 77 Linnet feeding around the strandline. 

Other Wildlife: A typical section of autumn insects with a good tally of ten butterfly species on the wing including a couple of migrant Clouded Yellow and Painted Lady with a Comma the pick of the residents.

Comma - Alan Keatley

Hoverflies featured Spotted Field Syrph Eupeodes luniger, Broad-banded Epistrophe E. grossulariae and Marsh Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus hybridus, with Ivy Bee numbers continuing to increase as more Ivy comes into flower. A Dark Bush-cricket also found the Ivy to its liking and a couple of Chrysolina banksii were near the Amusements.

Chysolina banksii - Alan Keatley

Dark Bush-cricket - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere a record count of four Grey Seal (three males) were in the estuary. 

Sunday 24th September

The tail end of Nigel arrived with strong winds but no rain so although hundreds of of birds including shearwaters were on the distant horizon early morning. A four hour watch from 7am saw two probable Great Shearwater south at 8.38 & 9.11, with a minimum of 108 Balearic Shearwater, 42 Sandwich and nine Common Tern, four Arctic Skua and a Storm Petrel. 

Also passing offshore this morning 13 Swallow, five House and two Sand Martin with nine Pale-bellied Brent Geese south and 10 north.

A watch late afternoon produced presumably the same 10 Pale-bellied Brent Geese south, 70 Kittiwake, 30 Balearic Shearwater, four Common Tern and an Arctic Skua with another large shearwater reported.

Saturday 23rd September

The low high tide reduced the number of small waders in the Bight but two Curlew Sandpiper were with 62 Dunlin and 54 Ringed Plover. Ten Common and seven Sandwich Tern also dropped into the Bight and an Osprey was hunting over Bull Hill.

Elsewhere a Balearic Shearwater was offshore early morning, overhead single Grey Wagtail, Siskin and 45 Meadow Pipit, with three Wheatear on site along with 10 Chiffchaff, four Blackcap, a Willow Warbler and a Spotted Flycatcher.

Blackcap - Alan Keatley

Other Wildlife: A calm, warm autumn day with a strong movement of 75+ Red Admiral and a few Large and Small White during the morning, with three Painted Lady and two Clouded Yellow on site. Amongst the dragonflies was a Southern Hawker in Greenland Lake.

Southern Hawker - Alan Keatley

Other flying insects included the first Marsh Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus hybridus of the year and Field Buff Snailkiller Tetanocera elata were also in Greenland Lake.

Marsh Tiger Hoverfly - Alan Keatley

Field Buff Snailkiller - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere two Harbour Porpoise were off the seawall.

Wednesday 20th September

The remnants of Hurricane Lee delivered an excellent sea passage with 12 Cory's Shearwater the main highlight, just the fifth record. Supporting cast included up to 20 Storm Petrel, but numbers difficult to judge in the swell. Balearic Shearwater were constantly on the move with 423 recorded during the 3 and quarter hours seawatch from 7am. Gannet also moved in numbers with over 400 counted, accompanied by 20 Arctic  and two Pomarine Skua, two Common and a Black Tern, two Common Scoter and a Fulmar. 

After the seawatch, the high tide was covered with counts from the estuary including 380 Wigeon, 174 Dunlin, 94 Ringed Plover, 60 Knot,12 Sandwich and two Common Tern, five Sanderling, four Shelduck, two Grey Plover, two Mediterranean Gull and single Curlew Sandpiper, Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Great Crested Grebe, Pintail and Whimbrel.

Knot - Alan Keatley

The Spoonbill was riding out the tide and weather on Finger Point. A walk back through the reserve was quiet with the bushes blown out with just a single migrant, a Chiffchaff, noted.

Tuesday 19th September

One Spoonbill was still present in the Bight over high tide with 13 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, three Pintail and a Whimbrel also present. Elsewhere at least five Balearic Shearwater were offshore early morning with a Wheatear in Greenland Lake. 

The Whimbrel, Spoonbill (typically asleep), Brent Geese and a relative of Wilson at Dawlish Warren. pic.twitter.com/16GCf4bnUx

— ClueDodo (@jimsumm96477112) September 19, 2023

Monday 18th September

Two adult Spoonbill were present over the morning high tide with a Ruff, five Sandwich Tern and an Osprey from Cockwood Steps at low tide but no other news received from the estuary. 

