Pallas's decided to pull the old disapearing act this afternoon. A plethora of autumnal migrants passing through on this fine November morning. A Merlin spent a short while sitting on the beach before heading to Essex. The first Woodcock this year flushed from inside the observatory - considerably late this autumn. A steady stream of new Blackbirds appearing throughout the day alongside 12 Redwing, 15 Song Thrush and 3 Fieldfare. Other migrants 5 Blackcap, 1 Brambling, 14 Chaffinch, 2 Chiffchaff, 12 Goldcrest, 51 Goldfinch, 29 Meadow Pipit, 1 Redpoll, 15 Robin, 2 Rock Pipit, 30 Siskin, 28 Skylark, 92 Starling and 1 Woodlark.  Pomarine Skua heading North the clear winner of today's sea watch. Plenty more on the big blue including 825 Brent Goose, 16 Common Gull, 126 Cormorant, 2 Curlew, 15 Dunlin, 1 Gannet, 10 Golden Plover, 2 Grey Plover, 4 Knot, 73 Pintail, 95 Lapwing, 3 Red-breasted Merganser, 2 Red-throated Diver, 68 Shelduck, 26 Shoveler, 201 Teal, 134 Wigeon.  Gem is an immigrant that usually arrives very late in the season. As a sexually dimorphic moth one can tell this is a female by the maroon-brown colour and white spot on each wing. Males are lighter tawny-brown. Ringing: 37 Blackbird, 3 Blackcap, 1 Black Redstart, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 6 Chaffinch, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Firecrest, 5 Goldcrest, 8 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Meadow Pipit, 2 Redwing, 6 Robin, 1 Song Thrush, 1 Wren.  

  It has been the busiest September we've had for quite some time. Just over double the birds last year; 721 over 36 species has kept us far too busy to complain about the lack of recent scarcities. In terms of species it has been a very typical Autumn selection for Landguard but it is hopeful to see many iconic species in reasonably healthier numbers. Species No. Ringed Blackcap 139 Chiffchaff 135 Meadow Pipit 100 Willow Warbler 59 Robin 56 Blue Tit 42 Goldcrest 38 Great Tit 16 Long-tailed Tit 15 Grey Wagtail 15 Reed Warbler 14 Song Thrush 13 Lesser Whitethroat 9 Whitethroat 8 Pied Flycatcher 7 Cetti's Warbler 6 Blackbird 6 Woodpigeon  5 Sedge Warbler 5 Dunnock 5 Redpoll 4 House Sparrow 4 Spotted Flycatcher 3 Wren 2 Sparrowhawk 2 Linnet 2 Goldfinch 2 Wood Warbler 1 Starling 1 Redstart 1 Greenfinch 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 Magpie 1 Garden Warbler 1 Coal Tit 1 Brambling 1 Total 721

Landguard Bird Observatory has been donated a fine copy of the ‘Catalogue of THE BIRDS OF SUFFOLK’ by CHURCHILL BABINGTON (1884-1886). This original author's presentation copy was given to a H. Parker & despite being nearly 140 years old it remains in very good condition. In an effort to raise funds for LBO, we are pleased to offer the book - an antiquarian masterpiece of its time. The book has a reserve price of £100.00. The highest bid/offer of a donation to LBO that is in excess of £100 and is received no later than 30th September 2025 shall become the proud owner & custodian of this book. Please email offers (in confidentiality) marked Babington to landguardbo@yahoo.co.uk

The resident Peregrine soon appears when we have unexpected guests. Kudos to our excellent team of counters today as more flocks of hirundines poured through. By late morning 2324 Swallow, 249 House Martin and 7 Sand Martin had passed over. Numbers of Meadow Pipit starting to wane but still tallied 358. An Osprey drifting South likely regretted passing over the docks where the Peregrine gave it some grief. A Great Skua sat on the sea momentarily before continuing Southbound. Other migrants 30 Blackcap, 1 Chaffinch, 12 Chiffchaff, 3 Grey Wagtail, 1 Skylark, 1 Sparrowhawk, 5 Siskin, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 6 Wheatear and 4 Yellow Wagtail.  Offshore 15 Dunlin, 1 Marsh Harrier, 5 Sandwich Tern, 10 Shelduck, 48 Teal and 5 Wigeon. Nationally scare, Shore Wainscot has been having a small second emergence in recent years. Ringing: 1 Blackbird, 21 Blackcap, 12 Chiffchaff, 2 Grey Wagtail, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 34 Meadow Pipit, 4 Robin, 1 Sedge Warbler.

  Sparrowhawk - not the best point of view if you are a Linnet. Light Southerlies and a decent amount of cloud cover; what more could you ask for? At least 3 Pied Flycatcher present around the compound and a young Male Redstart out the front of the observatory in the bushes. 1 Spotted Flycatcher making it's way around the tops of the trees and a Nightingale also seen in the scrub. Still catching Willow Warbler but we have began to transition towards Chiffchaff season with around 7 cropping up today and a notable influx of Robin. Offshore turned up a Long-tailed Skua heading South but was lost when it decided to have a little rest on the sea. Other characters worth noting 2 Blackcap, 2 Black Redstart, 6 Grey Wagtail, 5 Meadow Pipit, 29 Pied Wagtail, 15 Robin, 2 Sand Martin, 3 Sparrowhawk, 73 Swallow, 4 Wheatear, 18 Willow Warbler and 6 Yellow Wagtail. Also movement out at sea 25 Cormorant, 15 Common Tern, 1 Curlew, 4 Gadwall, 1 Grey Plover, 1 Grey Heron, 3 Mallard, 5 Med Gull, 2 Redshank, 23 Shelduck, 23 Teal and 7 Turnstone. 966 Agriphila geniculea in the traps this morning with probably twice that number in the bushes nearby! Ringing: 4 Blackcap, 2 Blue Tit, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Goldcrest, 1 Great Tit, 2 Grey Wagtail, 1 Magpie, 3 Pied Flycatcher, 1 Redstart, 2 Reed Warbler, 3 Robin, 1 Spotted Flycatcher, 3 Willow Warbler. 

Nigel Farage has been branded a “Putin-loving free speech impostor and Trump sycophant” during his visit to the US to plead for help with Britain's so-called ‘free-speech problem.’ But will slagging…