The overnight wind had eased slightly and shifted to SSE, but it quickly shifted back to SW and freshened. Rain all day varying from torrential to extra torrential!
I think there was only me daft enough to venture out (MD)
Middleton Nature Reserve - no swimming pond
Very little in the morning, just:
Gadwall 2
Shoveller 3
More impressive mid afternoon:
Gadwall 12
Shoveller 3
Teal 4
Little grebe 3
South shore
Kingfisher on Red Nab towards high water
Red- breasted Merganser 2 - as above
Skylark 1 on saltmarsh
Rock Pipit 1 near lighthouse
Mediterranean gull 1 adult sheltering in the lee of No.2 outflow with the Black-Headed gulls.
It had rained all day, and throughout my afternoon walk along the south wall and back, but when I got back to the saltmarsh (16:10) it eased, then stopped. Within a few minutes everything on the saltmarsh lifted, including:
Lapwing c80
Common Snipe 10+
I eventually located the cause an "owl", by this time heading towards Potts Corner. It was likely to have been a Short-eared Owl, but unconfirmed. Presumably it had been resting close by waiting for a gap in the rain.
It wasn't a day for photography, my camera was stashed well away from the rain. But I did take this shot of the gulls roosting behind No.2 outflow, the same shelter allowing me some protection.
The Mediterranean gull is amongst these, and I think the resolution should just be good enough for it to be discernible.
