September 30th

On a wet and windy day I had arranged to take my car in for a service and MOT so we didn't get down to Reculver until this afternoon. In 45 minutes our highlights were 1 Little Egret, 28 Swallows flying W, 6 Chiffchaffs, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit flying W close inshore, 1 Sandwich Tern E and 1 Merlin flying in off the sea.

This afternoon I received interesting information about a first year Garden Warbler we ringed at Reculver on September 12th. It was controlled 9 days later on September 21st at Longis Reserve, Alderney, Channel Islands and had travelled 299 km SW on the first leg of it's journey to Sub-Saharan Africa. The previous controls we have had for this species were Spain and Ghana.

September 29th

On a chilly morning we had a ringing session on the Marsh south of the railway. Birds we saw included 32 Chiffchaffs, 34 Chaffinches, 3 Green Woodpeckers, 1 Firecrest, 2 Goldcrests, 2 Cetti's Warblers, 3 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 140 Swallows flying W, 1 Redwing, 8 Blackcap, 2 Reed Warblers, 1 Peregrine, 1 Snipe, 2 Kestrels, 29 Reed Buntings, 1 Yellowhammer, 33 House Martins flying W, 2 Marsh Harriers, 10 Goldfinches, 25 Meadow Pipits, 1 Kingfisher and 20 Linnets.

Birds ringed 52: Chiffchaff 19, Goldcrests 1, Firecrest 1, Blackcap 6, Robin 1, Reed Bunting 11, Blue Tit 1, Chaffinch 2, Cetti's Warbler 1, Reed Warbler 2, Dunnock 5, Blackbird 1, Green Woodpecker 1.

This morning Derek Smith walked from Shuart  along the embankment to Plumpudding and back via Brooksend. He counted 2 Great Crested Grebes, 7 Grey Herons, 4 Little Egrets, 6 Kestrels, 1 Golden Plover, 1 Curlew, 45 Sanderling, 1 Dunlin, 4 Snipe, 18 Sandwich Terns, 1 Barn Owl, 3 Water Rails, 1 Kingfisher, 930 Swallows flying W, 85 House Martins flying W, 14 Sand Martins flying W, 2 Rock Pipits and 23 Pied Wagtails in a ploughed field.

September 28th

We spent a bright and sunny morning ringing at Reculver where we saw 2 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Kestrel, 15 Swallows, 1 Tawny Owl (190th), 1 Barn Owl, 3 Grey Herons, 3 Grey Wagtails, 32 Meadow Pipits W, 16 Teal, 42 Coot, 59 Gadwall, 20 Mallard, 5 Shoveler, 10 Little Grebes, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Kingfisher, 5 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 4 Goldcrest, 1 Firecrest, 60 Chiffchaffs, 20 Blackcaps, 18 Goldfinches, 1 Little Egret, 9 Corn Buntings, 5 Song Thrushes, 7 Reed Buntings, 4 Stonechats, 1 Tufted Duck, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Jays and 1 Green Woodpecker.

Birds ringed 60: Chiffchaff 40, Goldcrest 2, Blackcap 15, Blue Tit 2, Grey Wagtail 1.

First year Grey Wagtail

 Dave Smith was also out this morning and walked from Shuart to Minnis Bay and Plumpudding and back. He counted 16 Mute Swans, 1 Little Grebe, 70 Oystercatchers, 22 Golden Plovers, 10 Ringed Plovers, 21 Lapwings, 3 Curlew, 30 Turnstone, 75 Sanderling, 4 Dunlin, 5 Common Gulls, 2 Sandwich Terns, 1 Red-throated Diver, 3 Little Egrets, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Marsh Harriers, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Barn Owl, 1 Kingfisher, 2 Kestrels, 25 Skylarks, 2 Bearded Tits, 2 Reed Warblers, 7 Swallows, 4 House Martins W, 50 Chiffchaffs, 11 Blackcaps, 3 Goldcrests, 2 Firecrests, 76 Starlings W and 23 Meadow Pipits W.

