The main highlight today were 2 Sandwich Tern (photo) that were sat on the north shore from 1450-1545 when they flew off to the south west. A Little Egret was also new, present between 1100-1440 when it flew off to the south east. The 2 juvenile Black-necked Grebe were still present. 2 Green Sandpiper (photo) 7 Common Sandpiper, 7 Ringed Plover  and 1 Dunlin were at the west end. An adult and immature Peregrine were being pesky this afternoon.

The 2 juvenile Black-necked Grebe were still present from the Scott hide. 5 Ringed Plover, 8 Common Sandpiper and a single Dunlin were the only waders noted. 3 Wheatear and a Yellow Wagtail were on the north shore. At least 5 Garden Warbler  a single Whitethroat and a Swift were also present.

The ringing group caught 30 new birds this morning including 9 Willow Warbler, 8 Chiffchaff, 1 Garden Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Tree Sparrow and 1 GS Woodpecker.

The juvenile Black-necked Grebe was still from the Scott hide. An adult Redshank was new also 5 Ringed Plover, 4 Common Sandpiper and 1 Dunlin were present. 2 Wheatear remain on the north shore. 1076 Coot, 56 Gadwall, 111 Tufted Duck and 70 Teal were counted. Today saw the first main arrival of juvenile LBB Gulls with at least 100 around midday with 5 juvenile Herring Gull amongst them. 374 LBB Gulls and 800 BH Gulls were counted in the roost this evening. At least 200 Swallow were noted moving south this evening. 5 Common Tern were present this morning.

The ringing group had an average catch with 14 Willow Warbler, 8 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, 2 Reed Warbler and 2 Tree Sparrow.

A juvenile Black-necked Grebe from the Scott hde was a new arrival. 2 Green Sandpiper, 5 Common Sandpiper, 4 Ringed Plover and a single Dunlin were at the west end. 3 Wheatear were still on the north shore, other migrants incuded the family of Spotted Flycatcher still in the south east bay, 2 Whitethroat, 1 Sedge Warbler and 4 Swift flew thru.

A ringing session is planned for tomorrow morning at dawn till 10am weather permitting.

2 Green Sandpiper were still at the west end also 5 Common Sandpiper, 1 Ringed Plover and 1 Dunlin were present. 4 immature Wheatear were on the north shore.

An Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar (photo) was near the new hide.

 A possible Crane was heard only this morning at 5am as the ringing group were walking thru the reservoir plantation. A bit of a clear out today with only 2 Black Tern present this morning only. A juvenile Arctic Tern dropped in during the rain this afternoon also 15 Common Tern still. A single Greenshank, 3 LRP and 3 Common Sandpiper were the only waders present. 100 Swift flew south ahead of the rain this afternoon. The Chestnut Teal (photo) was still present and the Pink-footed Goose remains with the Greylags.

The ringing group caught 7 Chiffchaff, 8 Willow Warbler 1 Sedge Warbler, 7 Reed Warbler, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat and 14 Tree Sparrow. More details on the Brewood ringers website.

A colour ringed Sanderling was a new arrival also 1 Greenshank, 9 Ringed Plover, 3 LRP, 3 Dunlin and 5 Common Sandpiper were present. The 34 Black Tern  (3 juvs) (photo)were still present also 18 Common Tern. A pesky Peregrine was around this afternoon. 3 Shelduck weres till present and 100+ Swift were over the car park late afternoon.

34 Black Tern were still present also 13 Common Tern. The adult Greenshank was still on the north shore also 9 Ringed Plover, 3 LRP, 2 Dunlin and 1 Common Sandpiper were present. 3 juvenile Shelduck and the Chestnut Teal were at the west end. The family of Spotted Flycatcher (photo) were still in the south east bay and a Hobby flew over.

A most unexpected movement of Terns this morning. When I arrived at 0700 there was no indication of anything happening but shortly before 9am 62 Common Tern, 1 Arctic Tern and 4 Black Tern came in over the dam. Alot of the Common Terns flew thru to the south west, then at 0950 another flock of 63 Common Terns dropped in also Black Terns increased to 34 including 3 juvs. The 125 Common Terns is the most ever recorded at Belvide. A Greenshank dropped in at midday, a single Whimbrel flew thru at 7.30pm, 7 Ringed Plover, 3 LRP, 2 Dunlin, 3 Common Sandpiper, 4 Snipe and a single Golden Plover were also present. 3 Yellow Wagtail flew over to the south west this morning. The WeBS count revealed a  noticable arrival of Teal today with 87 counted, 301 Mallard. 20 Shoveler, 45 Gadwall, 85 Tufted Duck, 5 Pochard, 15 GC Grebe, 180 Greylag Geese, 1 Pink-footed Goose, 314 Canada Geese and 103 Mute Swan. Swift continue to pass thru with at least 100 this morning.

