July 31st

It was a little less hot this morning at Reculver and there was a pleasant easterly breeze blowing as we walked inland and then had a look at the sea. We saw 2 Chiffchaffs, 12 Goldfinches, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 27 Coot, 14 Tufted Duck, 1 Grey Partridge, 2 Little Egrets, 17 Mallard, 2 Little Grebes, 1 Common Sandpiper, 29 Linnets, 8 Sand Martins, 2 Corn Buntings, 1 Pied Wagtail, 1 Great Crested Grebe and 1 Blackcap. There was very little on the sea, just 10 Common Scoter and 1 Sandwich Tern flying E.

July 30th

On our walk to Coldharbour other birds we saw were 1 Swallow, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 19 Linnets, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Whimbrel, 7 Oystercatchers, 7 Meadow Pipits, 5 Grey Herons, 8 Great Black-backed Gulls, 13 Little Egrets, 6 Mediterranean Gulls, 2 Stonechats, 4 Avocets, 3 Redshank, 9 Turnstone, 5 Sandwich Terns, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Common Sandpiper and 2 Pied Wagtails.

July 29th

On another very warm and sunny morning we walked from Shuart to the Plumpudding lagoon and back. Birds we counted included 3 Ring-necked Parakeets, 1 Blackcap, 4 Green Woodpeckers, 14 Goldfinches, 20 Chaffinches, 34 Linnets, 6 Whitethroats, 4 Reed Warblers, 5 Cetti's Warblers, 4 Sedge Warblers, 14 Swallows, 2 Stonechats, 4 Oystercatchers, 1 Whimbrel, 16 Sanderling, 2 Sandwich Terns, 8 Turnstone, 36 Ringed Plovers, 12 Mediterranean Gulls, 220 Black-headed Gulls, 1 juvenile Yellow-legged Gull flying W, 1 adult Common Gull, 1 Little Egret and 1 Chiffchaffs.

Shuart Drove

Family of juvenile Swallows

July 28th

At a very warm and increasingly busy Reculver we walked inland and recorded 7 Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, 4 Lapwings flying W, 21 Linnets, 2 Pied Wagtails, 12 Mallard, 18 Coot, 13 Tufted Duck, 4 Little Grebes, 5 Little Egrets, 26 Sand Martin,  1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Corn Buntings, 6 Reed Warblers, 1 Raven, 1 adult Lesser Black-backed Gull with 2 juveniles, 1 Grey Partridge, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Jay and 4 Mediterranean Gulls. We also found a Jersey Tiger Moth in the caravan site.

Adult Mediterranean Gull

 July 27th

On another warm and sunny morning we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and saw 8 Goldfinches, 1 Swallow, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Grey Heron, 9 Little Egrets, 6 Avocets, 6 Oystercatchers, 3 Redshank, 2 Common Terns, 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, 2 Turnstone, 6 Linnets, 5 Sedge Warblers, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Whitethroats, 1 Common Buzzard and 7 Sand Martins.

Returning adult Turnstone

 Derek Smith was also out at Shuart at 0530 and walked to Coldharbour and Plumpudding in four hours. He counted 10 Little Egrets, 2 Common Buzzards, 2 Sandwich Terns E, 8 Turnstone, 1 summer plumaged Golden Plover, 19 Ringed Plovers, 4 Common Sandpipers, 5 Avocets, 7 Redshank and 37 Sanderling and 7 Dunlin at Minnis Bay. He also saw 9 Cetti's Warblers, 15 Sedge Warblers, 33 Reed Warblers, 48 Whitethroats, 5 Lesser Whitethroats, 3 Willow Warblers, 13 Chiffchaffs, 2 Blackcaps and 2 Corn Buntings.

July 26th

The overnight cloud and rain had cleared away leaving a glorious sunny morning as we walked from Reculver to Coldharbour and back. Unfortunately there was nothing new to see but we did record 14 Meadow Pipits, 4 juvenile Stonechats, 29 Linnets, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Wheatear, 12 Little Egrets, 12 Oystercatchers, 80 Black-headed Gulls, 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, 6 Avocets, 200 Starlings, 2 Redshank, 1 Whimbrel, 3 Sandwich Terns and 1 Mallard. We also saw 7 Wall Brown butterflies.

Wall Brown at Coldharbour

Juvenile Avocets are growing quickly

July 25th

On an unpleasant, overcast and drizzly morning we visited various sites at Reculver and saw 4 Chiffchaffs, 1 Blackcap, 1 Little Egret, 1 Corn Bunting, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 16 Tufted Duck, 21 Coot, 4 Sand Martins, 23 Goldfinches, 1 Green Sandpiper, 32 Mallard, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Green Woodpecker and 4 juvenile Stonechats by the Roman Wall at Reculver.

July 24th

We spent a bright and sunny morning ringing on the Marsh south of the railway where we saw 30 Reed Warblers, 10 Sedge Warblers, 5 Whitethroats, 3 Blackcaps, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 5 Yellow Wagtails, 12 Goldfinches, 10 Linnets, 1 Turtle Dove flying E and 1 Common Buzzard.

Birds ringed 43: Wren 2, Reed Warbler 18, Blue Tit 4, Sedge Warbler 7, Robin 1, Whitethroat 4, Chaffinch 1, Cetti's Warbler 1, Blackcap 1, Linnet 1, Dunnock 2, Blackbird 1.

