Feeding time

A very light SE wind, a hazy morning, the sun not breaking through till mid afternoon.

North Shore low water 10:10 (MD)

No sign of any Brent in the play area rocks (also none on Red Nab at high water)

Pink-Footed goose 92 SE.

Eider 35. The tide didn't go out very far, so the feeding Eider were quite distant. This clip shows them surrounded by gulls waiting to pinch any catch.

Great Crested grebe 2

Red-breasted Merganser 2 - it wasn't just the Eider having to avoid the gulls. The male merganser on the left surfaces with a small fish, but quickly dives again to avoid its catch being pinched.

There weren't many waders either:

Oystercatcher c300

Curlew 15

Bar-Tailed Godwit 2

Knot 50 

Dunlin 2

Turnstone 4

No Redshank seen

South shore

Janet had a walk along the sea wall

c150 wigeon in the channel next to No.2 outflow 

Curlew

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

The 2 adult and 5 immature mute were all on the main pond, another 2 adults were on the "no swimming" pond.

Coot 3

Moorhen 6

Mallard 13

Gadwall 4

Teal 4

Pochard 1 male

Little Grebe 3 including two trilling. There were two feeding on the main pond.

Little Grebe already largely in summer plumage 

Not sure what it has caught, possibly a small fish but equally possibly a dragonfly nymph. Again it dives before the gulls pinch its prize. It will have surfaced again in the margins where there is more cover.

Woodcock 1 

Reed Bunting 1

Cetti's Warbler 1 singing in the central marsh

There were lots of tits around again, but no large feeding flocks seen. The Great Tits in particular are appearing territorial. This Long-Tailed Tit was feeding on the tiny seeds of the reed mace (a Great Tit being annoyed at me in the background).

Sparrowhawk 1 and Kestrel 1 male both hunting. This is the Kestrel.