Very light breeze mainly from the south. Mainly overcast, with light showers from mid morning.
Middleton Nature Reserve
Ringing report from Jean:
Warblers on the move this morning. 35 birds caught between 7am-10am and 31 of these were warblers.
Sedge Warbler 7,
Whitethroat 7,
Willow Warbler 7,
Blackcap 4,
Garden Warbler 2,
Chiffchaff 2,
Reed Warbler 1 retrap,
Lesser Whitethroat 1.
Non-warblers included 2 Wrens, 1 Robin and 1 juv Dunnock.
Almost all birds were this year’s apart from 2 adult Whitethroats.
Swallows: 2 heard pre 7am (possibly ex roost?)Vis: Grey Wagtail (1).
South shore
Three checks today
First just a quick check of Red Nab and foreshore (MD)
Foreshore:
Grey Wagtail 2 together before heading off east
Wheatear 2
Rock Pipit 3
Red Nab
Mediterranean gull at least 8
Sandwich Tern 1
The Sandwich Tern is preening on the rock. There are five meds in this clip, although you only get a brief glimpse of one of them on far left at the start of the clip.
Kevin had a check at lunchtime:
Ocean Edge foreshore:
Wheatear 3
Rock Pipit 2
In the scrub near the lighthouse:
Two Willow Warblers.
I went down in the evening to check the beach near the wooden jetty (MD)
Mediterranean gull minimum 10 - the sun chose this point to make its only appearance of the day, making it impossible to tell if the distant gulls were meds or Black-Headed gulls. The gulls tonight were just stood on the beach, not feeding. I don't think it was the lack of opportunity, I just think they had already eaten enough (the timing of these tides allows them a morning and evening feeding opportunity). The white ringed bird was present again this evening. I was wrong yesterday thinking it was a new bird for the area. It was seen once last year, and that was the first record for this bird:
Ringed as an adult 11/05/2019 at Total Antwerp Belgium.
Sand Martin 2 south
Swallow at least 13 feeding in Power Station grounds, 10+ south between Red Nab and small anemometer. A late evening check of the potential roost site at Middleton found 11 (6 + 5) birds still moving west, but no obvious roost.
Just some clips from today showing two common feeding behaviours of the large gulls.
First a very serene looking Lesser-Blacked back with a crab, I'll spare you the dismemberment. Or, you may wish to check out the other birds in the clip including a Sandwich Tern and Mediterranean gulls. The green ringed Med is the long staying German bird.
This Herring gull is opening a mussel, by dropping it on to the harbour wall. I once watched a Time Team episode where the "expert" declared, on finding a mussel shell on top of a rocky sea cliff: "
the only way this shell got up here is by being carried up here by humans"......Really!
Unfortunately for the young gulls, they are a long way down the pecking order. This Carrion Crow was next up. they will soon learn to open their own mussels.
