September 17th
It was overcast and slightly drizzly this morning as we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour before looking at Reculver bushes on the way home. We counted 12 Chaffinches, 28 Chiffchaffs, 9 Mute Swans, 4 Goldcrests, 14 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Stonechats, 1 Golden Plover, 4 Little Egrets, 4 Sandwich Terns, 2 Dunlin, 3 Redshank, 6 Corn Buntings, 30 Reed Buntings, 120 Linnets, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk and 1 Yellow-browed Warbler (187th) briefly in the bushes by the Hog's Fennel at Coldharbour. We also met Tony Swandale who had seen similar birds to us but in addition had found 2 Ruff.

Stonechat

September 16th
On a sunny and cool morning we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and then on to the White Poplars. We counted 41 Chiffchaffs, 1 Green Woodpecker, 9 Blackcaps, 16 Long-tailed Tits, 14 Blue Tits, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 15 Chaffinches, 11 Mute Swans, 20 Mallard, 1 Golden Plover, 175 Linnets, 3 Kestrels, 7 Little Egrets, 2 Dunlin, 9 Sandwich Terns, 1 Common Sandpiper, 3 Swallows, 6 Ringed Plovers, 1 first winter Knot, 3 Redshank, 9 Goldfinches, 1 Kingfisher, 11 Pink-footed Geese W, 1 Wigeon and 5 Grey Partridges.
Coincidentally Landguard Bird Observatory, Suffolk had their first Pink-footed Geese fly over this morning. These were also a flock of 11, so it seems likely that they were the same as the Reculver birds with Landguard being only 39 miles to the north.

First year Knot

Five of the eleven Pink-footed Geese

Derek Smith was also out this morning and between 0630 and 1230 and walked from Shuart, along the railway embankment and returned via Plumpudding. He saw 34 Sandwich Terns W, 1 Kingfisher, 35 Swallows W, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Whitethroat, 3 Lesser Whitethroats, 70 Chiffchaffs, 35 Blackcaps, 3 Cetti's Warblers and 25 Goldcrests.

September 15th
On a calmer and sunny morning we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour before dropping in at Reculver on the way home. We saw 11 Chiffchaffs, 1 Hobby. 2 Golden Plovers, 3 Marsh Harriers, 1 Sparrowhawk, 5 Blackcaps, 3 Kestrels, 76 Linnets, 11 Little Egrets, 37 Mallard, 3 Redshank, 2 Dunlin, 14 Corn Buntings, 9 Sandwich Terns, 9 Turnstone, 1 Arctic Skua W, 4 Ringed Plovers, 15 Reed Buntings, 20 Mute Swans, 1 immature male Eider, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 3 Goldcrests, 8 Swallows and 1 Grey Heron.

Arctic Skua

Derek Smith was also out this morning and covered the eastern half of the Marsh between 0630 and 1130. He counted 11 Little Egrets, 1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Marsh Harriers, 4 Common Buzzards, 7 Snipe W, 3 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Wheatear, 78 Blackcaps, 4 Reed Warblers, 110 Chiffchaffs, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Firecrest, 23 Goldcrests and 3 Corn Buntings. Later he walked up to Brooksend and added 6 Common Buzzards, 1 Peregrine, 1 Hobby, 2 Wheatears, 2 Spotted Flycatchers and 25 Chiffchaffs.

Bar-tailed Godwit - Derek Smith

Spotted Flycatcher - Derek Smith

September 14th
On a cool and blustery morning we ringed at one of our sheltered sites at Reculver where we saw 30 Chiffchaffs, 1 Coal Tit, 2 Sparrowhawks, 40 Blackcaps, 23 Goldcrests, 1 Willow Warbler, 19 Mute Swans, 10 Mallard, 1 Grey Heron, 8 Long-tailed Tits and 1 Cetti's Warbler.

Birds ringed 45: Goldcrest 12, Chiffchaff 8, Wren 1, Willow Warbler 1, Blackcap 23.

Male Goldcrest

After ringing we spent half an hour at the Towers but only saw 1 Curlew, 1 Arctic Skua E, 1 Sandwich Tern and 14 Meadow Pipits flying in off the sea.
Derek Smith walked from Reculver to Coldharbour between 0700 and 0830 and counted 8 Little Egrets, 42 Ringed Plovers, 26 Sanderling, 18 Sand Martins W and 3 Wheatears.
This afternoon Matt and Marion walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour where they had a seawatch. They saw 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 16 Chiffchaffs, 2 Goldcrests, 1 Common Sandpiper, 10 Sandwich Terns, 3 Little Terns, 1 Purple Sandpiper W, 1 immature male Eider, 1 Arctic Skua, 1 Gannet, 10 Great Skuas, 1 Common Tern, 1 Knot and 1 Kingfisher.

