Lade - 0730hrs - cold, cloudy, showery, nw 2 - I wasn't expecting a great deal this morning as we trudged down Taylor Road to start a circuit of the local patch. It was grim and grey with rain not far away, but spirits were instantly lifted by a Med Gull flying over calling and the odd sight of an Egyptian Goose wandering around on the shingle ridges, though not for long as it soon flew off towards the lakes where it joined another. Scanning the desert revealed a Wheatear, followed by a Sand Martin zipping low over the water on south lake, searching for insects, and three singing Chiffchaffs around the willow swamp. An encouraging start, but then the rain came which put paid to the bird song and the temperature dipped to a paltry 3C. However, Marsh Harrier, Cetti`s Warbler, Mipits and Green Woodpecker rounded off a decent first leg of the walk.
Cutting back along the beach at low tide, accompanied by a steady drizzle, wasn't so much fun and with the `big` waders well out of range we were left with just a handful of little `uns to check through: Sanderlings, Dunlins, Ringed Plovers and Sanderlings, plus two Grey Plovers. Another Med Gull flew over and four Linnets came in off the sea, so all in all a productive couple of hours birding, before heading off to Alkham for our local B&B association AGM.
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