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Diary 2006 Any additional records are most welcome - please email them in! If you've arrived straight to this page click here to get to the home page and site navigation. Click here for the 2005 Bird Report and 2004 Wildlife Report ! NEW - Briantspuddle Birding - my garden website ! For the Annual Report Index - click here!
10 October: A very busy morning with migrants going in all directions. A Kingfisher in Newton's Cove was a year tick, as were six Skylarks going south. Also on the move were good counts of Greenfinch, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Swallow, Linnet, two Little Egret and six Rook.10 Chiffchaff and a Willow Warbler were aroud the sycamores, and two Arctic Terns were still in Newton's Cove. Year list to 98 spp. 9 October: A few more migrants this morning, with ten Chiffchaffs and three Goldcrests, but the best was a Turtle Dove in the Steps garden. This is the first record for - amazingly - six years, in exactly the same location as the last, in May 2000! Year list to 96 spp. 6 October: A good SW blow and rain produced a few birds in the bay: 3 Gannet, juv. Arctic Tern, seven Common Scoter, with Ringed Plover over, and a Common Sandpiper with the Turnstones below the fort. 3 October: Good numbers of common migrants: Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, and the first real Chaffinch passage.A Jackdaw was still around with the Carrion Crows. Chiffchaff numbers up to seven. Later on, a good series of waders reported, with Common Sandpiper, and both Dunlin and Ringed Plover over. A Clouded Yellow was I think new for the year. 30 September: A real Meadow Pipit movement over between the showers, and four Jackdaws now with the crow flock.A Mute Swan flying north was a nice autumn record. Still Blackcap and Willow Warbler about. 28 September: Carrion Crow numbers continue to soar - nearly fifty today. Dread to think what they will peak at in the winter.An excellent count of 13 Chiffchaff grounded by the drizzle. 27 September: A Common Sandpiper by the fort, and good counts of Red Admiral and Migrant Hawker in the very mild conditions. 25 September: At last, a good morning, with fog inland, and a few birds on the move. A male Bullfinch flew out of the fort sycamores with a few Chaffinches, and a short watch there also produced a Pied Flycatcher: both year-ticks, to move the sluggish total to 95 spp. 21 September: A good count of 57 Greenfinch coming out of roost was the best of a quiet morning, with the first Meadow Pipits on the move. 12 September: A small Swallow passage, with two Grey Wagtails, and a good count of 10 Dark Bush Crickets. 11 September: Two Willow Warblers and a Wheatear the only evidence of movement. 15 August: A noisy Raven was new for the year along the Newton's Cove shore, with Tree Pipit over and settling briefly. House Sparrows are doing very well this year, with today's count of 79 the highest for nearly four years, with the 195 at the end of August 2002 still the record. Good news on the breeding front, with at least three Swallow nests kindly shown to me by one of the friendly Nothe Fort staff, within the walls of the fort - the first proof of breeding for the site, although they probably bred successfully last year as well. One was at the entrance to a tunnel actually below ground level. Year list to 93 spp. 28 July: A passing Dunlin was a year-tick on a fresher morning. Many butterflies on the wing included Small White new for the year and a mini-invasion of Rush Veneer moths, as well as some Syrphus balteatus hoverflies.Year list to 92 spp. 19
July: A Green
Woodpecker on the Tavern lawns and Gannet
in the bay were both year-ticks,
but the best of the morning were the three Kestrel
chicks begging for food, with the adult hunting nearby. Year-list
to 91 spp.
Moths and Breakfast at the cadet base, and a fresh Poplar Hawk - the first record, 16 July 2006 16
July: An excellent Moths and Breakfast morning
with many new species for the site in the three traps set
out. Bird event of the day was the discovery of Kestrels
nesting on site - the first breeding
record. The adult was seen bringing a Brown
Rat (a year tick!) to the as yet indeterminate
no of young.
Mothing The Nothe: two of last night's haul - Elephant Hawk (left, first record) and L-album Wainscot (right, second record), 13 July 2006 13 July: Just a returning Whimbrel on the shore this morning of note. However the main interest lay in the moths, after a night of trapping, by kind permission of a resident.Lots of new species for the site, with the best in fact a second record of L-album Wainscot, on a night without any other migrants - which makes me wonder whether it breeds here. 5 July: A muggy start to the day, with waders to the fore. A Redshank was new for the year, but more notable was a Turnstone - the first July record. Whether this proves to be the latest spring or earliest autumn record depends on whether it stays through the month I guess. A Little Tern was also a good July record. Year list to 89 spp.
