January 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report sightings

Monday 31st:

 

Bird of the day was undoubtedly a Snow Bunting which came in off the sea in the face of the strong north-westerly wind. 21 Red-throated Diver were offshore with eight Slavonian Grebe. In the Estuary 201 Grey Plover were in front of the hide with162 Brent Geese, 76 Knot, 35 Ringed Plover and 31 Red-breasted Merganser.  37 Lapwing were by the Railway Saltmarsh along with a Spotted Redshank and 99 Teal.

 

 

Sunday 30th:

 

The main interest was offshore today with a site record 60 Red-throated Diver being logged, c20 of these were present offshore with the remainder passing south. Also offshore there were 22 Great-crested Grebe,100+ auk sp., 48 Razorbill and 17 Common Scoter.  A single Dartford Warbler remains by the Dune Pond.

 

 

Saturday 29th:

 

Five Goosander (two male & three redheads), a rare visitor to the reserve, flew north over the Visitor Centre late afternoon, but no other news was received.

                                                                                                                                                                               

 

Friday 28th:

 

The highlight was a Black-throated Diver offshore from the Dune Ridge early morning, the first of the year, also offshore five Red-throated Diver, seven Common Scoter, c10 Razorbill, eight Slavonian and 10 Great-crested Grebe.  Wildfowl counts in the Estuary included 81 Brent Geese, 71 Wigeon, 50+ Teal, a pair of Goldeneye and the first Pintail of the year. Amongst the waders there were 750 Oystercatcher, 184 Bar-tailed Godwit, 163 Grey Plover, 161 Curlew and 48 Lapwing with smaller numbers of Knot, Turnstone and Sanderling, the three Black-tailed Godwit roosted on Finger Point. Elsewhere on site a Dartford Warbler was still present around Greenland Lake, a Treecreeper was reported, a Water Rail was seen briefly by the First Pond, a Buzzard circled over and two Raven flew west.

 

 

Thursday 27th:

 

A single Dartford Warbler was present around Greenland Lake with four Siskin being a notable find. 14 Mallard, three Coot and two Moorhen were on the Main Pond with one Little Grebe and two Water Rail. Offshore there were seven Slavonian Grebe, 13 Great-crested Grebe, 10 Common Scoter and 11 Red-throated Diver. In the Estuary, 30 Redshank were on the Railway Saltmarsh along with 115 Brent Goose, 67 Grey Plover were in front of the hide with 59 Bar-tailed Godwit (including a single bird in summer plumage),  31 Ringed Plover, 29 Sanderling and 26 Knot.   A Goldeneye could be seen by Finger Point, 22 Red-breasted Mergansers and 12 Shelduck also put in an appearance.

 

 

Wednesday 26th:

 

The highlight today was a distant Little Gull offshore, also on the sea a Red-throated Diver, seven Common Scoter and five Slavonian Grebe. A  Jack Snipe was in Greenland Lake and three Black-tailed Godwit were in the Estuary. Two Peregrine provided a spectacle as they fought over the remains of a kill in mid air!

 

 

Tuesday 25th:

 

No news was received for today.

 

 

Monday 24th:

 

Two Red-throated Diver were offshore today with five Slavonian and 13 Great-crested Grebe. 13 Red-breasted Merganser were in front of the hide along with two Little Egret, the only other news was of three Rook which passed over Warren Point.

 

 

Sunday 23rd:

 

Early morning single Jack Snipe and Greenshank were in Greenland Lake, offshore there were two Slavonian Grebe and two Red-throated Diver with a third bird flying west.  Over low tide 85 Brent Geese were feeding on the mudflats along with a range of other species including Shelduck, Grey Plover and two Black-tailed Godwit.  The sunny weather prompted several species to start singing including Skylark on Warren Point and Greenfinch displaying overhead around the site. The Sparrowhawk was again around the First and Main Ponds, a Great-spotted Woodpecker and a single Chaffinch were again in the entrance bushes but Chiffchaff have not been recorded for over a week now.  A Little Egret and 14 Turnstone were at Langstone Rock.

 

 

Saturday 22nd:

 

146 Wigeon and 142 Teal were in Shutterton Creek on the rising tide along with seven Grey Heron and five Little Egret, elsewhere in the Estuary there were 46 Red-breasted Merganser along with four Goldeneye. Other records included two Lesser Black-backed Gull in front of the hide, three Stonechat, a Sparrowhawk around the First and Main Ponds, two Snipe in Greenland Lake and a Greenshank feeding in the flooded area next to the Visitor Centre.