September 27th

Matt arrived at the Towers at 0700 and stayed until 1800 seawatching - he was joined by Derek Smith from 1100. The strong wind  was initially from the west but after a heavy shower at about 1000 veered to NNW and strengthened. Birds seen were 1 Guillemot, 180 Black-headed Gulls, 1 Rock Pipit, 69 Sandwich Terns W, 1 Red-throated Diver, 480 Gannets with many more further out, 4 Curlew, 7 Sand Martins W, 2 Little Egrets, 87 Arctic Skuas, 27W and 60E, 5 Mediterranean Gulls, 30 Swallows W, 12 Great Skuas, 9W and 3E, 1 Merlin in off the sea, 10 House Martins W, 124 Kittiwakes,W, 11 Commic Terns W and 26 Balearic Shearwaters, 26W of which 25 were in a five minute period (185th). There were also 6 Arctic Terns W, 43 Common Terns W, 33 Little Gulls W, 10 Common Scoter, 3 small shearwater sp, E, 2 Pomarine Skuas, 1 adult W and 1 adult E, 1 Purple Sandpiper W (186th), 1 juvenile Long-tailed Skua W (187th), 4 Golden Plover W, 8 Wigeon W, 1 Grey Plover, 1 juvenile Sabine's Gull W at 1548 (188th), 1 Leach's Petrel W at 1635 (189th), 4 Dunlin and 3 Turnstone. In addition a Harbour Porpoise was seen swimming E.

Adult Arctic Skua - Derek Smith

Adult Pomarine Skua - Derek Smith

This morning we had a wander around Reculver in windy and damp conditions. We saw 24 Chiffchaffs, 1 Kestrel, 3 Blackcaps, 1 Cetti's Warblers, 6 Chaffinches, 1 Stonechat, 18 Swallows flying W, 12 Meadow Pipits, 1 Little Egret, 10 House Martins flying W, 1 male Merlin flying W at sea out by the green buoy and then making landfall at Bishopstone, 1 Mediterranean Gull and 1 Wheatear. Later we joined Matt at the Towers for a couple of hours.

September 26th

There had been an overnight fall of Chiffchaffs and to a lesser extent Blackcaps at out ringing site at Shuart this morning. We saw 160 Chiffchaffs, 60 Blackcaps, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 2 Jays, 6 Ring-necked Parakeets, 1 Goldcrest, 16 House Martins W, 18 Swallows W, 8 Long-tailed Tits, 2 Grey Wagtails, 8 Robins, 2 Kestrels, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Sparrowhawk and 1 Raven.

Birds ringed 123: Chiffchaff 78, Long-tailed Tit 2, Goldcrest 1, Wren 1, Blackcap 29, Robin 1, Blue Tit 3, Great Tit 5, Dunnock 1, Song Thrush 1,  Blackbird 1.

Chiffchaff

September 25th

On a showery day Matt walked from Shuart, along the embankment and back via Plumpudding and discovered there was a large arrival of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs as well as a good westerly movement of hirundines. He counted 2 Firecrests, 1 Goldcrest, 64 Chiffchaffs, 5 "continental" Song Thrushes, 53 Blackcaps, 1 Kingfisher, 1,485 Swallows W, 2,230 House Martins W, 4 Lesser Whitethroats including a Siberian type bird, 2 Whitethroats, 34 Skylarks, 4 Grey Herons, 4 Reed Warblers, 4 Coot, 10 Mallard, 2 Marsh Harriers, 2 Common Buzzards, 1 Tree Pipit, 3 Great Crested Grebes, 2 Stonechats, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 1 Wheatear, 1 Sand Martin, 1 Snipe, 4 Kestrels and 10 Long-tailed Tits.

During the day, Anne and I visited Reculver twice and recorded 32 Chiffchaffs, 12 Blue Tits, 1 Grey Heron, 4 Little Egrets, 10 Robins, 210 Swallows W, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 6 Tufted Duck, 1 Reed Warbler, 11 Teal, 8 Little Grebes, 52 Mallard, 30 Gadwall, 150 House Martins W, 52 Coot, 2 Shoveler, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Marsh Harrier and 17 Blackcaps.

September 24th

We spent the morning ringing at Reculver where we saw 12 Chiffchaffs, 1 Firecrest, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 15 Siskins flying W, 11 Little Grebes, 2 Common Sandpipers, 46 Coot, 6 Tufted Duck, 2 Corn Buntings, 3 Common Buzzards, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 40 Gadwall, 2 Shoveler, 35 Mallard, 8 Blackcaps, 4 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 2 Goldcrests, 1 Reed Warbler and 6 Long-tailed Tits.