Six-spot Burnet moths, 29 June 2006 29
June: The first Ringlet
butterfly was struggling on to the wing this morning, with
an encouraging two Six-spot
Burnet moths on the landslip.
The first record of Small Blue (left) and a fine Large Skipper (right), both on the landslip, 22 June 2006 22 June: Cool and bright, and birds very much in post-breeding mode with nothing new to report. But, on a cool morning in a year which has not been good for butterflies so far, it was some surprise to see a Small Blue butterfly on the landslip: the first record for the site, and a really good one of this local species. It was with Large Skipper on a sheltered slope, and another first - probably just overlooked in the past - in the shape of Thick-kneed Flower Beetle. 17 June: The first visit of the summer on a glorious calm and sunny morning, and at least two Coal Tits were new for the year, a typical dispersal record. A Kestrel was the second of the year, and a Turnstone by the fort was the latest record ever in spring.Year list to 88 spp. A welcome new management development is the leaving of several grass areas to grow, but the butterflies haven't responded yet, with just a Common Blue new for the year. Good new plant records include a big patch of Ivy Broomrape that has suddenly sprung up, and Meadow Barley in the new uncut area. 23 May: I missed the petrel wreck over the weekend, and this morning was calm, sunny, with hardly a ripple on the bay, and very unpromising. But - two Storm Petrels were flying to and fro, easily picked out in binoculars, and showing reasonably well in the scope. A Nothe tick for me, my 170th species for the site, and the first spring record, though no doubt many more will come to light that were seen over the past weekend.With two Manx Shearwater reported in the bay on 20th, this makes 87 spp for the year. The stormies were reported in the bay both at lunchtime and in the evening. Also four Dunlin, five Gannet and a flock of eight Arctic Tern. Together with a Ringed Plover on 16th, the year list surges to 91 spp. 19 May: An afternoon visit for petrels failed dismally, but a Chiffchaff singing was a late record. 16 May: A couple of Whimbrel on the shore were the only evidence of migration. 15 May: Just four House Martins new for the year. Year list to 85 spp. 4 May: A much quieter morning despite the overnight showers and promising SE wind. Swifts were seen for the first time this year, and a unexpected pair of Eider were in Newton's Cove. Little Terns were again in the bay. Year list to 84 spp. 3 May: All went bananas this morning as low cloud and drizzle dumped a heap of migrants.Best was a cracking 'in-the-pink' Redpoll in the fort gates white poplars: only the second spring record. Also new for the year were two Spotted Flycatchers, a record max six Whitethroats (5 m, 1 f), a Tree Pipit flying over and a Sand Martin with the Swallows. Other migrants included four Garden Warblers, nine Whimbrel, three Wheatears, and a Sedge Warbler. A year high of 41 spp this morning - exactly half the year list which surges to 82 spp. 2 May: Looked good, with increasing cloud and a south-easterly, but not much in the migrant line again, though Sedge Warbler new for the year as was a Kestrel, always a good one to get under the belt in the spring. Year list to 77 spp. 30 April: The first belated Wheatear of the year was on the south-east rocks. Year list to 75 spp. 29 April: An excellent morning, with star bird a drake Tufted Duck past the fort - only the second spring record, just under a year after the first. Migrants included a Garden Warbler singing from the Tavern clump and a Lesser Whitethroat singing and very visible in the cadet base sycamores, both year-ticks and the latter only the eighth record and first for exactly three years. Year list to 74 spp. 27 April: All eyes on the sea this morning, with year-ticks of a single Fulmar, and both Common and Little Terns, 15 of the latter especially welcome after last year's blank. A flyover Linnet was also new, giving a somewhat more respectable 71 spp. for the year. Three Whimbrel were also on the move, and Long-tailed Tits look like nesting in the south scrub again. 26 April: Three Blackcaps and several Swallows were new for the year, the latter with one male singing from the fort and looking like attempting to breed for the second year running. Best bird was a White Wagtail on the pier - the usual place for these and on a typical date. A Peacock butterfly was also new for the year. Exciting news from the last week was of an ad. summer-plumaged Bonaparte's Gull roosting in the bay on the evening of 21st, the second record for the site.Year list to 67 spp, so plenty of catching up to do! 15 April: At last a surprise in the shape of two Siskins, only the second spring record and earliest ever, and feeding low in a sycamore - a highly unusual settled record. Four Whimbrel flying over were more predictable. Still no land migrants despite the promising overcast conditions. An amazing gathering of 57 Little Gulls, a record max, were reportedheading east in the bay later.Year list to 64 spp. 14 April: A Common Sandpiper and four Shelduck new for the year, but no land migrants. Year list to 61 spp. 12 April: Just four Willow Warblers new for the year on a fine clear morning. Four Sandwich Tern also about. Year list to 59 spp. 21 February: A bitter north-east wind, but nonetheless two new birds for the year: a Peregrine over Newton's Cove hoping to flush a wader from the low tide rocks, and an early Lesser Black-backed Gull over the pier. The year list goes to 58 spp. Carrion Crow numbers are still at near-record levels. Exciting news later in the day when 41 Greylag Geese were seen flying east over Weymouth Bay, a first record for the site. The total list goes up to 202 spp., with the year on 59 spp. 17 February: Two Mute Swans flying east over Newton's Cove were year ticks, the year list moving to 56 spp. The bay held two Slavonian Grebes and two Common Scoter on a fine, mild morning, with plenty of birdsong in the gardens. 16
February: Two Little
Grebes were 'whinnying' in the harbour this morning,
the second year running they've been displaying on site.Together
with a Firecrest
reported on 8th, these are new for the year,
with the year list going to 55 spp.