 

 

Friday 21st:

 

The only news reported was two Chaffinch and 35 Lapwing, the latter seen over the estuary from the Buffer Zone.

 

 

Thursday 20th:

 

No news was received for today.

 

 

Wednesday 19th:

 

Four Red-throated Diver were offshore with five Razorbill. In the Estuary there were four Goldeneye, 76 Teal, 16 Red-breasted Merganser, 10 Turnstone and a Slavonian Grebe. A single Rook over was the first of the year.

 

 

Tuesday 18th:

 

A single Chaffinch was the only news reported for today.

 

 

Monday 17th:

 

The recent high tides have seen large flocks of waders roosting on site; 3800 Dunlin and 1400 Oystercatcher were counted on the beach and around Warren Point, with numbers of other waders such as Grey Plover, Sanderling and Knot similar to recent days. 200+ Bar-tailed Godwit roosted in the Railway Saltmarsh with smaller numbers of Curlew, many of which are currently feeding offsite on flooded fields. Offshore there were two Red-throated Diver and a Slavonian Grebe, elsewhere a Water Rail heard calling in the Main Pond was the first record for the year.

 

 

Sunday 16th:

 

No news was received for today.

 

 

Saturday 15th:

 

A Great Northern Diver was offshore early morning but could not be found later, also a distant diver sp, 17 Common Scoter, a Fulmar and a single Slavonian Grebe, with a second individual in the estuary after high tide. Also in the estuary there were 175 Wigeon, 52 Shelduck and 32 Teal with two single Goldeneye, a female type off Cockwood and male, which flew in off the sea. On the beach amongst the large wader flocks were 56 Ringed Plover and 44 Sanderling. Elsewhere 14 Little Egret were in the Railway Saltmarsh with one Greenshank, an adult Kittiwake flew past the hide and at least four Stonechat were on site along with the first Kestrel of the year.

 

Friday 14th:

 

12 Common Scoter offshore was the only news received for today.

 

 

Thursday 13th:

 

Offshore there were four Red-throated Diver, five Slavonian and six Great-crested Grebe. Three Goldeneye were in the Estuary with counts of 278 Grey Plover, 238 Bar-tailed Godwit, 112 Redshank, 95 Knot, 30 Lapwing and three Greenshank. Elsewhere a single Collared Dove over was the highlight.

 

 

Wednesday 12th:

 

At high tide 175 Bar-tailed Godwit were in front of the hide along with 85 Grey Plover, 48 Sanderling and 123 Knot, a reasonably high count for the site. In the Railway Saltmarsh there were 120 Redshank and 94 Curlew. Wildfowl numbers included 100 Brent Goose, two of which were ringed, 130 Wigeon, 55 Teal, 50 Shelduck and 30 Red-breasted Merganser. Other birds of note were two Slavonian Grebe offshore, a Mediterranean Gull, two Peregrine on the beach, a Kingfisher at the First Pond, one Dartford Warbler in Greenland Lake, a Goldeneye off Finger Point and two Lesser Black-backed Gull, the first of the year.

 

 

Tuesday 11th:

 

Several Slavonian Grebe were offshore from the windmill and large numbers of Dunlin and other waders were in front of the hide at high tide, escaping the weather conditions on the seaward side of the spit.

 

 

Monday 10th:

 

The only news received for today was a Great-spotted Woodpecker, there are very few January records for this species.

 

 

Sunday 9th:

 

Best bird of the day was an adult Scandinavian argentatus Herring Gull along with other Herring Gull on offshore sandbanks. This was closely contested by two Velvet Scoter which flew in and settled offshore from windmill with a Common Scoter and a Jack Snipe which was flushed near the Main Pond. There were three Slavonian Grebe close inshore again, with six Gannet and a Kittiwake moving south. From the hide there was a high count of 11 Goldeneye (1 male and 10 imm/female), along with 34 Shelduck and 16 Red-breasted Merganser. Two Chiffchaff were again present one near the car park and another by the First Pond. A Little Grebe was again on the Main Pond. 