Elsewhere the immature male Eider was off Langstone Rock, five Sanderling and two Bar-tailed Godwit on the beach with four Chiffchaff and a House Martin the only migrants on site.

Other Wildlife: After yesterday's torrential rain insects were taking advantage of a sunny and warm day, with areas sheltered from the breeze harbouring numerous species. 

Twin-spot Centurion, a late flying soldier-fly, was near the Main Pond, with Long-winged Conehead, Field Digger Wasp Mellinus arvensis, several Bee-wolf, the increasingly recorded fly Ectophasia crassipennis and the Scorpion-fly Panorpa germanica. 

Twin-spot Centurion - Alan Keatley

Long-winged Conehead - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere a Hummingbird Hawkmoth was nectaring along the beach, several male Ivy Bee were nectaring on Michaelmas Daisy, with the Ivy still to flower. and numerous butterflies of at least eight species were on the wing including eight Red Admiral and a couple of Painted Lady.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth - Alan Keatley

Painted Lady - Alan Keatley

A excavated Common Wasp Vespula vulgaris nest in Greenland Lake was perhaps a sign of another Badger on site.

Common Wasp - Alan Keatley

Sunday 17th September

A quick late evening visit saw a significant increase of wildfowl with 510 Wigeon and 266 Teal in Shutterton Creek along with the eclipse male Pintail, five Grey Heron, four adult Mediterranean Gull and a Whimbrel.

No news was received from high tide wader roosts but a check of a small flock of presumed Redshank feeding on the damp golf course fairways revealed instead a flock of 18 Ruff! Another unexpected site record, with 12 on 28 Dec 1960 the only previous double-figure count.  

Saturday 16th September

An overcast and damp early autumn day delivered some fine patch birding with 80 species recorded, including several local scarcities and a new site record. The latter was the most unexpected in the light NE wind with an incredible 498 Balearic Shearwater south from first light to just after 9am, with several flocks of 50 +. This is over 2% of the global population, they were presumably feeding in Lyme Bay as there was little else passing and 31 returned to roost just offshore in the evening. The previous record was 287 on 29 Aug 2022.

Also south offshore early morning a sub adult Pomarine Skua, two Sandwich and the first Black Tern of the year, with a male Tufted Duck flying into the estuary early evening.

Two high tides to cover in the estuary saw variation in species and numbers during the day, a single Ruff was present over the morning tide with a Curlew Sandpiper and the first Pintail of autumn in the evening. Counts included 1208 Oystercatcher, 294 Curlew, 286 Redshank, 171 Ringed Plover, 135 Teal, 97 Knot, 63 Dunlin, 29 Sanderling, 17 Bar and three Black-tailed Godwit, 14 Pale and a/the Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 13 Greenshank, eight adult Mediterranean Gull and single Little Ringed Plover, Spotted Redshank and Whimbrel.

On site a small arrival of migrants included six Blackcap, five Wheatear and single Sedge Warbler and Whitethroat, with a Kingfisher and eight Cirl Bunting at the Dune Pond. Overhead a single flock of 28 House Martin, half a dozen Meadow Pipit and Siskin and a Yellow Wagtail.

Other Wildlife: Few insects on the wing in the conditions, but a freshly arrived Painted Lady was on the Dune Ridge, with Vestal and Rush Veneer on Warren Point. Befitting the weather a new species of fungi was discovered, Beauveria bassiana, a shieldbug nymph it's unfortunate host.

Beauveria bassiana - Alan Keatley

Friday 15th September

Two Ruff with the Oystercatcher were the first records of the year, a typical date for this scarce wader. Also present over the evening tide 13 Pale-bellied Brent Geese, three Curlew Sandpiper, a Spotted Redshank and the Little Ringed Plover.

Other Wildlife: A quick early afternoon visit revealed two further first sightings for the Recording Area, Four-spotted Orb-weaver Araneus quadratus and Nettle Seed Weevil Taeniapion urticarium.