A few more hints of spring

A dry and often sunny day. A very light, occasionally breathless, southerly breeze.

South shore (JP, MD)

I checked the shore out from Ocean Edge and Janet had a walk along the sea wall.

Skylark 2 north - both quite close to the eastern shoreline, one as I walked out towards the waterline and another on the way back. Presumably more in between.

Reed Bunting 1 on saltmarsh 

Pink-Footed goose 73 NW

Shelduck 74 feeding on the mud

Waders:

I started off doing a precise count, then this lot, mainly Godwits, landed.

I was just going to do a recount when a Peregrine lifted everything except the Oystercatchers and Curlew.

So I had to settle for estimates 

Oystercatcher 100

Curlew 40

Bar-Tailed Godwit 500

Knot 200

Dunlin 50

Grey Plover 1

Bar-Tailed Godwit, Knot and a Grey Plover

Pale-bellied Brent goose 30 flew from Red Nab to the south

The Brent geese fed for as long as possible on Red Nab rocks today 

Some of the Black-Headed gulls are well towards breeding plumage

Cormorants on the wooden jetty, Shag not seen today

Rock Pipit sat above the nest site near the lighthouse 

On the north side:

Mistle Thrush one singing in the trees at St Peter's church yard - ref Angela Gillon

31 Pale-bellied Brent

132 eider,

6 Red-breasted Merganser

3 Great Crested Grebe 

1515hrs from Knowlys - ref Pete(M)

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

Just a passing check of the two main ponds

Mute 2 adult back on the main pond and 7 immature keeping their distance 

Mallard 10

Gadwall 5

Teal 3

Coot 6 

Moorhen 2

Little Grebe 1 - now moving to summer plumage.

Shortly after the above clip,p it caught a relatively large fish. It flew to the cover of the reeds before attempting to swallow it.

Imperial Rd (MD)

Buzzard 1 - at this time (mid afternoon) there was almost no air movement. The pale morphed bird was just soaring and calling.

Great Spotted Woodpecker 1 drumming

Redwing 1

Redwing

Jackdaw 39 and Magpie 17 feeding in the field to the east of the road.

Teal 5

Moorhen 1

Roe Deer 1 

Fox (Vixen) 1. I know that at least one of the regular post readers, calls in to Imperial Rd when passing and sees most of the wildlife, but foxes keep evading. It's the right place, you just have to be lucky enough to be there at the right time.