Ringing: February
Friday 14th The breeze was fresher and cooler than expected but the lower net of each set could be put up. There was not much around and seven birds were caught- Retraps of Chaffinch, two Dunnocks, two Robins and a Wren plus a new Dunnock. Wednesday’s Sparrowhawk. Notice the heart-shaped marks on the lower chest confirming it is a bird…
Birds: February
Thursday 13th RSPB Worth marshes held a Great White Egret, two Egyptian Geese, two Barn Owls, and 31 Pochards, with three more of the latter on the Green Wall and another on Restharrow Scrape making a good total of 35 in the area currently. Please note new 2025 Membership cards are now available for collection at the Observatory. Please drop…
Butterflies: January
Thursday 16th A Red Admiral sunning itself at New Downs New Pool was our first butterfly of the year.
Butterflies: December
Thursday 30th Just when we thought the butterfly season was over, a Peacock was flying strongly around Waldershare Avenue on the Estate, our latest ever record.
Ringing: January
Sunday 26th Although the morning started calm and frosty gales were forecast and started building up by mid-morning. We seized the chance of the quiet bit of the day to ring a few birds. Seventeen were caught of which four were new. The most interesting was a new Robin which weighed 24.4g. 20g is normally a good weight for our…
Dragonflies: January to March
It is a quieter time for Odonata sightings with the first sightings usually not until mid April. In the mean time, why not plan ahead to come visit us this summer and see some for yourselves? A total of 32 species of Odonata have been recorded here, more than anywhere else in the UK, and many of which are Nationally…
Moths: January
Friday 10th Despite the conditions not often being favourable last year we still added three new species of macro and several micros to the list. We are grateful to visitors who take the time to share their records with us. This included this first from Lynnette Nicholson and Mark Golley which was gen. det’d by N. Jones. Thursday 2nd It…
Birds: January
Thursday 30th A Skylark flying in off the sea was unusual in that there shouldn’t be any birds migrating at this time of year and it is not particularly cold enough for hard weather movements. However, there has been a marked increase in Skylark activity in the last few days and are now singing across the golf courses. So perhaps…
Moths: December
Tuesday 17th The forecast overnight was way off and a clear sky led to the temperature dropping below 2°C and a frost forming. There were no moths in the trap. Monday 16th The promise of a mild, settled, night tempted the trap out. It was worth it despite the fact there were only two moths. One was the first December…
Ringing: December
Sunday 29th The last couple of days have been so foggy that the nets would have been too wet. It seemed at first today might head the same way, particularly as there was no breeze, but the fog held off. Thirty-six birds were caught. At first 30 of these being retraps might seem a bit frustrating but a main aim…