Wednesday 28th
The day dawned calm and clear- a pleasant change. Indeed it was so clear that frost formed in the Oasis field, this was not expected. It would seem that the majority of the southbound migrants had either moved on or succumbed in the storms. There were good numbers of Song Thrushes and Blackbirds as the day dawned but they moved quickly on. Thirty seven birds were ringed and seventeen were subsequent encounters. Blackbird was most frequent with 10, closely followed by eight Long-tailed Tits. As often happens there was a miscellany of bits and pieces. The best was another Cetti's Warbler. There were five Chiffchaffs, three each of cabaret type Redpolls and Robins, two Song Thrushes, plus singles of Blackcap, Chaffinch, Goldcrest ( definitely a poor autumn for these so far ), Great Spotted Woodpecker and House Sparrow.
Saturday 24th
A reasonable morning in between the storms. Thirty-nine birds were ringed this morning. As is regularly the case at this time of year numbers dwindle a bit but there is interesting variety. Today a Fieldfare, two Swallows, a Kingfisher and two 'mealy' Redpolls added variety. There were also eight Blackbirds, eight 'Lesser' Redpolls, five Robins, four Goldcrests, three each of Blackcap and Chiffchaff and singles of Blue Tit and Song Thrush.
Four retrap Chiffchaffs all had fat scores of four and so are clearly still finding plenty of food despite the weather.
Thursday 22nd
Although conditions did not quite match what was forecast the breeze was from a suitable direction to allow most nets to be used until mid-morning. There were plenty of birds around yesterday and it would seem some cleared out ahead of the approaching fronts.
Fifty-six birds were ringed. Top species was Blackbird with 19, followed by 10 Redpolls, one of these was of the ''mealy'' type. There were seven Goldcrests and two Firecrests. Eight Chiffchaffs looked like most had been around a day or so as they had good fat scores. Robins continue to appear and six were ringed. The rest of a nice variety were made up of singles of Blackcap, Blue Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker and Redwing.
Tuesday 20th
As forecast the wind picked up but the wet did not arrive until midday. There was just enough shelter to allow three rides to be used and in a short session 33 birds were ringed. The highlight was the first two Fieldfares of the autumn. It is an indication of how climate is changing that as these birds were extracted there were 20 or 30 Swallows flying around above us Eleven Goldcrests appeared mid-morning along with a Firecrest. There were seven more Robins and 11 Blackbirds. There was just one new Chiffchaff but there was a ringed bird from elsewhere in the UK, the other subsequent encounter of a Chiffchaff had been around a couple of weeks and increased to just over 10 grams.
Monday 19th
We are entering a much more unsettled spell of weather and so are glad to grab opportunities. Today 55 birds of 11 species were ringed. As we were putting the nets up we could hear a lot of thrush activity. Most moved quickly on but 17 Blackbirds, two Redwing and two Song Thrushes were ringed. There was also plenty of Robins ticking away and ten were ringed. The first 'cabaret' type Redpolls were caught with eight being ringed. The other birds were three Long-tailed Tits and singles of Blackcap, Blue Tit, Chaffinch and Goldcrest.
Nearly all the Blackbirds were of the longer winged, dark-billed, northern continental type.
Saturday 17th
After a blank day yesterday it was good to be able to use some nets before the increasing northerly brought an end to proceedings. There were not a lot of birds but 14 were ringed including the first Redpoll of the year, which was also the first Mealy-type subspecies of the year. There was also the first Brambling of the year. The other new birds were three Chiffchaffs, two each of Blackbird, Chaffinch and Redwing, plus a Blue Tit and a Redwing.
Thursday 15th
Although breezy there was enough shelter from first light to run some nets for a while before the wing increased more.
Thrushes continue to trickle in and four Redwings, two Song Thrushes and two Blackbirds were ringed. The other new birds were thirteen Chiffchaffs, three Blackcaps, two Robins, a Blue Tit and a Great Tit.
Still no sign of any Redpolls and Firecrests are not showing after a promising start in September.
An expedition to Rest Harrow Dunes was fruitful with five Meadow Pipits ringed.
Wednesday 14th
It was good to rise to a calm, but clear, autumnal morning which soon warmed up in the sun. The first net round yielded only one bird but fortunately things improved a bit after that. Sixty-two birds were ringed. Of particular note were 12 new Blue Tits. This may not be of note to ringers in woodland but on the coast it indicates a continued movement of birds. There was also a bird with a ring on from somewhere north of Canterbury.
The other new birds were 23 Blackcaps, 19, Chiffchaffs, four Song Thrushes, two House Sparrows, plus a Siskin and a Great Tit.
We tried again for Redpoll but this just confirmed what visible migration watching suggested, there are none moving yet.
We have heard back about the Cetti's Warbler from the 12th. It had been ringed 64km to the WNW at Halstow Marshes on August 8th and so was not quite as local as we suspected.