September 13th
An hour long seawatch at the Towers this morning produced 2 Shags W (186th), 1 Great Crested Grebe, 11 Sandwich Terns, 13 Common Terns W, 80 Ringed Plovers, 40 Turnstone, 10 Sanderling, 1 adult male Peregrine, 1 Sparrowhawk and 8 House Martins W out at sea.

September 12th
We spent a sunny but breezy morning ringing at Reculver and saw 2 Willow Warblers, 40 Chiffchaffs, 16 Mute Swans, 24 Mallard, 3 Sparrowhawks, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Siskin, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 40 Blackcaps, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Kestrel, 12 Goldcrests, 4 Long-tailed Tits, 45 House Martins, 65 Swallows, 2 Coal Tits, 5 Golden Plovers, 1 Reed Warbler and 1 Kingfisher.

Birds ringed 60: Willow Warbler 1, Chiffchaff 20, Goldcrest 8, Long-tailed Tit 3, Blackcap 22, Great Tit 1, Chaffinch 1, Blue Tit 2, Reed Warbler 1, Dunnock 1.

Derek Smith walked from Shuart to Plumpudding and then along the railway embankment between 1230 and 1530. He counted 6 Common Buzzards, 5 Marsh Harriers, 1 Hobby, 1 Common Redstart, 5 Blackcaps, 1 juvenile Red-backed Shrike, 7 Whitethroats, 1 Willow Warbler and 35 Chiffchaffs.

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike - Derek Smith

September 11th
Back on home soil this morning we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and back along the Green Wall and saw 190 Swallows W, 252 House Martins W, 1 Sand Martin W, 1 adult Peregrine, 1 Grey Heron, 25 Chiffchaffs, 2 Kestrels, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Willow Warbler, 9 Long-tailed Tits, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Sedge Warbler, 72 Mallard, 11 Little Egrets, 3 Redshank, 53 Linnets, 1 Corn Bunting, 13 Sandwich Terns, 41 Ringed Plovers, 1 adult Mediterranean Gull W, 10 Oystercatchers, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 immature male Eider and 1 Tree Pipit.

Latvia and Estonia - September 5th-10th
As regular readers of this site will have realised I have not been updating it for the last week, although I have now. This is because Anne and I have spent the time travelling around Estonia and Latvia where we saw a reasonable range of species including Great White Egrets, White-tailed Eagles, 1 juvenile Goshawk, 2 Caspian Terns, Black Woodpeckers, 2 Nutcrackers, Woodlarks and Crested Tits. We also visited Kabli Ringing Station where the ringing season had only just begun.

Kabli Ringing Station Heligoland trap

Nigula bog

Parnu

Common Cranes

September 7th
Julian Perry found 2 juvenile Red-backed Shrikes (185th) on the embankment between Plumpudding and Chamber's Wall.

Juvenile Red-backed Shrike - Julian Perry

September 6th
During the afternoon Matt walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour where he sat on the beach and recorded 3 Corn Buntings, 1 Common Sandpiper, 87 Sandwich Terns, 1 Common Tern, 4 Black Terns, 1 Arctic Skua, 1 Grey Plover, 3 Gannets, 1 Little Tern, 1 Manx Shearwater E (184th), 12 Little Egrets and 50 Golden Plovers.

September 5th
This morning Matt walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and counted 2 Kestrels, 2 Corn Buntings, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Whitethroats, 6 Little Egrets, 55 Sandwich Terns, 50 Common Terns, 13 Black Terns, 2 Little Terns, 4 Arctic Terns (182nd), 2 juvenile Little Gulls, 2 Arctic Skuas, 1 Gannet, 1 Sanderling, 1 Eider, 1 Curlew, 300 Black-headed Gulls and 1 Whinchat.
Derek Smith walked from Shuart to Plumpudding lagoon between 0700 and 0930 and recorded 1 Whimbrel, 45 Ringed Plovers, 32 Sanderling, 2 Dunlin, 1 Turtle Dove, 6 Blackcaps, 6 Reed Warblers, 7 Whitethroats, 1 Common Redstart, 1 Whinchat and 5 Wheatears.
At Grenham Bay Terry Wilson saw 12 Little Egrets, 30 Turnstones and 2 Black Terns.
During the afternoon Matt was out again and had an Osprey (183rd) flying W along over the seawall before flying inland.

September 4th
On a drizzly morning Matt walked at Reculver and saw 4 alba wagtails, 40 Sandwich Terns, 8 Common Sandpiper, 1 Greenshank, 8 Grey Partridges, 50 Goldfinches, 5 Whitethroats, 1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Golden Plovers 3 Chiffchaffs, 1 Jay, 1 Goldcrest, 2 Blackcaps, 4 Sand Martins, 3 Swifts, 2 Stonechat, 7 Wheatear, 94 Ringed Plovers, 18 Sanderling , 2 Dunlin, 20 Turnstone, 350 Swallows W,  9 Sand Martins, 1 immature male Eider, 2 Kingfishers, 5 Corn Buntings, 80 House Martins W,  15 Common Scoter, 7 Black Terns, 35 Common Terns, 1 Snipe, 5 Teal, 3 Common Buzzards, 1 Whinchat and 1 Willow Warbler.

