A bright sunny day with a fresh NW wind.
South shore
I had a walk out from the saltmarsh on the rising tide to check out the waders (Malcolm). It was obvious from a long way from the waterline that the Peregrine were also checking out the waders, they kept lifting but after a while became more settled, presumably the Peregrine had made its/their catch.
Sanderling 1 - only seen from distance early on, no sign when I got closer.
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| Sanderling - lower middle |
I managed a reasonably accurate count of the larger waders
Curlew 20
Oystercatcher 25
Bar-Tailed Godwit 180
Grey Plover 19
The small waders were so mobile that only an estimate was practical.
Knot 600
Dunlin 250
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| Bar-Tailed Godwit and Dunlin |
These clips gives a sense of the chaos
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| This is what the small waders are feeding on. Each pimple of mud covers a tiny mollusc |
Meadow Pipit 6 over to north
Wheatear 7 between saltmarsh and Red Nab
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| Wheatears |
Pale-bellied Brent goose 39 feeding on Red Nab
Shelduck 10
Middleton Nature Reserve (MD, AG)
Goosander 5 female/1st winter
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| In the morning there were just two female and a 1st winter (left side) |
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| When Angela checked in the afternoon there were five (a good record shot with a mobile phone). So a minimum of eight different birds seen here this spring, as there has also been three adult males. |
Cetti's Warbler 2
Chiffchaff 2
Brimstone butterfly 1 male
Just out of the recording area - horse paddock behind Middleton Parish Hall
Glossy Ibis still present morning and afternoon
