Monday 5 September 2022

Will Kingfisher become a star?

The SE wind continues, overnight rain, but bright and sunny for most of the day.

Clouded Yellow butterfly 1 along old Heliport sea wall this morning (Pete)

South shore
I did two trips today. Morning on the ebbing tide and again in the evening before high water (MD)
Wheatear 15 along foreshore in the morning (7 possibly different in the evening)
You don't often get a chance to see a Wheatear's underwing 

Rock Pipit 6
Meadow Pipit 18 along foreshore (none in evening)

One of the grounded Meadow Pipit

Linnet 10 on foreshore/saltmarsh + 4 near lighthouse 
It's normally the colourful male Linnet that gets photographed 
This is a female or immature Linnet 

Kingfisher 1 on Red Nab, in the morning I just had a glimpse of it and couldn't relocate, but it was showing well in the evening along the freshwater stream, close to the sea wall. Last winter we had two birds regularly visiting Red Nab (although starting much later in November). Those birds proved very popular with visitors and locals alike. "It" even had a mention on local radio. It will be interesting to see if this one hangs around.
Kingfisher 
Mediterranean gull 3 adult plus one 1st calendar year on beach next to the wooden jetty.

The evening visit was to check the waders out from the saltmarsh, I don't normally do this in the evening as you are looking into the sun, but at this time it was quite overcast.
Lapwing 32 on saltmarsh 
The small waders were quickly moving south. These numbers are just estimates.
Dunlin c400
Knot c50
Grey Plover c30
Bar-Tailed Godwit 10

Sandwich Tern 1 adult with a 1st calendar year bird.
Adult Sandwich Tern

1st calendar year Sandwich Tern

It was only 18:30, but already it felt like the light was fading although the sun came out
later and it brightened up. But this shot does show the  difficulty of looking into the light.