Nothing new, but still plenty of interest

Another light overnight frost. A dry, often sunny day with very light southerly wind.

South sea wall (MD)

Just a lunchtime stroll around high water.

Pale-bellied Brent goose - Red Nab was almost covered and I just saw the "last" three heading off south.

Shelduck 23

Wigeon 200+

Kittiwake reducing numbers but still 2 first winter on No.1 outflow and 2 adult plus 8 first winter in the harbour - none behind the lunchtime ferry.

This is one of No.1 outflow's first winter birds with the wooden jetty in the background (plenty of Cormorants roosting but I couldn't locate a Shag amongst them).

These are two first winter around the secondary waterfall in the harbour and shows the variability of their plumage at this stage.

Rock Pipit 3 - 1 on Red Nab, 2 near the lighthouse including a male display calling, but not seen parachuting today, but he was strutting his stuff!

Male Rock Pipit (he had been display calling) above the nest area used for
the past three years. But this is a new male, the previous one was ringed.

There was a precession of Oystercatcher past the roundhead which lasted about 15 minutes. There were also two flocks of Knot c1,000 each. Richard saw a Sparrowhawk flush the birds from the heliport.

Knot zipping past the wooden jetty

Weasel 1 scurried across Moneyclose Lane

Middleton Nature Reserve (MD)

I'm still checking the two main ponds most days, but there has been little to report, just varying numbers of Gadwall (23 max) and Teal (6 max). Tufted Ducks sometimes 2 sometimes none.

North Shore (MD)

Just a quick afternoon check, mainly to count any Brent. There was only one smallish group of, but these did include the Canadian ringed birds.

Pale-bellied Brent Goose 13

Bar-Tailed Godwit 1

Dunlin 30

Knot c1,000

These are mainly Knot with a few Dunlin, looking brown in the low evening light. The Knot are finding and eating relatively large molluscs. You may need to watch the clip in slow motion to see the detail.

Solitary Common Snipe