This morning, 3 common terns including the 2nd summer bird identifiable by its darker bill and the presence of a faint, dark carple patch. This bird appears to be a female since the pair were seen mating today. Yesterday the pair appeared to be attempting to create a scrape on the spit.

Also today a single adult great black-backed gull and the tufted duck with the nasal saddle CH1.

From Friday afternoon...

Warblers: As usual at the flash - more Willow Warblers singing (1 seen) than Chiffchaffs, actually saw as well as heard some Reed Warblers (best views were from Teal Hide), heard 3 Cetti's, Warblers saw 2 male Blackcaps

Kingfishers seen from Teal Hide and Edmonson Hide

Common Tern - 2 on the flash, one sat on buoy #3 which I presumed was a juvenile when I saw the another one fishing and then feeding the one on the buoy

Quite a few baby Black-headed gulls around

Just a quick look this morning produced a little egret flying from Ramsdales, over the flash and away east.

This morning, 2 Common Terns (including the second summer bird), drake Teal and a mid-sized noisy green parrot sp. flying around Ramsdales and the Point.

Also this afternoon around 80 lesser black-backed gulls and 10 herring gulls.

Two avocets currently on the end of the spit.

This morning's main highlights included:

12 Greylag Geese

2 adult Great Black-backed Gulls

2 Common Terns (one of which on closer inspection appeared to be identifiable as a second-summer bird)

2 Kingfishers

So far this morning, a (grey) cuckoo flew from the south side and over Horrocks hide, also 1 common tern. 

In the light of Barry and Bill's sighting from this morning, I think there's  a fair chance that my egret from yesterday was actually great white egret and not cattle egret as I reported. I had a 2 second  view of a white egret with an orange bill flying overhead before it disappeared behind trees. It didn't seem great white egret size but I guess that it probably was.

Great White Egret on the spit at 05:15 but then flew off west.

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

This morning a cattle egret flew low towards the spit over the main footpath near Tom Edmondson hide and showed very well for a couple of seconds before disappearing behind trees. So far it has not been relocated and may have left. Perhaps it will come back to roost later.  Also this morning, two ravens over.

This morning:

Common Sandpiper in Ramsdales

Adult Great Black-backed Gull

2 Common Terns

2 Greylag Geese

Black tern this evening in the thunderstorm.

A brief visit on the way to do the weekly shop proved productive this afternoon, with a brown female cuckoo and later a little egret flying over Horrock's.

colin davies wrote:

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This morning 9:00 - 11:00

Mediterranean gull 2 ad & 2nd sum. Hawking for insects with black-headed gulls then on the spit.

 

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 Thought I heard one whilst I was on Ramsdales Ruck but couldn’t see it/them and didn’t hear it again. Always back yourself 😂

This morning 9:00 - 11:00

Mediterranean gull 2 ad & 2nd sum. Hawking for insects with black-headed gulls then on the spit.

Common sandpiper 1

Barnacle goose flying with 2 greylags west along the canal

Main highlights from this morning besides the more usual birds:

Little Tern flew through west at 07:35

5 Common Terns 

Adult Great Black-backed Gull

1 Kingfisher

This afternoon Redshank, Common Sandpiper and 4 Grey Wagtail.

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

Also this morning, redshank on the spit, common sandpiper in Ramsdales, adult great black-backed gull and 2 common terns. 

Both Stilts flew off NE at c08:55ish and could not be relocated around the flash.

Black-winged Stills on view again at 08:40 from Horrocks Hide.

No further sign of the Black-winged Stilts by 08:30.

Two black-winged stilts on spit, currently out of view but being looked for.

This morning 6.30 - 8.00,

Cuckoo 1 singing in Ramsdales then later from the golf course

Common sandpiper 1

Common tern 4

Grey wagtail 2

Garden warbler 1 singing and showing  well behind Teal hide

4 common terns this afternoon, also 2 grey wagtails.

Single adult Great Black-backed Gull, 5 Greylag Geese, single Redshank and Kingfisher and c600 Swifts the main highlights this morning.

So far this morning:

2 Arctic Terns

4 Common Terns 

9 Greylag Geese

Info thanks to Barry Hulme

This morning,

2 Great Black-backed Gulls, an adult and yesterday's first summer bird (image below) still around the spit (and carcass opposite)

1 Redshank on the spit

1 Raven over north

1 Greylag Geese over SE

1 Great Crested Grebe flew at considerable height east along the flash then veered to the north and into the distance!

This morning's highlights:

Hugely unexpected to say the least was a fantastic male Serin which flew N/NW over Ramsdales Ruck calling away giving brief but good views. The bird never appeared to drop down and a search of the top of the ruck later proved fruitless.

Ringed Plover over high west calling

4 Great Black-backed Gulls, with three single adults NW and a first summer bird feeding on a corpse opposite the spit (photo attached next to a Coot's nest!)

800 Swifts

A pair of Mediterranean Gulls flying around the flash calling, eventually landed on the spit (I could only hear it/them as I was in tree cover at the time, confirmed as two by Bill Harrison)

1 Kingfisher

Single ringed plover on the spit this morning. 

Black tern again 7.05am

This morning 5.45 - 7.00

Black tern 1 at 5.45 but not seen since.

Ringed plover 2 on spit

Swift lots!

So far today,

Red Kite 1 initially low over the boat club then gained height and drifted slowly north.

Black tern 5

Turnstone 1 on the end of the spit. Thanks to Roger Halsey for pointing the bird out to me and letting me look through his scope.

Garden warbler 1

Swift 500

Minimum 26 Black Tern at 16.00 some attempted to leave but came back down

21 Black Terns present at 11:30

Info thanks to Andy Makin 

Late news for yesterday evening when there were 11 black terns present, info thanks to a couple of flash regulars.

Two adult Black Terns this morning and also 1400 Swift again mainly feeding over the south side early morning but with some dispersal a little later on

Cuckoo singing again around 08:30 and flew towards the south side.

This morning’s highlights (other than the usual more regular birds) included a pretty spectacular 940+ Swifts feeding over the south side early morning, thinning out a little and also moving lower over the water towards mid-morning. Also 6 Greylag Geese, 3 Common Tern, the first Great Crested Grebe young and the usual small passage of Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls.

Cuckoo singing on the south side this morning.

Info thanks to Bill Harrison

 Thanks very much Colin. I visit the reserve regularly but have never climbed up to the canal - no wonder I haven't seen it. thanks again

Mike

Hi Mike, just to clarify, you don't climb up to the canal, the bird is in the woodland to the right just before you climb up. 

If that bird isn't around, there's another bird around the large patch of gorse on the edge of the ruck towards the Slag lane end.

munsworth wrote:

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colin davies wrote:

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Two curlew north over the ruck this morning, also 2 common terns and singing garden warbler showing well.

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 Colin, could you give me an approximate location for the garden warbler please

 

Mike

-- Edited by munsworth on Sunday 28th of May 2023 11:18:59 AM

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 Thanks very much Colin. I visit the reserve regularly but have never climbed up to the canal - no wonder I haven't seen it. thanks again

Mike

This morning 7:15 - 8:45:

Common tern 2

Tufted duck 10 inc. female with nasal saddle CH1

Swift 100 mainly over boat club

Nuthatch with fledged young outside Pengy's hide

Barry Hulme heard a greenshank at 5:30ish, but not seen.