South shore - evening low water (MD)
Rock pipit 2
Pied Wagtail c40
Mediterranean gulls - there was a scattering all along the shore
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| This one on mud out from Ocean Edge foreshore. With a Little Egret and Lesser-black Backed gulls. |
There were c250 small gulls on the beach on west side of No.2 outflow. The sun made it difficult to check them, but there were 2 adult and a juvenile Med with the closer gulls.
Unusually, they were all lifted by a Peregrine. They just did a circle around then landed again. It still wasn't possible to identify species against the light.
When I got to the beach next to the wooden jetty there were at least 20 Meds. My first thought was that they had just landed here to roost, from the earlier spooked birds. But these birds were looking for and catching sand mason worms. I have been plotting feeding Meds here against moon phase, based on my suspicion that the availability of the sand mason worms is linked to their breeding cycle. Up to now there has been some interesting correlations, but this is supposed to be a quiet period. Perhaps the weather is also an influence, so next year I'll include temperature, wind direction, and strength. I don't really need to know when the worms will be available, I just don't like being outthought by a bird!
Bizarrely, both outflows pointed directly at the setting sun this evening.
This is No.1 outflow. If this area is excavated in the distant future, they will assume that whatever "civilisation" created these features, aligned them with the setting sun at the Autumn Equinox. Obviously sun worshipers.
