Early July 2014

July 10th. Rain most of day.
 There were few records. On the water bodies were 2 Common Sandpiper, 2 Green Sandpiper and 6 Greenshank.
 No ringing was attempted.

July 9th. Around were 16 Mistle Thrush and a Marsh Harrier.  On the water bodies were a Mediterranean Gull, a Little Gull, 13 Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpiper and 2 Little Ringed Plover. Flying south were a Sand Martin and 3 Yellow Wagtail, and north 9 Manx Shearwater and 4 Arctic Skua.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 9 new birds: a Wren, a Chiffchaff, 4 Whitethroat, a Linnet, a Chaffinch and a Blackcap; and 6 retraps: 2 Wren, a Dunnock, a Whitethroat and 2 Blue Tit.

July 8th. Around were a Redstart and a Green Sandpiper. South went a Yellow Wagtail and 8 Sand Martin.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes was productive, due mainly to a mixed feeding flock passing through. The 36 new birds were a Wren, 20 Long-tailed Tit, a Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, 8 Whitethroat, 3 Blue Tit and a Dunnock. The 12 retraps were 2 Whitethroat, 9 Long-tailed Tit and a Dunnock.

July 7th. Birds around included a Marsh Harrier and 2000 Starling. On Jackson's Marsh were a Green Sandpiper and 3 Greenshank, and on Tennyson Sands a Mediterranean Gull. Moving south were an Arctic Skua, 7 Little Ringed Plover, 300 Sand Martin and 30 Swift.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 7 new birds: a Treecreeper, a Wren, a Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, a Whitethroat and a Sedge Warbler; and 3 retraps: 2 Whitethroat and a Dunnock.
 A check of the owl boxes produced surprising results, considering that no breeding was detected during previous checks earlier in the year. On site there are now three pairs. One adult and three well-grown pulli were ringed, and two adult controls (ringed elsewhere) or retraps were caught.

Treecreeper, ringed 7th July 2014.
Photo - George Gregory
Barn Owl, ringed 7th July 2014.
Photo - George Gregory
July 6th. Around were a Marsh Harrier, a Whimbrel, 10 Greenshank, 2 Green Sandpiper, a Common Sandpiper and 250 Sandwich Tern. On Tennyson Sands was a Mediterranean Gull, on Jackson's Marsh a Little Ringed Plover, and on the Mere a Scaup. Heading south were a Hobby, a Grey Heron, 50 Common Scoter, 15 Knot, 9 Dunlin, 58 Sand Martin and 23 Swift; and north 6 Manx Shearwater.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 10 new birds: a Sedge Warbler, 4 Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Great Tit and 3 Dunnock; and 7 retraps: 5 Dunnock, a Whitethroat and a Chaffinch.
 A morning ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by David and Liv Vincent, which included the 7th C.E.S session of the year, resulted in a total of 33 new birds and 32 retraps. Of the C.E.S nets the new birds were 3 Chiffchaff, 3 Whitethroat, 3 Dunnock, 2 Wren, 2 Great Tit, 2 Blackcap and singles of Long-tailed Tit, Blue Tit, Lesser Whitethroat, Magpie and Yellowhammer. The retraps were 7 Whitethroat, 3 Great Tit, 3 Dunnock, a Robin and a Willow Warbler. Of the other nets the new birds were 4 Chaffinch, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Great Tit and singles of Wren, Robin, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Song Thrush. The retraps were 7 Blue Tit, 5 Great Tit, 2 Lesser Whitethroat and singles of Wren, Robin and Willow Warbler.

July 5th. Rain until late morning.
 On Tennyson Sands were 3 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper and 5 Snipe. Flying south were 6 Golden Plover and 350 Swift.
 No ringing was attempted.

July 4th. Increasing south-westerly wind.
 Around was a Short-eared Owl. On the water bodies were a Spotted Redshank, 5 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Green Sandpiper, a Greenshank, 4 Snipe, a Common Sandpiper and a Grasshopper Warbler. South went 65 Swift and 28 Starling.
 A wind-restricted morning ringing session in East Dunes yielded 5 new birds: a Willow Warbler, a Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat and 2 Dunnock; and a retrap Dunnock.

July 3rd. Around was a Grey Heron. Tennyson Sands held 8 Little Ringed Plover. South went 500 Swift.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes resulted in 8 new birds: 2 Wren, a Lesser Whitethroat and 5 Whitethroat; and 4 retraps: 2 Whitethroat and 2 Great Tit.
 A longer ringing session at Aylmer Avenue by Mike Polling provided 17 new birds: 3 Wren, 5 Whitethroat, 2 Chaffinch, a Goldfinch, a Blue Tit, a Linnet, a Pied Wagtail, 2 Great Tit and a Dunnock; and 25 retraps: 4 Chaffinch, 10 Blue Tit, a Coal Tit, 2 Dunnock, 2 Linnet, 2 Chiffchaff, a Whitethroat, a Great Tit, a Wren and a Lesser Whitethroat.

July 2nd. On Tennyson Sands were a Kingfisher, 3 Little Ringed Plover, 4 Dunlin and 4 Sandwich Tern. Jackson's Marsh held a Green Sandpiper and a Greenshank. South went 1500 Swift, 65 Sand Martin and 4 Starling. Around were a Marsh Harrier, a Short-eared Owl, a male Merlin, an adult Mediterranean Gull and at least 3 Barn Owl.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes was quite productive. The 24 new birds were a Willow Warbler, a Wren, 2 Great Tit, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Blackcap, 11 Whitethroat, a Meadow Pipit and 6 Dunnock. The 6 retraps were a Goldfinch, 2 Whitethroat, a Great Tit, a Dunnock and a Blue Tit.

July 1st. Around was a Cuckoo. On Tennyson Sands were 6 Little Ringed Plover, a Dunlin and a Greenshank.
 A morning ringing session in East Dunes produced 6 new birds: a Wren, a Meadow Pipit, a Reed Bunting and 3 Whitethroat; and 4 retraps: singles of Great Tit, Dunnock, Wren and Whitethroat.