Fresh easterly winds brought a small arrival of migrants on the land with 18 Firecrests and nine Goldcrests of particular note. Limited overhead passage included 29 Fieldfares, 21 Redwings, four Grey Wagtails, five Rock Pipits and six Bramblings. Five hours of seawatching saw 2387 Brent Geese, 180 Wigeon, three Pintail, 27 Teals and 15 Knot passing west and three Goldeneyes and 22 Mediterranean Gulls passing east.
Two Porpoises and a Grey Seal were seen offshore and a Badger was feeding in the Observatory garden this evening.
Two Ornate Shieldbugs and 20 Brassica Bugs were seen in front of the Observatory. Of even greater significance though was the confirmation that a bug occurring in large numbers on a dead Tree Mallow plant in the Observatory garden is Oxycarenus lavaterea and is the first known breeding aggregation to be seen in Britain.
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| Oxycarenus lavaterea adults and various nymphal stages October 2022 |