Late June 2014

June 30th. The Spoonbill and 2 Greenshank were on Tennyson Sands. Heading south were 2 Swift.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 8 new birds: a Goldcrest, 2 Wren, a Chiffchaff, 3 Whitethroat and a Dunnock; and 5 retraps: 2 Whitethroat, 2 Dunnock and a Blue Tit.

Juvenile Goldcrest, ringed 30 June 2014.
 Photo - George Gregory
Privet Hawkmoths mating on Bamboo pole,  30 June 2014.
Photo - George Gregory
June 29th. Rain mid morning.
 On Tennyson Sands were the Spoonbill and the Grasshopper Warbler. A Grey Heron, a Swift and 45 Starling flew south. Two Barn Owls were seen on two separate occasions at the back of Aylmer Avenue.
 A brief morning ringing session in East Dunes provided just a new Wren and a retrap Whitethroat.
 A rain-shortened ringing session at Aylmer Avenue this morning, by David and Liv Vincent, resulted in 17 new birds and 24 retraps. The new birds were 4 Great Tit, 4 Whitethroat, 3 Blue Tit, 2 Chaffinch, 2 Linnet, a Blackcap and a Dunnock. The retraps were 8 Chaffinch, 7 Great Tit, 3 Blue Tit and singles of Whitethroat, Dunnock, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff and Long-tailed Tit.
 There have now been over 500 new birds ringed at Gibraltar Point this month, and this is the first time that over 500 birds have been ringed in June for at least 5 years. With a large proportion of these birds being juvenile it just goes to show what an incredibly successful breeding season we are having.

June 28th. Mostly cloudy.
 The Spoonbill remained on Tennyson Sands. Heading south were 4 Swift.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 4 new birds: singles of Wren, Linnet, Whitethroat and Cuckoo; and 3 retraps: singles of Wren, Great Tit and Sedge Warbler.


Cuckoo, ringed 28 June 2014.
Photo - George Gregory
June 27th. Intermittent rain.
 The Spoonbill and Grasshopper Warbler were still on Tennyson Sands. Going south were 15 Swift.
 No ringing was attempted.

June 26th. The Spoonbill and Grasshopper Warbler remained on Tennyson Sands. On Jackson's Marsh were a juvenile Little Ringed Plover and a Common Sandpiper. Flying north were 220 Common Scoter and 6 Gannet.
 A brief, disappointing morning ringing session in East Dunes yielded just a retrap Dunnock.
 A longer ringing session at Aylmer Avenue, by Mike Polling, was much more productive. The 34 new birds were 3 Wren, a Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, 2 Blue Tit, 5 Goldfinch, 3 Chaffinch, a Blackcap, 8 Whitethroat, 2 Robin, a Linnet, 3 Great Tit and 3 Dunnock. The 31 retraps were 6 Blue Tit, 6 Chaffinch, a Willow Warbler, a Wren, 4 Whitethroat, 7 Great Tit, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Coal Tit, 2 Dunnock, a Sedge Warbler and a Goldfinch.

June 25th. On Tennyson Sands were a Spoonbill, a Mediterranean Gull, a Spotted Redshank, 3 Green Sandpiper, an adult Little Ringed Plover and a Grasshopper Warbler.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 3 new birds: singles of Whitethroat, Blackcap and Linnet; and 2 retraps: singles of Whitethroat and Blue Tit.

June 24th. Birds around included 2 Cuckoo. The Grasshopper Warbler was still reeling on Tennyson Sands.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 9 new birds: 5 Whitethroat, a Great Tit and 3 Blackcap; and 4 retraps: singles of Dunnock, Wren, Blue Tit and Great Tit.

June 23rd. An Osprey flew through at 0930hrs. Around were a ringtail Montagu's Harrier, a Peregrine, 2 Turtle Dove, a Grasshopper Warbler and 60 Sandwich Tern. Heading south were 1200 Swift and 32 Sand Martin.
A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 10 new birds: 3 Whitethroat, a Blue Tit, a Blackcap and 5 Dunnock; and 7 retraps: a Whitethroat, 4 Great Tit and a Dunnock.

The Campion, trapped overnight 23rd June 2014
Photo - Nigel Lound
Peach Blossom trapped overnight 23rd June 2014
Photo - Nigel Lound

June 22nd. Around were a ringtail Montagu's Harrier, a Marsh Harrier, 2 Cuckoo and 36 Sandwich Tern. On Tennyson Sands were a Spoonbill and 4 Mediterranean Gull. Flying north were 95 Common Scoter.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes provided 6 new birds: a Wren, a Robin, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Whitethroat and 2 Dunnock; and 8 retraps: 3 Whitethroat, 2 Wren, a Blue Tit, a Dunnock and a Lesser Whitethroat.
 A morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by David and Liv Vincent, which included the 6th CES session of the year, resulted in a very productive 68 new birds and 36 retraps. Of the CES nets the new birds were 6 Great Tit, 5 Wren, 5 Willow Warbler, 4 Blue Tit, 4 Whitethroat, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Linnet, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, a Blackcap, a Dunnock and a Robin. The retraps were 4 Long-tailed Tit, 4 Dunnock, 2 Wren, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Greenfinch, a Great Tit and a Robin. Of the other nets the new birds were 12 Chaffinch, 7 Goldfinch, 5 Greenfinch, 3 Blue Tit, 2 Great Tit, 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Dunnock and a Woodpigeon. The retraps were 7 Great Tit, 5 Chaffinch, 3 Blue Tit, a Coal Tit, a Lesser Whitethroat and a Whitethroat.
 Pyramidal Orchids are in full flower.

Pyramidal Orchid, 22 June 2014.
Photo - George Gregory
June 21st. Around was a Cuckoo. On Tennyson Sands were a Spoonbill, 4 Mediterranean Gull, a Greenshank and 2 Green Sandpiper.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 9 new birds: a Wren, a Blackcap, a Chaffinch, 3 Whitethroat, a Great Tit and 2 Dunnock; and 13 retraps: 5 Great Tit, a Dunnock, 4 Blue Tit, a Whitethroat and 2 Wren.