Friday 7th
With ringer available the nets were back up and there was a steady trickle of new birds in the usual hot, dry conditions. Thirty were ringed; Reed Warbler eight, Blackcap five, Whitethroat four, two each of Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, plus singles of Chaffinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Wren.
Yesterday evening a juvenile Herring Gull wandered into the Observatory lobby and so became the first one to be ringed here for more than ten years.
Thursday 6th
The House Martin nests were checked today with the thought it might be one of the last checks this year but this will not be the case. In a burst of activity there are five nests with eggs. If successful they will not be fledging until September. It will however make up foe the slow start.
Wednesday 5th
It started breezy and picked up and so by 8am we were packing up. Just four birds were caught, all new, namely two Whitethroats, one Reed Warbler and a Sand Martin.
An hour after we stopped a big rarity arrived - there were five minutes of strong rain. It was enough to create a puddle but this quickly evaporated in the sun and breeze.
A colour-ringed Herring Gull recorded on Restharrow Scrape, where it was feeding fledged young, had been ringed in Essex in March 2015 and subsequently recorded at Silvertown, London in early 2017 before moving to Sandwich by May 2017.
Tuesday 4th
Hot and reasonably calm this morning. Twenty two birds were ringed plus 6 pulli House Sparrows. The ringed birds were five Whitethroats, four Reed Warblers, two each of Blackbird and Blackbird, plus singles of Blue Tit, Dunnock, Garden Warbler, Great Tit, Sand Martin and Sedge Warbler. All birds were juveniles.
Monday 3rd
Despite the clear sky overnight it definitely was not a cool start. There were just nine new birds - three each of Willow Warbler and Reed Warbler, plus singles of Whitethroat, Sand Martin and Chaffinch.
Sunday 2nd
A surprisingly cool start, due to the clear sky probably, but it soon got hot. A young Redstart was ringed.
Saturday 1st
A hot dry morning which was finished with a very rare sighting. There was a tiny amount of rain - enough to darken the paving slabs, but no more.
Twenty-six birds were ringed. Reed Warbler continued to do well with nine new birds and two subsequent encounters. Other warblers included four Willow Warblers and two Whitethroats.
With the approach of some dark clouds we hoped we might catch some hirundines but the air, with its accompanying insects, rose followed by the hirundines.