 

 

Saturday 8th:

 

The strong winds had abated overnight and all that could be seen offshore early morning were 40+ Gannet, mostly very distant, with eight Razorbill and two Kittiwake west, one Red-throated Diver also flew west. In the calmer conditions off Warren Point five Slavonian Grebe were feeding close in off the beach. At least 120 Shag were also present with 88 sheltering in the lower estuary. Bullfinch, Treecreeper and two Chiffchaff remain in the bushes with two Little Grebe still on the Main Pond.

 

 

Friday 7th:

 

The strong south-westerly winds brought in the first Fulmar of the year, with four passing along with 30+ Gannet early morning. Only one Red-throated Diver and two Slavonian Grebe could be found in choppy conditions offshore. In the Estuary there were 264 Brent Goose plus two presumed pale bellied birds, 249 Bar-tailed Godwit, 80 Curlew, 62 Grey Plover, 45 Lapwing, 14 Black-tailed Godwit with single Greenshank, Goldeneye and Mediterranean Gull. Other counts included 35 Shelduck, 32 Shag, 25 Red-breasted Merganser, 24 Common Gull and five Little Egret.

 

 

Thursday 6th:

 

Two Red-throated Diver were again offshore but today there were also five Slavonian Grebe. Other news included 72 Brent Goose in the Bight and a Dartford Warbler still present.

 

 

Wednesday 5th:

 

The only news received for today was two Red-throated Diver and a Slavonian Grebe offshore.

 

 

Tuesday 4th:

 

No news was received for today.

 

 

Monday 3rd:

 

11 Red-throated Diver were offshore along with four Slavonian Grebe and eight Common Scoter.  Two Dartford Warbler were on site and two Buzzard flew over, before heading back west.

 

 

Sunday 2nd:

 

Offshore there were high counts of 17+ Red-throated Diver, 18 Great-crested and at least four Slavonian Grebe in the calmer conditions. The Red-necked Grebe was also reported again. Up to 30 Gannet were present in the bay, but little else could be found with no scoter and only one Razorbill seen. Single Greenshank and Black-tailed Godwit roosted in the Railway Saltmarsh. Elsewhere a Kingfisher was by the Main Pond, with two Dartford Warbler, in Greenland Lake and along the Dune Ridge.

 

 

Saturday 1st:

 

The increasing wind and choppy conditions offshore made viewing difficult but a Red-necked Grebe was close in off the seawall early morning, along with at least two Red-throated Diver, nine Great-crested and a Slavonian Grebe. Two adult Little Gull flew past mid morning with 40+ Gannet and a handful of Kittiwake.  In  the Estuary, there were two Goldeneye, three Greenshank, four Black-tailed Godwit, 26 Lapwing, c40 Red-breasted Merganser, 65+ Common and a single adult Mediterranean Gull.  The wader flocks on the beach at high tide included 55 Sanderling, 45 Ringed Plover and 26 Turnstone.  Elsewhere on site a Firecrest was by the First Pond, with a Treecreeper and three Chiffchaff also being seen, two Peregrine were again on Warren Point.

 

In total 77 species were recorded on site today.

 

Red-throated Diver

Slavonian Grebe

Little Grebe

Great-crested Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Gannet

Cormorant

Shag

Little Egret

Grey Heron

Mute Swan

Canada Goose

Brent Goose

Shelduck

Mallard

Wigeon

Teal

Common Scoter

Goldeneye

Red-breasted Merganser

Sparrowhawk

Peregrine

Pheasant

Moorhen

Coot

Oystercatcher

Ringed Plover

Grey Plover

Lapwing

Knot

Sanderling

Turnstone

Dunlin

Redshank

Greenshank

Black-tailed Godwit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Curlew

Snipe

Black-headed Gull

Common Gull

Mediterranean Gull

Herring Gull

Great Black-backed Gull

Little Gull

Kittiwake

Guillemot

Razorbill

Wood Pigeon

Skylark

Rock Pipit

Meadow Pipit

 

Pied Wagtail

Grey Wagtail

Wren

Dunnock

Robin

Stonechat

Song Thrush

Blackbird

Chiffchaff

Goldcrest

Firecrest

Great Tit

Blue Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Treecreeper

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Starling

House Sparrow

Chaffinch

Linnet

Goldfinch

Greenfinch

Bullfinch

Reed Bunting

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back | December 2004 |  Home