July 23rd

On a showery morning with an increasingly strong westerly wind blowing Matt was out early and walked from Reculver to Plumpudding meeting Anne and me at Coldharbour before we all returned to Reculver. Between us we saw 4 Sandwich Terns, 15 Mediterranean Gulls, 8 Little Egrets, 4 Grey Herons, 2 Common Sandpipers, 3 Redshank, 3 Stonechats, 4 Dunlin, 11 Avocets, 8 Yellow Wagtails, 3 Turnstone, 1 adult Common Gull, 9 Sanderling, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 summering Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 6 Bearded Tits, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 female Goosander in Coldharbour, 8 Swifts W, 1 Wheatear, 1 juvenile Cuckoo, 3 Great Black-backed Gulls, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 17 Meadow Pipits, 21 Mallard, 8 Oystercatchers and 1 Common Tern.

Derek Smith was also out this morning and between 0600 and 1000 walked from Shuart to Plumpudding and Coldharbour. He recorded 7 Greylag Geese, 1 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Avocet, 4 Dunlin, 1 Common Sandpiper, 175 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 4 Bearded Tits and 4 singing Corn Buntings.

Dark-bellied Brent Goose - Derek Smith

Adult Mediterranean Gull - Derek Smith

July 22nd

We spent a cooler and breezy morning ringing at Reculver. We saw a good range of species including 3 Chiffchaffs, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Treecreeper (168th), 2 Willow Warblers, 1 Green Sandpiper, 4 Common Sandpipers, 18 Coot, 11 Tufted Duck, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 10 Mallard, 2 Corn Buntings, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 26 Sand Martins, 1 Little Grebe, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 juvenile Grey Wagtail, 1 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Wood Sandpiper flying W (169th), 9 Greylag Geese, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull W, 1 Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 3 Mediterranean Gulls W, 1 Grey Partridge, 1 Marsh Harrier, 110 Swifts W, 1 Kestrel, 2 Ravens, 1 Little Egret and 1 Cetti's Warbler.

Birds ringed 26: Treecreeper 1, Chiffchaff 3, Wren 3, Long-tailed Tit 1, Willow Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 6, Robin 1, Cetti's Warbler 1, Whitethroat 1, Chaffinch 1, Blackcap 2, Dunnock 1, Song Thrush 1, Blackbird 3.

Juvenile Treecreeper

July 21st

There had been a change in the weather overnight and it was cloudy with a cooler westerly breeze blowing as we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour. We counted 6 Skylarks, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 10 Linnets, 2 Common Terns, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Chiffchaff, 9 Greylag Geese, 3 Little Egrets, 8 Avocets, 1 Redshank, 1 female Goosander still roosting in Coldharbour, 5 Whimbrel, 6 Oystercatchers, 1 Cetti's Warbler and 7 Goldfinches.

Female Goosander

Whimbrel in Coldharbour

July 20th

On another hot morning we were out early to avoid the worst of the heat and walked from Reculver along the seawall. We saw 2 Goldfinches, 16 Linnets, 5 Little Egrets, 2 Whimbrel flying SW, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Sandwich Terns, 3 Whitethroats, 3 Swallows W, 5 Mediterranean Gulls on the beach, 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, 4 Oystercatchers, 6 Mallard, 1 Common Sandpiper, 2 Ringed Plovers and 120 Black-headed Gulls.

Juvenile Mediterranean Gull

July 19th

It was another warm morning at Shuart where we had another ringing session. Birds we saw during the morning included 3 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Chiffchaffs, 1 Skylark, 1 Barn Owl, 3 Common Buzzards, 1 Common Tern, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Jay, 20 Whitethroats, 16 Linnets, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 4 Blackcaps, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Greenfinch, 8 Tufted Duck, 4 Mediterranean Gulls, 1 male Marsh Harrier, 2 Sedge Warblers and 12 Reed Warblers.

Birds ringed 37: Wren 1, Chiffchaff 1, Whitethroat 15, Reed Warbler 7, Sedge Warbler 2, Great Tit 2, Cetti's Warbler 1, Blackcap 3, Reed Bunting 1, Linnet 1, Dunnock 1, Blackbird 2.

We received the very interesting ringing information of an adult male Chiffchaff we controlled at Shuart yesterday. It had originally been ringed as a male at Nanjizal, Land's End, Cornwall on 23rd April 2024 and had flown 509 km ENE.

July 18th

We spent an increasingly warm morning ringing at Shuart where we saw 3 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Kestrel, 20 Goldfinches, 3 Grey Herons, 9 Greylag Geese, 6 Blackcaps, 1 Jay, 2 Ring-necked Parakeets, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 4 Common Buzzards, 35 Reed Warblers, 8 Whitethroats, 1 Greenfinch singing, 1 juvenile Cuckoo, 7 Sedge Warblers, 1 Little Egret, 4 Swallows and 2 Chiffchaffs.

Birds ringed 50: Cetti's Warbler 3, Reed Warbler 27, Whitethroat 4, Blackcap 4, Chaffinch 2, Sedge Warbler 5, Goldfinch 2, Reed Bunting 1, Dunnock 1, Blackbird 1.

We also controlled a male Reed Warbler that had been ringed as a first year bird by the East Kent Wildlife Group at Richborough on 24th September 2021.

July 17th

We spent a sunny morning ringing on the Marsh south of the railway where we saw 2 Lesser Whitethroats, 1 Green Woodpecker, 10 Linnets, 1 Whimbrel, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 12 Whitethroats, 20 Reed Warblers, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 12 Swallows, 6 Skylarks, 1 Lapwing flying S, 1 Kestrel, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker and 2 Sedge Warblers.

Birds ringed 43: Chiffchaff 1, Wren 1, Cetti's Warbler 4, Reed Warbler 14, Sedge Warbler 2, Whitethroat 9, Reed Bunting 2, Chaffinch 2, Lesser Whitethroat 1, Robin 1, Blue Tit 1, Great Tit 1, Dunnock 4.

Adult Lesser Whitethroat