|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| The 2007 Annual Report is now available and costs £6.50 (inc. p&p) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1st | The
Crested Lark continued to provide most of
the interest but it remains very flighty and
difficult to observe well on the ground.
Other migrants on the land were generally few and far between but did include four Little Egrets, a Common Sandpiper, 80 Swallows, four Yellow Wagtails, 10 Willow Warblers and a Jay. Several hours seawatching produced one Black-throated Diver, one Manx Shearwater, nine Knot, 735 Bar-tailed Godwits, one Pomarine Skua, eight Arctic Skuas, a Great Skua, 17 Arctic Terns and 13 Little Terns, all flying east. Also of note, a Red-rumped Swallow was seen on the RSPB Reserve, mostly over Burrowes Pit, from 1645 until 1900hrs. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2nd | The
Crested Lark continued to provide most of
the interest but it remains very flighty and
getting good views of the bird on the ground is
often very difficult. The best areas for looking
for it are the Broom covered ridges between
Southview Cottage and RHDRailway Station or on the
open shingle between the main road and the fishing
boats.
Please park carefully in the designated areas or on the seaward side of the main road and also ensure that residents access to their properties is not restricted. Please do not enter private gardens. Surprisingly there was also a small arrival of migrants with a Redstart, a Sedge Warbler, our first Garden Warbler of the year, four Blackcaps and 40 Willow Warblers. Other birds of note included two Little Egrets, 95 Swallows and two Coal Tits. The sea was very quiet. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3rd | The
Crested Lark continued to provide most of
the interest but it remains very flighty but
is perhaps becoming slightly easier to see on the
ground. The best areas for looking for it today
were the Broom covered ridges between Southview
Cottage and RHDRailway Station.
Please park carefully in the designated areas or on the seaward side of the main road and also ensure that residents access to their properties is not restricted. Please do not enter private gardens. It was otherwise a very quiet day for common migrants with just three Yellow Wagtails, a Tree Pipit, a Whinchat, a Redstart and eight Willow Warblers of note. The sea was almost devoid of birds. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 4th | The
Crested Lark was seen at around 0630 hrs
when it flew south-west towards the railway
station but could not be found afterwards.
There was very little else to be seen with just a Hobby and a trickle of Swallows passing through of note. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5th | Very quiet in strong westerly winds. Three Yellow Wagtails and six Willow Warblers were the best the land had to offer whilst a single Arctic Skua was seen offshore. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 6th | An increasingly strong west wind continues to keep migrants on both land and sea to a minimum. The only birds of interest were two Garden Warblers and also a party of three Little Terns. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 7th | The strong westerly winds and dearth of migrants on both land and sea continues. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 8th | Very little change as the mainly clear skies and strong westerly winds continue. The only bird of note was a first-summer Mediterranean Gull at the Patch. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 9th | Still incredibly quiet despite an improvement in the weather conditions. An Arctic Skua flew east and there was a first-summer Yellow-legged Gull at the Patch. A Turtle Dove was new for the year and a few Swallows and a Redpoll flew over. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 10th | With
a light southerly breeze at first backing
north-east and freshening later there was a steady
movement of birds offshore. The highlights were 13
Pomarine Skuas and a Curlew Sandpiper
whilst other bits of interest included two Black-throated
Divers, a Shag, five Grey Plovers,
17 Sanderlings, a Little Gull, 500 Common
Terns, 25 Arctic Terns, five Little
Terns and eight Black Terns.
It was very quiet on the land again with just very small numbers of Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers and three Siskins and a Redpoll overhead. Of note on the RSPB Reserve was a Pectoral Sandpiper viewable from the Makepeace Hide and a Spoonbill roosting in the evening on Burrowes Pit. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 11th | Near
gale force north-easterly winds prevented any real
movement offshore and made observations on the
land almost impossible. The only notable birds
were three Black Terns at the Patch and a Greenshank
which flew over the Observatory.
The Pectoral Sandpiper was still on the RSPB Reserve and viewable from the Makepeace Hide. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 12th | The
fierce north east wind continued for most of the
day. The only birds of note were an adult Mediterranean
Gull and two Black Terns at the Patch
along with 700 Common Terns.
The Pectoral Sandpiper was still on the RSPB Reserve and viewable from the Makepeace Hide. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 13th | With
the wind falling light overnight and with heavy,
overcast conditions for most of the day there was
a remarkable arrival of migrants on the land and a
large movement of birds offshore.
