Thursday, 30 January 2025

A good variety

An overnight frost followed by a largely sunny day. A light variable breeze.

Middleton Nature Reserve (Janet)
Mallard drake

Gadwall pair


Grey Heron 

Goldfinch 

Wren
Barn Owl 1 patrolling near the (euphemistically named) "glass bank" along the road near Tim Butler pond. Not seen by Janet, but reported to her by a walker.

South shore (Janet)
Jack Snipe 1 lifted from the saltmarsh, but landed again along its edge.
Jack Snipe

Pale-bellied Brent goose 27
Pale-bellied Brent geese

Curlew on the saltmarsh 

Wigeon on the saltmarsh 

Some of the regular Oystercatcher that feed on Ocean Edge grass

On Red Nab
Cormorants 

Redshank

Turnstone

Rock Pipit, first record for a while

North shore (Malcolm)
Two checks, the first in the morning as the skear was being covered by the tide.
Pink-Footed goose 43 south
Pale-bellied Brent goose 22 south (these would have formed part of the 27 seen later by Janet)
Little Egret 1 - first for a while here
The waders were spooking each other as the quickly incoming spring
tide pushed them up the shore

Oystercatcher 2,000
Knot 1,300 
Redshank 150
Turnstone 60
Curlew 80
Curlew and Oystercatcher, this shot taken from the promenade 

Several of this morning's Knot were flagged, but it was very difficult getting close enough to read them without spooking the already flighty waders. Still at least one new bird for this winter was read. A second look in the quickly fading evening light, as the skear became exposed again, saw 400 Knot and again including at least one new one for this winter.
Also this evening
Eider 140
Waders, Eider and gulls

Red-breasted Merganser 3

Just out of the recording area (Malcolm) - Sunny slopes near the groyne (the northern limit for terrestrial birds is as seen from Knowlys Rd, this would be just out of sight).
Stonechat 1 female type 09:45 - feeding just above the small wall that separates the promenade from the sunny slopes.


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