Sightings July 2009

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1st There were two adult Roseate Terns and 12 Mediterranean Gulls at the Patch at low water and the first juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was seen at the fishing boats.

A Spotted Flycatcher was caught in the trapping area.
2nd Four Mediterranean Gulls at the Patch and a Grey Wagtail flying south over the Observatory were the only birds of note.
3rd Three Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull were seen offshore and a Green Sandpiper was seen at the Long Pits. Eight Sand Martins also passed through.
4th Six Mediterranean Gulls including a juvenile were seen offshore during the day.
5th Eleven Mediterranean Gulls were feeding at the Patch (including two juveniles).
6th Thirteen Mediterranean Gulls (including three juveniles), a Little Gull and two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls were feeding at the Patch and a party of six Little Terns flew west.

Three Yellow Wagtails flew over the Observatory.
7th A morning of thunder and torrential rain resulted in three Manx Shearwaters flying west but very little else passing by and three Mediterranean Gulls and a Little Gull at the Patch.
8th A Roseate Tern, eight Mediterranean Gulls, a first-summer Little Gull and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull were feeding at the Patch. An Eider was also feeding offshore and 120 Swifts flew over.
9th A Roseate Tern, ten Mediterranean Gulls and a first-summer Little Gull were feeding at the Patch.
10th The adult Roseate Tern was still feeding at the Patch along with four Mediterranean Gulls (two juveniles), an adult Yellow-legged Gull and an Arctic Tern.

A party of 50 Sand Martins flew over.
11th Seawatching produced a Balearic Shearwater flying west and a Manx Shearwater which appeared to be lingering offshore along with two adult Roseate Terns, three Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull.

Yellow-legged Gull
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A couple of flocks of Sand Martins totaling 61 birds also passed through.
12th There was an adult Roseate Tern, three Mediterranean Gulls and three Yellow-legged Gulls at the Patch and 110 Sand Martins passed through.
13th There were two adult Roseate Terns at the Patch and four Mediterranean Gulls and two Yellow-legged Gulls feeding offshore. A Manx Shearwater flew west in the evening.

Sand Martin passage is now well underway with at least 2600 flying south, mainly during the afternoon. Two Yellow Wagtails also flew over and there were at least four juvenile Black Redstarts in the area.
14th There were five adult Roseate Terns, a Black Tern and six Mediterranean Gulls at the Patch and 230 Sand Martins passed through.
15th A Balearic and eight Manx Shearwaters flew west and an Arctic Skua, four Mediterranean Gulls, a Little Gull, three Yellow-legged Gulls, a Roseate Tern and a Black Tern were lingering offshore. A Little Egret and 350 Swifts flew over.
16th A Willow Warbler was seen in the trapping area.
17th A Little Ringed Plover flew west, four Mediterranean Gulls were feeding at the Patch and 192 Sand Martins passed through.

Also of interest, an adult Pectoral Sandpiper was seen at ARC.
18th A Balearic Shearwater flew west and two juvenile Mediterranean Gulls and a Roseate Tern were feeding at the Patch.
19th A Roseate Tern was feeding at the Patch and two Mediterranean Gulls and a Yellow-legged Gull were also on the beach. A Manx Shearwater flew west.

Also of note, a Red-necked Phalarope was seen briefly at ARC in the morning and the  Pectoral Sandpiper also reappeared at ARC in the morning.
20th The Roseate Tern was feeding at the Patch again along with seven Mediterranean Gulls (five juveniles), three juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls and a Black Tern.

The Pectoral Sandpiper was seen again at ARC in the morning.
21st Three Mediterranean Gulls (two juveniles), a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull and two Black Terns were feeding at the Patch.

Sand Martins moved through in good numbers with at least 850 being seen. Swallows also increased with at least 75 seen and seven Yellow Wagtails also passed through. At least five Black Redstarts were around the Observatory and Power Station.

Sand Martin

Sand Martin

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The Pectoral Sandpiper was seen again at ARC in the morning.
22nd An adult Roseate Tern and two juvenile Mediterranean Gulls were seen at the Patch.

A few Sand Martins and four Yellow Wagtails moved through during the morning and a Willow Warbler was seen in the moat.
23rd There were seven juvenile Mediterranean Gulls feeding at the Patch along with three Yellow-legged Gulls.

There was a very slight increase in grounded migrants with a Grasshopper Warbler and six Willow Warblers of note. 180 Sand Martins also passed through.

24th A wet and windy spell during the morning produced a Balearic and a Manx Shearwater flying west. Two juvenile Mediterranean Gulls and seven Yellow-legged Gulls were also seen during the day.

Very quiet on the land with just a few Sand Martins passing through.

25th One juvenile Yellow-legged Gull was seen on the beach and a Kingfisher was seen at the Long Pits. Overhead, 350 Swifts and 170 Sand Martins passed through, eight Black Redstarts were seen around the Observatory and nine Willow Warblers arrived.
26th A Balearic Shearwater flew west and one Mediterranean Gull and two Yellow-legged Gulls were seen on the beach. At least 400 Sand Martins passed through.
27th A very small arrival of grounded migrants occurred with a Garden Warbler and 12 Willow Warblers of note and a Marsh Harrier flying out to the east.

There were two juvenile Mediterranean Gulls and three juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls at the Patch and over 300 Gannets flew west.

28th Another small arrival of grounded migrants occurred with a Sedge Warbler and 15 Willow Warblers of note along with 1000 Sand Martins passing through. Two Marsh Harrier were hunting in the area and two Peregrine Falcons were roosting on the power station.

There was one juvenile Mediterranean Gull, three juvenile and one adult Yellow-legged Gulls and an Arctic Tern at the Patch.

29th Migrants continue to arrive in mainly small numbers with a Redstart, some migrant Wheatears and 14 Willow Warblers of note.

Two juvenile Mediterranean Gulls and a juvenile Arctic Tern were feeding offshore.

30th Strong winds brought a good arrival of Willow Warblers with at least 36 being seen but little else.

There were three Mediterranean Gulls, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull and a juvenile Arctic Tern at the Patch.

31st Willow Warblers were again much in evidence with at least 50 today along with 2500 Sand Martins, 14 Yellow Wagtails and a Whinchat.

There were three juvenile Mediterranean Gulls, an adult Little Gull, a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull and a juvenile Arctic Tern at the Patch.