A freshening SSE wind. The threatened heavy rain held off till 15:00.
Just my stuff today so far (Malcolm)
South shore
I had been expecting rain this morning but I managed a walk along the sea wall and back without a spot of rain. The tide was out but still some things to see.
Wigeon c200
Eider 3 (pair in harbour mouth and one immature feeding at the seaward end of No.1 outflow.
Red-breasted Merganser 1 male near the wooden jetty.
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| Male Red-breasted Merganser |
Bar-Tailed Godwit 9 feeding along the waterline between No.1 outflow and the wooden jetty. These are 5 of them coming in.
There is a small area of Honeycomb worm beds just out from the roundhead that always attracts waders. Here, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Turnstone.
Rock Pipit 5 (one each, Red Nab, sea wall and waterfall, 2 near lighthouse)The rain was still holding off at 14:30 so I went out on the shore out from the saltmarsh to check out the waders. Unfortunately, just as I was approaching the waterline the heavens opened. Fortunately, I had got to the south of them so the wind and rain was to my back. Even so it wasn't really conducive to counting so I just estimated:
Curlew 100
Bar-Tailed Godwit 300
Oystercatcher 200
Knot 500
Dunlin 150
Nevertheless, I took a few clips, if only to show that in today's conditions the mud appears to be mud coloured (see post on 10th February)
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| This is the Manxman leaving the harbour just before 15:00, and before the rain began. Even so it was already dark enough for its lights to be clearly visible |
Shelduck 9
Pale-bellied Brent Goose 21 - I counted 15 on the Red Nab rocks from some distance, there were almost certainly more, as David Kaye saw 21 on the north side earlier.