Five Great
Northern Divers in the bay were a year max.
Photos © Graham Cox 8 February: A fine morning, with a Little Egret on the south shore new for the year. Five Mallard flew over, but no sign of any gatherings or nesting this year due to the fort works. Year-list to 53 spp. 7 February: Much milder, with a welcome return to westerly winds. Better numbers generally, with a two-year max 10 Great Crested Grebes. 31
January: A Red-throated
Diver was sheltering from the cold east wind in
the harbour on a gloomy morning, while the long-saying Rabbit
put in an appearance on the Tavern Lawns.
29 January: A fine day, but with a stiff easterly wind birds were conspicuous by their absence, and none more so than Dunnock, whose numbers have crashed in the early part of the year. With counts in January the lowest on record, this winter's scrub-removal programme must be the prime suspect. However this can't be blamed for the dearth of Turnstones recently - a single individual today was the first this year, as was an early Jackdaw over. Together with the reported Yellow-legged Gull in Weymouth Bay earlier in the month, they take the year-list to 52 spp. The Stonechat and Black Redstart with two Chiffchaffs were again enjoying the winter sunshine on the slopes above the CEFAS hut. 21 January: A superb, bright morning with both Black Redstart and the much rarer - for the site - Stonechat together on the south-east rocks. Nine Brent Geese over were new for the year. Year list to 49 spp. 19 January: Four Great Northern Divers and a Red-necked Grebe were in the bay this morning. 17 January: The mild weather continues, with a Stonechat on the south-east rocks - perhaps the one from late 2005 still present - and two Sandwich Terns in Weymouth Bay. All three divers were also reported in the bay today. Year list to 48 spp. 15 January: Two Mediterranean Gulls in the Weymouth Bay gull roost this afternoon. 7 January: A fine but cold morning, with Grey Wagtail a good early-year record, and Goldfinch also new. A Red-throated Diver was later reported in Newrton's Cove. Year list to 42 spp. 6 January: A bleak, dull morning, with only Oystercatcher and Guillemot new. Year-list 39 spp. 3 January: Very mild and slightly drizzly this morning, but an excellent start to the year, with a total of 37 spp., including a fem/imm Black Redstart on the south shore, a record max four Red-necked Grebes, a Slavonian Grebe and four Common Scoter in the bay. 18 December: A record max 73 Carrion Crows were counted this morning. 14 December: Another quiet morning, but a Siskin and seven Goldfinch over showed that a trickle of passage was still occurring. A lone Brent Goose flying round the bay was a late record, and two fem/imm Black Redstarts were on the south shore, along with a Stonechat and two Chiffchaffs. 7 December: Rather quiet, but a Brambling over and Red-necked Grebe in the bay were good records. 6 December: Just when you think it is going to be all on the sea now, a good land day comes along, with a small passage of finches, including seven Siskin, a Stock Dove, Stonechat on the south shore, and, remarkably, a Reed Bunting nearby calling from the top of the main scrub clump, and then flying off west. This was a long-awaited first record for the site - probably the commonest passerine on the hit-list - the 201st species for The Nothe, and my 169th for the recording area (with Roseate Tern an armchair tick seen in Weymouth Bay in the late 80s). The year list goes to 129 spp. The fem/imm Black Redstart was still on the south shore - the hotspot today, sheltered from the NW wind - and the sea was quite busy, with an excellent count of 40 Common Scoter - the best no since 1988 and a personal max, and two Great Northern Divers.
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