Went for a day out with my bird group yesterday. Usually this is a summer destination for us and this was only my second winter trip there. What a difference six months makes. A combination of the very wet weather that we've been having and the work that they have been doing means that the habit has changed. There is much less shingle and scrape and more flooded areas.
When you get prolonged views of a perched Merlin within five minutes of arriving, you wonder if your day can get any better. We only walked about 4 miles: a combination of great wader and duck views, weird weather variations and terrible mud in the more remote parts of the reserve didn't allow for more.
There were easily a thousand Golden Plover on the pools and the light at that point was perfect as they frequently became airborne. Huge numbers of Lapwing also took to the air. How I wish dogs were banned, as at Dungeness, as they and not the walkers seemed to disturb the birds. A small group of Ruff also joined the display.
With the tide starting to come in and fog descending, the beach was full of waders: Dunlin, Sanderling, Grey Plover, Turnstone, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover.
Back round on the pools, the star birds were three Goldeneye, two females and a male. There were several Shelduck, including a small juvenile, still not grown into full plumage. Lots of Little Grebes on the ternery pool.
The only other raptor of the day was a Buzzard. I saw 41 species in total but there were a others few seen by other group members. The day finished with a strong and cold westerly wind blowing.
When you get prolonged views of a perched Merlin within five minutes of arriving, you wonder if your day can get any better. We only walked about 4 miles: a combination of great wader and duck views, weird weather variations and terrible mud in the more remote parts of the reserve didn't allow for more.
There were easily a thousand Golden Plover on the pools and the light at that point was perfect as they frequently became airborne. Huge numbers of Lapwing also took to the air. How I wish dogs were banned, as at Dungeness, as they and not the walkers seemed to disturb the birds. A small group of Ruff also joined the display.
With the tide starting to come in and fog descending, the beach was full of waders: Dunlin, Sanderling, Grey Plover, Turnstone, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover.
Back round on the pools, the star birds were three Goldeneye, two females and a male. There were several Shelduck, including a small juvenile, still not grown into full plumage. Lots of Little Grebes on the ternery pool.
The only other raptor of the day was a Buzzard. I saw 41 species in total but there were a others few seen by other group members. The day finished with a strong and cold westerly wind blowing.