Tuesday 13th
Another night with poor conditions for migration resulted in another 12 new birds. This time Chiffchaff was most frequent with seven, followed by three Blackcaps and singles of Redwing and Song Thrush. The departing warblers continue to show good fat scores in contrast to the newly arrived thrushes. Fortunately conditions will help the latter regain some weight.
Monday 12th
The day started breezy and this increased. The direction was such that one or two rides were well sheltered. This revealed that there were hardly any overnight arrivals and ten new birds were made up from four Blackcaps, two Song Thrushes, two Blackbirds and singles of Redwing and Chiffchaff.
Bird of the day was a young, female, Cetti's warbler with a ring from elsewhere on. As soon as we know I will let you know, but I expect it will be local.
Sunday 11th
With the wind dropping it was hoped there might be a increase in migrants but the pattern remained much the same. Fifty birds were ringed. Blackcap was back on top and 24 were ringed, followed by 18 Chiffchaffs. The autumn arrivals continued and two Blackbirds, three Song Thrushes and a Redwing were ringed. Most of these were at the lower end of the expected weight range due having crossed the North Sea recently. The other new birds were a Blue tit and a Dunnock.
Saturday 10th
It is not often I can compliment the forecast but today was one such instance. Although some said the wind would be strong from the start others just said it would pick up during the day and this proved to be the case. The westerly direction meant most rides could be used. Fifty-eight birds were ringed and it was a nice mixture. Thrushes were obviously new in and nine Song Thrushes, three Redwing and three Blackbirds were ringed. Chiffchaff was most frequent with 25 followed by Blackcap with 10. Five Swallows were a bonus and there were singles of Blue Tit, Chaffinch and Robin.
Friday 9th
No mist netting possible due to the strength of the wind. This was frustrating as there were hundreds of Swallows milling around all afternoon. Some pushes of the heligoland yesterday and today in the afternoon yielded two Redwings, a Song Thrush and a Chiffchaff. The latter was well stocked up with fat and weighed a couple of grams more than most we have caught.
Wednesday 7th
Despite the forecasts it was warmer last night but we could feel it cooling during the day as rain approached. Hopes that a switch in wind direction (to east) might bring in some new birds were thwarted and it was very quiet. Twenty-eight birds were ringed, the best of these was a Lesser Whitethroat. There were 12 Chiffchaffs, eleven Blackcaps and a Song Thrush.
Tuesday 6th
Possibly the last morning with warmth and there was a misty start. This was burnt off by the warm sun. A few more of the team available today but it was actually a bit quieter. I expected a busier day with birds heading south ahead of the approaching change to the weather. Eighty-six birds were ringed but there was more variety with a Sparrowhawk the pick of the bunch. There were 47 Chiffchaffs and 26 Blackcaps, two each of Blackbird and Long-tailed Tit, plus four Blue Tits and singles of Chaffinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, House Sparrow and Wren.
Monday 5th
The settled spell continues, but not for long if forecasts are correct. Only two of us available this morning and 93 birds were ringed, most appearing in the second round. There were 58 Chiffchaffs and 32 Blackcaps. New thrushes are starting to appear, although we could hear Song Thrushes we caught two new Blackbirds. A Robin was the other new bird. We have not seen hirundines around the ringing area for a few days and a late try for Swallows was to no avail.
Sunday 4th
Calm and clear again. The migrants are making the most of this and 135 were ringed this morning. The fact that they are moving quickly on was emphasised by there being just three subsequent encounters (two Chiffchaffs and a Dunnock). The importance of this stretch of coastline for departing British breeders such as Blackcap and Chiffchaff is shown by their ongoing dominance of the ringing totals. There were 64 Chiffchaffs and 61 Blackcaps. Of note were six more new Blue Tits. The other new birds were singles of Goldfinch, Robin and, best of all a Magpie.
Saturday 3rd
Overnight conditions were similar to the previous night but there were less birds around, which is just as ell as it was a smaller team this morning.
Seventy eight birds were ringed. Thirty-six were Chiffchaffs, 32 Blackcaps, plus singles of Blackbird, Firecrest, Goldcrest, Robin and Wren. Blue Tits continue to trickle through with another five new birds ringed today. Considering the number of Blue Tits caught and ringed in the UK we get relatively few caught elsewhere so it is worth keeping going with them, just to get a better picture.
Friday 2nd
A clear sky with little breeze over night saw warblers on the move in a big way. We ringed 304. One-hundred-and-seventy were Chiffchaffs and 124 were Blackcaps. The other birds ringed were singles of Dunnock, Goldcrest, Goldfinch, Great Tit, Lesser Whitethroat and Song Thrush plus three Robins. There was also one control Chiffchaff. When we get chance to check the fat scores the Blackcaps continue to show high levels of fat.
Thursday 1st
Not as busy as hoped for despite the weather calming down to give a clear, calm, start. Sixty-six birds were ringed - 38 Blackcaps, 26 Chiffchaffs, a Blue Tit and a Chaffinch. A retrap Great Tit was one of our nestlings which had not been recorded since fledging.