A last minute ringing session this evening caught 9 new Willow Warbler and 11 Chiffchaff.

A productive day with the highlight being a juvenile Marsh Harrier (photo by Kevin Clements) that flew around between 12.50-13.10. Also a juvenile Knot flew in early afternoon. 3 Ringed Plover, 2 LRP, 2 Dunlin and 3 Common Sandpiper were also present. A single Crossbill flew over to the west at 8.10am. 2 juvenile Shelduck were new also the Chestnut Teal, 37 Teal, 20 Shoveler and 41 Gadwall were counted. This morning 55+ Swift moved thru.

The ringing group caught 94 new birds this morning including 11 Willow Warbler, 7 Chiffchaff, 3 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Garden Warbler, 1 Blackcap, 5 Reed Warbler, 1 GS Woodpecker and an impressive 28 Tree Sparrow including 24 juveniles.

A juvenile Ruff was a new bird for the year, 8 Black-tailed Godwit flew thru early afternoon also 2 Dunlin, 2 Ringed Plover and 1 LRP were present. An adult Common Gull with a white darvic ring on the right leg wasn't seen close enough to read the code. Ringing schemes suggest the bird was either from Finland/Holland or Germany. The Chestnut Teal was still present also the Pink-footed Goose and 949 Coot were counted. An immature Peregrine was present this afternoon and the family of Spotted Flycatchers remain in the south east bay.

Yesterday evenings ringing totals were 58 new birds including 22 Willow Warbler, 10 Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcap, 3 Garden Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Sedge Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler.

A ringing session is planned for tomorrow morning 5-10am weather permitting.

An adult Yellow-legged Gull was on the north shore this afternoon. 2 Dunlin, 1 Green Sandpiper, 1 Common Sandpiper and 2 Ringed Plover were also on the north shore. The Chestnut Teal and Pink-footed Goose remain. The pair of Spotted Flycatcher are still feeding their 2 chicks.

The ringing session this evening proved quiet productive eventually after a slow start. An impressive 22 Willow Warblers were caught also 10 Chiffchaff. The rest of this evenings catch will be updated tomorrow. Photo of Chiffchaff (left) and Willow Warbler (right) for comparison.

The south east bay held a lot of migrant activity this afternoon including a Redstart, the family of Spotted Flycatchers, 3 Garden Warbler, and many Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs. 7 Ringed Plover, 1 Dunlin and 3 Common Sandpiper were on the north shore. The Chestnut Teal and Pink-footed Goose were still present. A pesky Peregrine was present this afternoon. The Gazebo feeding station has at least 30 Tree Sparrows with a good proportion of juveniles.

Ringed Plover have increased to 9 also 1 LRP, 1 Dunlin and 2 Common Sandpiper. The family of Spotted Flycatchers were still in the south east bay. The Pink-footed Goose and Chestnut Teal were still present.

Very quiet again with 4 Ringed Plover, 1 Dunlin and 2 Common Sandpiper. The Pink-footed Goose was still with the Greylags, and Shoveler have increased to 30. On a sad note the Common Tern chick on the Gazebo raft has died. This means that the 3 pairs that bred on the rafts have lost all there young. It seems very strange as all 6 chicks were very close to fledging when death occured.

The ringing session this morning caught 35 new birds including a juvenile Spotted Flycatcher, 5 Chiffchaff, 6 Willow Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 1 Garden Warbler, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Sedge Warbler, 6 Reed Warbler and a Treecreeper.

A Black-tailed Godwit was present early morning only. 7 Ringed Plover, 1 Dunlin, 1 Oystercatcher and 4 Common Sandpiper were the only other waders noted. A family of very young Spotted Flycatchers in the reservoir plantation has proved they have bred very secretively somewhere in the wood. A juvenile Green Woodpecker was in the reservoir plantation. Greylag Geese have increased to 181 also the Pink-footed Goose still. 410 Jackdaw and 120 Rook roosted in the north wood.

A ringing session is planned tomorrow morning 5-10am weather permitting.