Land migrants were actually pretty scarce but this was more than made up for by the quality. The obvious highlights were a male Subalpine Warbler which spent most of the day feeding in low broom and gorse near the Old Lighthouse, a male Melodious Warbler initially found in front of the power station before finally ending up in the Old Lighthouse Garden (where it frequently sang), a male Icterine Warbler which turned up in the afternoon in the garden of Southview Cottage and a Nightjar which spent a few minutes sat on the road in front of the power station in the morning. Other notable grounded migrants included a Hobby, a Turtle Dove, a male Redstart, a Grasshopper Warbler, four Reed Warblers, a Garden Warbler and our first three Spotted Flycatchers of the spring.
Seawatching was also very productive with seven Pomarine Skuas and ten Arctic Skuas of note along with a large movement of terns including 2500 Common Terns, 55 Little Terns and 81 Black Terns. A Common Sandpiper, a Great Skua and five Mediterranean Gulls were also seen. The Pectoral Sandpiper was also seen on the ARC Pit in the afternoon. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 14th | Another
exciting morning with three Icterine Warblers
being found: one singing in the lighthouse garden,
one trapped in the moat and one singing in the
trapping area. A male Nightjar was also
seen in the trapping area along with a
"continental" Coal Tit. Four Spotted
Flycatchers were seen and six Tree Pipits
and a Redpoll flew over. Three Hobbies
were also seen.
It was very quiet offshore with just three Black Terns at the Patch of note. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 15th | A
light easterly breeze and rain throughout the
night failed to produce very much in the morning
with just three Turtle Doves, a Garden
Warbler, two Blackcaps and three Spotted
Flycatchers of note.
There was very little movement offshore with just two Arctic Skuas, a Great Skua and 41 Little Terns of note and two first-summer Mediterranean Gulls and four Black Terns were feeding at the Patch. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 16th | Strong
southerly winds and rain during the morning
produced a few seabirds with 70 Manx
Shearwaters and 70 Fulmars flying west
and a Black-throated Diver, three Pomarine
Skuas and seven Arctic Skuas flying
east. A Black Tern was feeding at the
Patch.
Quiet on the land with just a Hobby, two Spotted Flycatchers and a singing male Firecrest in the trapping area of interest. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 17th | A
Purple Heron came in from the east at
0620hrs and headed steadily inland but there was
very little else on the land other than a couple
of Hobbies, a Blackcap and a Spotted
Flycatcher and also 200 Swallows
passing through.
Seawatching produced three Manx Shearwaters, 12 Arctic Skuas and a Great Skuas in the first few hours of daylight but very little else after that. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 18th | Another
very windy day with little to be seen. Several
hours seawatcing in the morning produced a Pomarine
and eight Arctic Skuas and there was a
first-summer Mediterranean Gull and two Arctic
Terns at the Patch.
Two Hobbies, 85 Swallows and a Garden Warbler in the trapping area were the only sightings of note on the land. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 19th | Another very quiet day. Three Arctic Skuas flew east in the morning and there was a first-summer Mediterranean Gull at the Patch. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 20th | After a quiet morning which produced just one Arctic Skua, one first-summer Mediterranean Gull and a couple of Spotted Flycatchers the day suddenly came to life with first an Osprey flying over the trapping area and a single and then a further two Buzzards. These were then eclipsed by a Black Kite which arrived over the Observatory at 1245hrs, circled the peninsula for a few minutes and finally headed off in a westerly direction. Three Hobbies and a Peregrine Falcon were also seen to keep the raptor theme going and a Turtle Dove was of note. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 21st | Very little to be seen with a single Whinchat being about the best of it. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 22nd | A party of four Spoonbills flew over at 1530hrs and two Mediterranean Gulls were feeding at the Patch. On the land, a Garden Warbler and three Jays were of note. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 23rd | Very little to report. A Hobby and a Spotted Flycatcher were seen on the land and there were two Mediterranean Gulls at the Patch. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 24th | Another very quiet day with very little to report. Three Arctic Skuas flew east. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 25th | Very quiet. Two Hobbies, two Blackcaps and three Corn Buntings were about the best of it. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 26th | An
adult Roseate Tern was feeding at the Patch
during the morning where a Mediterranean Gull
and a Yellow-legged Gull were also seen.
Generally quiet on the land with just three Hobbies, 600 Swift and a Garden Warbler of interest. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 27th | A day that began with miserable weather and then got progressively worse. The Roseate Tern was seen at the Patch throughout the day and a Mediterranean Gull and a Little Gull were also seen here. Four Arctic Skuas passed through. Very little to be seen on the land other than several hundred Swifts. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 28th | Three Mediterranean Gulls were seen during the day and 890 Swifts passed through. A Crossbill also flew over. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 29th | Six Mediterranean Gulls were seen during the day but very little else was seen. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 30th | Two Black Terns and a first-summer Mediterranean Gull were feeding at the Patch and a Tree Pipit flew over the trapping area. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