September 3rd
We spent the morning ringing at Shuart where we saw 1 Jay, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Sparrowhawks, 5 Goldcrests, 12 Blackcaps, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 1 Grey Heron, 9 Ring-necked Parakeets, 40 Swallows, 1 Common Buzzard, 4 Whitethroats, 6 Greenfinches, 8 Chiffchaffs, 1 Firecrest, 1 Wheatear, 1 Marsh Harrier, 28 Lapwings, 5 Golden Plovers, 4 House Martins, 80 Linnets and 12 Goldfinches.

Birds ringed 16: Chiffchaff 4, Goldcrest 2, Blackcap 6, Blue Tit 2, Great Tit 1, Whitethroat 1.

First year Whitethroat

Between 0600 and 1115 Derek Smith walked from Shuart and along the embankment to the Green Wall and back via Coldharbour and Plumpudding. He recorded 1 Eider, 14 Little Egrets, 2 Common Buzzards, 4 Marsh Harriers, 4 Kestrels, 1 Sparrowhawk, 36 Sandwich Terns, 1 Snipe, 17 Golden Plovers, 2 Greenshank, 18 Sanderling, 28 Ringed Plovers, 35 Dunlin, 1 Little Stint, 2 Grey Wagtails, 3 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Whinchat, 1 Wheatear, 450 Swallows W, 8 Blackcaps, 4 Whitethroats, 9 Reed Warblers, 8 Sedge Warblers, 21 Chiffchaffs, 4 Cetti's Warblers and 4 Corn Buntings.

September 2nd
We had intended to have a ringing session on the Marsh this morning but it was too breezy so we decided to go for a birdwatch instead. We arrived at Chamber's Wall at 0645 and walked up to Coldharbour and back along the Green Wall and railway embankment. We found an excellent array of species including 80 House Sparrows, 2 Kestrels, 6 Chiffchaffs, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Grey Wagtail, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Kingfisher, 8 Mute Swans, 1 Common Buzzard, 3 Whitethroats, 3 Teal, 1 Wheatear, 31 Sandwich Terns, 73 Mallard, 2 Reed Warblers, 8 Redshank, 8 Little Egrets, 1 Golden Plover, 33 Common Terns, 6 Corn Buntings, 3 Oystercatchers, 15 Goldfinches, 5 Dunlin, 2 Common Sandpipers, 1 immature male Eider, 4 Little Terns, 1 adult Little Gull, 5 Common Scoter, 42 Ringed Plover, 1 Great Skua, 2 Turnstone, 1 adult Knot, 32 Carrion Crows, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Greenshank, 1 Tree Pipit, 6 adult Great Black-backed Gulls flying W, 6 Blackcaps and 1 Lesser Whitethroat.

First year Wheatear

Derek Smith was also out this morning between 0600 and 1000 and covered the eastern end of the Marsh from Shuart, along the railway embankment to Coldharbour and Plumpudding. He saw 2 Common Buzzards, 4 Marsh Harriers, 4 Kestrels, 1 Sparrowhawk, 20 Sandwich Terns, 14 Lapwings, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit E, 1 Grey Wagtail W, 6 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Whinchat, 2 Wheatears, 4 Blackcaps, 4 Whitethroats, 7 Reed Warblers, 4 Sedge Warblers, 5 Willow Warblers and 1 Cetti's Warbler.

September 1st
We spent this morning ringing at Shuart and saw a good range of species including 2 Green Woodpeckers, 3 Jays, 1 Raven, 1 Snipe, 2 Tree Pipits W, 3 Common Buzzards, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 6 Blackcaps, 40 Goldfinches, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Willow Warblers, 3 Chiffchaffs, 31 Lapwings, 7 Ring-necked Parakeets, 1 Little Egret, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Corn Bunting, 1 Whitethroat, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Ringed Plover, 2 Kestrels, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Greenshanks, 80 Linnets, 3 Sedge Warblers, 6 Reed Warblers, 8 House Martins, 11 Swallows and 1 Curlew.

Birds ringed 28: Chiffchaff 2, Wren 1, Reed Warbler 4, Sedge Warbler 2, Goldfinch 7, Blackcap 5, Cetti's Warbler 1, Reed Bunting 2, Linnet 3, Blackbird 1.

I also received notification today concerning a Whitethroat we ringed on the Marsh on 13th August that was controlled at Icklesham, East Sussex on 24th August. It had flown 65 km SW.