Lade - cold, dry and sunny, NE 5 - Yet again it was another bitterly cold day due to the strong wind coming in off the North Sea, although in sheltered spots in the sunshine the temperature quickly picked up. Despite the weather conditions it turned into a decent day for incoming migrants with plenty of Whimbrels around the peninsula and year ticks in the form of Lesser Whitethroat and Swift on the local patch. From the access road on the bird reserve a Hobby hunting over the Boulderwall fields and a female Redstart feeding by the bee-hive scrub were also new for the year; if only I was keeping such a list...
A total of 42 Whimbrels and five Barwits were also on the fields by Cook`s Pool, probing the bone-dry turf for invertebrates, where overhead more Swifts and hirundines pushed inland. Whilst watching the Redstart a Stoat crossed the access road hanging onto a much larger Rabbit which it eventually dispatched in grisly fashion and dragged into cover. This afternoon on the falling tide a flock of 55 Bar-tailed Godwits dropped in amongst the kite-surfers on the bay, while a run down to Dengemarsh for a Red-rumped Swallow (per MC) drew a blank, but did deliver several Yellow and White Wagtails, a Hobby, four Mediterranean Gulls and a `booming` Bittern.
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