Pete managed an accurate count of the gulls this morning:
865 immature herring gull, mainly 2cy
6 Great Crested Grebe
2 Red Breasted Merganser
The above on/around the skear
15 adult Black Headed Gulls on the outflows
Shag 2cy on wooden jetty
I also had a look on the skear at low water (MD).
I was back in full winter plumage, including woolly hat and fingerless mitts!
Apart from Pete's records there were:
Eider 44
Curlew 3
Whimbrel 1
Shag 1 - by this time resting on Conger rock with three cormorants, waiting for the tide to ebb a little further before feeding.
South Shore (MD)
Just an evening stroll along foreshore and sea wall.
Rock Pipits - none seen on the saltmarsh or Red Nab, but four near the lighthouse. But I could only find one juvenile. This is the female:
Linnet - a male standing guard next to the known nest site near the lighthouse. It saw off at least two other pairs.
Shag 1 2nd calendar year - showing well in the harbour.
2nd calendar year Shag All three of today's Shag records likely to have been this bird |
In this clip an immature Great Black-Backed gull walks by. Not sure if it shows how slight shags are or how large Great Black-Backed gulls are:
One the way back through the Nature Park, this Blue Tit was having a bath in the rain.