Birds ringed 22: Long-tailed Tit 2, Firecrest 1, Wren 1, Chiffchaff 7, Blackcap 5, Blue Tit 2, Robin 1, Great Tit 1, Song Thrush 1, Great Spotted Woodpecker 1.

September 23rd

This morning we walked at various sites in the Reculver area and saw a good number of hirundines feeding around the Towers and over the grass for about half and hour before moving off to the west. We counted 220 Swallows, 150 House Martins and 18 Sand Martins.

 

Swallows, House Martins and Sand Martins

Other birds we saw included 9 Chiffchaffs, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 6 Robins, 54 Mallard, 1 female Pochard, 5 Chaffinches, 26 Gadwall, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 50 Coot, 1 Green Woodpecker, 2 Grey Wagtails, 6 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 10 Little Grebes, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Kestrel and 12 Meadow Pipits.

Matt was also out this morning and walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour and back along the Green Wall. He saw 6 Golden Plover, 120 Swallows W, 1 Whitethroat, 6 Blackcaps, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 320 House Martins W, 6 Sand Martins, 2 Sparrowhawks, 1 Little Egret, 2 Reed Warblers and 1 Water Rail.

September 22nd

On a thundery morning we managed to miss most of the showers as we had a ringing session at Reculver. We saw 4 Siskins flying W, 1 Willow Warbler, 3 Common Sandpipers, 4 Tufted Duck, 4 Shoveler, 32 Gadwall, 45 Mallard, 10 Teal, 10 Little Grebes, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Green Woodpeckers, 7 Chiffchaffs, 8 Blackcaps, 8 Robins, 1 Little Egret, 1 Redwing, 2 "continental" Song Thrushes, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Snipe, 4 Cetti's Warblers, 40 Coot, 1 Sand Martin, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 18 Lapwings W, 1 Kestrel, 2 Jays, 2 Goldcrests and 1 Swallow. Just as we were packing up and leaving a Yellow-browed Warbler (184th) flew into the trees and called four times.

Birds ringed 22: Chiffchaff 2, Wren 1, Long-tailed Tit 1, Goldcrest 1, Blackcap 5, Robin 3, Reed Warbler 2, Cetti's Warbler 2, Blue Tit 3, Dunnock 1, Song Thrush 1.

"Continental" Song Thrush

September 21st

We spent a sunny morning on the Marsh south of the railway and saw 1 Brambling, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 40 Chiffchaffs, 40 Linnets, 4 Reed Warblers, 1 Blackcap, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Siskin, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1+ Golden Plover, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Willow Warblers, 1 Green Woodpecker, 3 Swallows, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrels, 10 Goldfinches, 1 Tree Pipit SW, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Hobby and 35 Chaffinches.

Birds ringed 65: Chiffchaff 25, Wren 1, Willow Warbler 2, Reed Warblers 4, Blackcap 1, Blue Tit 5, Great Tit 2, Reed Bunting 5, Cetti's Warbler 3, Chaffinch 6, Sedge Warbler 1, Linnet 1, Goldfinch 1, Robin 3, Dunnock 4, Kestrel 1.

First year female Kestrel

 September 20th

It was relatively quiet today as we walked from Chamber's Wall to Coldharbour where the tide was a long way out. We counted 1 Green Woodpecker, 10 Chiffchaffs, 38 Linnets, 11 Robins, 5 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Blackcap, 1 Golden Plover, 1 Ringed Plover, 22 Swallows flying W, 1 male Marsh Harrier, 2 Corn Buntings, 1 Kingfisher, 10 House Martins flying W and 2 Spotted Flycatchers at Chamber's Wall car park.

Spotted Flycatcher

 Matt was out before us and walked from Reculver to Plumpudding and back along the embankment. He saw 1 Barn Owl, 15 Little Grebes, 2 Shoveler, 14 Coot, 1 Water Rail, 1 Common Buzzard, 13 Cetti's Warblers, 18 Chiffchaffs, 28 Robins, 3 Stonechats, 13 Mallard, 1 Pintail, 414 Swallows W, 9 Common Scoter, 3 Kestrels, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Grey Herons, 1 Blackcap, 2 Whitethroats, 1 Goldcrest, 3 Gadwall, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Snipe, 98 Lapwings, 1 Golden Plover, 3 Sand Martins W, 1 Teal, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Little Egret, 1 Rock Pipit and 1 Sparrowhawk.

