Six warbler species and butterflies emerging

A dry, largely sunny day with a NW wind.

South shore

I just checked from the saltmarsh to Red Nab in the morning (Malcolm)

Wheatear 8

Linnet 2

Rock Pipit 1

Janet had a walk along the sea wall.

At least 2 more Rock Pipit near the lighthouse 

This one has a grub

Above the nest site

Linnet - at least one male above their breeding area.

Turnstone 

This gull struggled to swallow this small fish.
It looks to be a Sea Scorpion (Bullhead)
They have large heads and sharp, but not venomous, spines

In the evening I walked to the waterline out from Ocean Edge, on the rising tide (Malcolm)

No Godwits today

Oystercatcher 100

Curlew 20

Knot 270

Dunlin 300

Sanderling 1

This is the Sanderling, first with Knot then Dunlin, these already in partial summer plumage.

This winter plumage Dunlin catches a small invertebrate at the beginning of this clip.

Common Gulls 116 immature - they were picking "food" off the water surface as the tide came in. It was difficult seeing what they were eating, as the sun was directly behind them. I can only think of tiny molluscs with some air trapped inside floating up from the mud as it was covered. This clip gives a sense of the activity, the water is only a few centimetres deep here, in what is effectively the estuary of one of the drainage channels.

Whatever the feeding opportunity was, it was soon over and all the gulls left together. This was 16:35 

Report from Clay Garland, later in the evening.

I had a walk down by the power station and back from about 16:45-18:15. 

- 4 little egrets on Red Nab. 

- Large gulls only on the outflows on my way out. Then they were joined by some common gulls on the way back. No black-heads at all. 

- c60 redshank and c25 turnstone sheltering from the wind on outflow 1. Plus another 30 redshank and 5 turnstone on the inside of the north harbour wall. 

- 18 cormorants on the wooden jetty. If the shag was with them, I couldn't see it.

- 1 stubborn cormorant getting hammered by the wind on the outflow railing 

- 4 brent geese on Red Nab on my way back. 

- Song thrush singing in the bushes by the entrance to Ocean Edge. It was so loud I could still hear it from the slipway even through the wind.

- 1 rock pipit and 1 wheatear on the foreshore. 

Middleton Nature Reserve 

Just a brief morning check of the central Marsh.

Cetti's warbler 7 singing (2 each western marsh and "no swimming" pond, 3 on central marsh)

Lesser Whitethroat 3 singing (first of the year)

Reed warbler 1 singing

Balckcap 2 male seen

Chiffchaff and Willow warbler 4 each

Orange Tip 4 (3 male and a female)

Male Orange Tip

Janet saw this female Small White by the heliport

Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall

Glossy Ibis still present mid morning at least