Bay Watch

Lade - warm, dry and sunny, SW3 - A busy weekend with guests coming and going meant only limited time in the field, all of which was spent on the local patch. Few passerines were present in the fine autumn weather yesterday with just a sprinkling of Willow and Reed Warblers, Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs around the ponds, a few Wheatears and Stonechats on the Desert and the first Skylark for a while. Today, due to the increasing wind off the Atlantic, there was little to be seen apart from a trickle of Swallows and Sand Martins, the usual wildfowl and grebes, plus numerous Kestrels and several Sparrowhawks.
  However, wader numbers had perked up on the sands with 80 Dunlins and 20 Sanderlings, mostly juveniles, opposite the Lade boardwalk on a falling tide late yesterday afternoon. During the evening 12 Knots, 10 Turnstones and 25 Ringed Plover also noted, plus 200 Sandwich Terns which in turn attracted the attention of three Arctic Skuas, one a cracking light phase adult, that flew in off the bay and immediately successfully harried a tern for fish. Further out more skuas could be seen, including a Bonxie, terns aplenty, Gannets, a passing Fulmar and a flock of seven scoters.

                                Knots from yesterday

  This afternoon I tried a different tack and pitched up two hours before high tide and remained for a further one hour seawatch once the tide was in, and very productive it was too. Out came the abacus for the Sandwich Terns, all 420 of `em heading towards Dunge, and 340 Oystercatchers flying to roost on Kerton Road pits. Several small parties of Dunlin and Sanderling flew along the tide line looking for safe roost sites. Once the fly past had dried up a bay watch comprised mainly of distant Gannets and Sandwich Terns, plus five Arctic Skuas, my first Red-throated Diver of autumn and a Manx Shearwater that flew in and fluttered around a feeding Grey Seal for a couple of minutes before heading back west. A trickle of Sand Martins and Swallows also flew south along the beach.
  All things considered a pretty good weekend of birds, and all within an easy walk of Plovers.

                                Dunlin and Sanderling along the tideline

                                Oystercatchers flying to roost