September 19th

We spent the morning ringing at Reculver where we saw 3 Green Woodpeckers, 3 Green Sandpipers, 2 Common Sandpipers, 3 Grey Wagtails, 1 Kingfisher, 14 Teal, 4 Shoveler, 5 Tufted Duck, 24 Gadwall, 20 Mallard, 5 Little Grebes, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Goldcrests, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Garden Warbler, 8 Blackcaps, 6 Chiffchaffs, 11 Robins, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Great Spotted Woodpeckers, 12 Swallows, 4 House Martins, 4 Reed Warblers, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 6 Long-tailed Tits, 1 female Pintail, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 2 Sand Martins, 1 Kestrel, 1 Redshank, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Lapwings, 1 Whinchat and 1 Ringed Plover.

Birds ringed 16: Chiffchaff 2, Robin 4, Blackcap 5, Reed Warbler 3, Cetti's Warbler 1, Great Tit 1.

September 18th

We had an underwhelming walk along the seawall at Reculver this morning with a fresh and humid NE wind blowing. We recorded 5 Swallows, 1 Sparrowhawk, 17 Dark-bellied Brent Geese W, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 34 Mallard, 1 Chiffchaff, 5 Oystercatchers, 2 Mediterranean Gulls E, 2 Great Black-backed Gulls, 26 Carrion Crows, 2 Stonechats, 2 Little Egrets, 12 Gannets E, 5 Teal W and 18 Cormorants.

Matt was out at Reculver between 0700 and 1100 and counted 39 Swallows, 34 Wigeon W, 66 Dark-bellied Brent Geese W, 5 Teal W, 29 Common Scoter E, 4 Mediterranean Gulls, 48 Gannets E, 10 Sandwich Terns E, 1 Red-throated Diver W, 1 Sparrowhawk, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Little Egrets, 1 Common Buzzard, 1 Whinchat, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Goldcrest, 6 Chiffchaffs, 1 Blackcap, 1 Reed Warbler, 21 Gadwall, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 10 Little Grebes, 44 Coot, 3 Shoveler, 2 Tufted Duck, 1 Common Sandpiper, 34 Mallard, 1 Kestrel, 15 Lapwings, 3 Arctic Skuas W, 3 adult Little Gulls E, 1 Great Skua W and 2 Arctic Terns E (183rd).

September 17th

This morning Anne and I met up with Matt who was seawatching at the Towers and were joined by Rob Rackliffe and Virginia Fairchild. Matt remained there from 0650 to 1010 and saw 44 Common Scoter, 2 Little Egrets, 32 Gannets E, 88 Wigeon W, 1 Manx Shearwater E (182nd), 60 Sandwich Terns E, 55 Dark-bellied Brent Geese W, 4 Teal W, 5 Arctic Skuas, 2 Rock Pipits, 1 Great Skua W and 2 Swallows.

After our seawatch Anne and I walked inland and counted 45 Coot, 1 Common Sandpiper, 11 Little Grebes, 27 Lapwings, 24 Linnets, 2 Shoveler, 32 Mallard, 58 Gadwall, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 5 Tufted Duck, 3 Chiffchaffs, 1 Cetti's Warbler and 1 Grey Heron.

September 16th

We spent the morning ringing at Reculver where we saw 3 Great Spotted and 1 Green Woodpecker, 45 Chiffchaffs, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 24 Mallard, 25 Gadwall, 5 Tufted Duck, 2 Teal, 2 Shoveler, 35 Coot, 7 Little Grebes, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Grey Heron, 2 Common Sandpipers, 5 Corn Buntings, 1 Tree Pipit W, 6 House Martins, 42 Swallows, 2 Goldcrests, 1 Little Owl, 30 Blackcaps, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Willow Warblers, 1 Peregrine, 1 Greenshank W, 1 Ringed Plover, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Firecrest, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Kestrel, 2 Jays and 2 Reed Warblers.

Birds ringed 61: Chiffchaff 26, Willow Warbler 1, Blackcap 22, Cetti's Warbler 2, Reed Warbler 2, Blue Tit 1, Dunnock 1, Blackbird 6.