Marsh harrier patrol
28 Jun 2015
Saw a nice male marsh harrier patrolling the grazing marshes today. Since I've also seen barn owls and short-eared owls doing the same in the last few days this must be good news for the mammal survey team. These raptors wouldn't be here unless there were voles and other rodents around. They are probably better at catching them than we are, but keep trying please!
Jeremy
Short-eared owl
27 Jun 2015
The short-eared owl was around again today. I wonder if they have been breeding nearby? We usually only get them in winter (roughly Nov. to March), when they migrate in from Scandinavia (and attract all those photographers). Lovely birds.
Jeremy
Mothing
24 Jun 2015
We had our first 'moth morning' today and gathered at Tricia's to inspect the night' catch, which included such delights as a white ermine (identified by Alex), a burnished brass, a satin wave, tawny shears, mottled rustic and best of all a huge and incredibly beautiful elephant hawk moth.
Jeremy
Short-eared owl
23 Jun 2015
A short-eared owl was recorded from the sea-walls this morning. Interesting to know where this might have come from. A few have bred in past years on Orford Ness, but most of the ones we see here in winter months migrate over from Scandinavia when the vole supply gets low over there.
Jeremy
Voles
21 Jun 2015
Took a last walk at dusk on the longest day. A barn owl was quartering the fields and we were probably both hunting the same thing – voles, since I was inspecting the small mammal traps I'd set to check on the vole population here. I hadn't caught any, but he did, swooping silently down to pluck one from the tussocky grass. A ketrel was hovering there too, hunting for the same thing, but it was getting a bit late for him since unlike the barn owl he was relying on sight not sound.
Jeremy
Marsh harrier
20 Jun 2015
Two marsh harriers over Shingle St airspace today. I think they are breeding just a few miles away near Butley/Boyton.
Jeremy
Little terns
12 Jun 2015
I did a little tern count, as a contribution to one being conducted along the whole Suffolk coast today at the same time (to avoid double-counting). There were three here, mostly fishing off-shore. They were near the enclosed area but they didn't seem to be using that at all and I doubt they will now attempt nesting there this year. I also saw the first grey seal of the year hauled up on one of the shingle banks at low tide. The numbers will probably build up over the summer now, and I think we had over 20 by August last year.
Jeremy
Painted ladies
07 Jun 2015
Tim Miller clearly has the gift of summoning up the sun for his annual parties, and with the warm weather came a huge influx of painted ladies (not Tim's guests, the butterflies). There must have been a hundred or more in SS this morning, mainly feeding on the red valerian. With them were some humming-bird hawk-moths, hovering like little birds, as the name suggests, to probe for nectar. Both these species are immigrants from the continent or possibly from North Africa, and their arrival suggests there is more warmweather on the way. See our gallery for some images.
Jeremy
Butterflies
06 Jun 2015
Quite a few butterflies out on the seawalls this afternoon when it warmed up: common blue, small heath, painted lady and red admiral all on the seawall leading to East Lane. And ther were two singing corn buntings near the Martello half-way and, interestingly, a pair of avocets prospecting the pools.
Jeremy
