Migration
27 Apr 2016
Migrants are still arriving intermittently in this Arctic weather but I did find the following between SS and East Lane this morning: 2 swifts (my first for the year), 3 swallows, 1 yellow wagtail, 5 sedge warblers, 6 singing common whitethroats, 1 lesser whitethroat, 1 blackcap and a few chiffchaffs. No cuckoo yet but they may be wating for the reed warblers to cross first since they are the cuckoo 'hosts' aroundf here. Clever stuff!
Jeremy
Spring!
24 March 2016
Felt truly like the first day of spring. Some early morning evidence of bird movement included a firecrest, which worked its way south along the house fronts, a buzzard and sparrow hawk flying in off the sea, while the splendid wintering black redstart continued to sit up to be admired on posts and roofs near the Tennis Court.
Jeremy
This is a report of the bird ringing that has been undertaken in Shingle Street over the last ten years by Mervyn Miller and his colleagues. Birds are trapped in specially designed ‘mist nets’, then examined, weighed and ringed with tiny metal rings, each of which has a unique, identifying code number.
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Autumn
31 Oct 2015
The last day of October and a little heat-wave. No wonder the seasons are confused. To make the point, there were winter visitors coming in off the sea (a flock of fieldfares) and also an extremely late lesser whitethroat (a summer visitor) in bushes by the allotment patch. Also a peacock butterfly still on the wing. Nice but rather weird.
Jeremy
Avocets gone
22 Aug 2015
... gone. The avocets and their two young have now flown. A little local success story.
In nearby pools there was a ruff feeding, a wader on passage but not one I often see here. And further along the sea-walls there were two clouded yellow butterflies, so it looks as though the tiny colony at East Lane may have survived despite all the clearance work there.
Jeremy
Bird ringing
16 Aug 2015
We had a bird-ringing demo this morning (early) from Mervyn, who rings regularly in SS. Most of the catches were common garden birds like robins, great tits and dunnocks, but there were also several migrant warblers like common and lesser whitethroats, reed warbler, garden warbler and this very bright willow warbler – all of these heading south to Africa this month.
Jeremy
Avocet young
15 Aug 2015
One avocet on guard. The young ones are getting flighty and it will soon be going, going ...
Jeremy
Green sandpiper
13 Aug 2015
The avocets now have two fully fledged young which are making short flights, so they will probably be gone from their breeding pool soon. Today they were joined there by a green sandpiper, a small wader on autumn passage, which flashes a distinctive white rump when it takes off, contrasting with the very dark back so that it looks rather like a house martin at first sight.
Jeremy
Bird ringing
02 Aug 2015
There will be a bird-ringing demonstration at the Secret Garden from 7.30am on Sunday 16 August. All welcome, including children. See birds in the hand instead of in the bush.
Jeremy
Kingfisher
02 Aug 2015
A kingfisher in the Sluice area today. It will probably be around now for the autumn and winter. You have to be quick to see it but it perches on the reeds and the rocks near the outfall. Probably easiest to pick up from its whistled calls.
Jeremy
