Lots of Knots!

Lade -cool, sunny, light airs - A cracking couple of hours on the local patch first thing with plenty of warblers around the ponds; at least 20 Willow and five each of Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Reed Warbler amongst a flock of tits, Chaffinches, Blackbirds, Reed Buntings and a Spotted Flycatcher. A mixed flock of 50 Yellow Wagtails and 20 Meadow Pipits grounded on the Desert kept me busy as 100 plus House Martins twittered overhead. On south lake a Black-tailed Godwit on the island and a Greenshank over calling. Also noted, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Great White Egret and Green Woodpecker.

                                Black-tailed Godwit, south lake island

                                Grebe family, Lade

                                Two Yellow Wagtails from the Desert flock


Birdwatching Break - We started a three day Birding Break this afternoon for Raymond, one of our regular visitors from London, commencing on the bird reserve where a Wryneck showed briefly in scrub from the access road. Far more obliging were a couple of Whinchats and Wheatears and further along the track 120 Golden Plovers on the shingle amongst the gulls. Burrowes was much quieter since my last visit now that the majority of Common Terns have moved south. There was no sign of yesterdays Red-backed Shrike from the Return Trail. Over the road there were plenty of birds on offer from Hanson hide, the highlights being, Greenshank, Snipe, two Ruffs, Redshank, Black Tern, Garganey, Wigeon, Great White Egret, Black-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover and three Dunlins.

                                A few of the many Knots on the bay

  We then moved onto the beach and scanned the bay on a falling tide from the Romney Tavern lookout at 1630hrs, and it was superb, full of waders, gulls and terns with my largest ever count of Knots, at 320! The supporting cast wasn't bad either with 500 Oystercatchers, 250 Curlews, 200 Dunlins, 50 Sanderlings, 20 Ringed Plovers, 20 Bar-tailed Godwits, two Redshanks and our first four Grey Plovers of autumn. Surprisingly, at least 10 Little Terns flew along the tideline fishing, while 260 Sandwich and 20 Common Terns loafed on the sands.
  An evening visit to Screen hide delivered two more Greenshanks and Garganeys, three Black Terns, three Black-tailed Godwits, Common Sandpiper, Spotted Redshank, Sparrowhawk, Little Grebe and hundreds of hirundines. 

                                Last knockings from Tower Pits