Cloudy, mild, drizzle, SW 3 - After a weekend taken up with family business it was good to get out and about today with Ted. We started at Lade for the WeBS count where four Goldeneyes were the highlights amongst low numbers of common ducks, grebes and Coots. A brief seawatch from the boats delivered a trickle of passing/feeding Kittiwakes, Gannets and auks but little else. Moving onto the bird reserve where from the water tower I watched a pair of Peregrines stooping in tandem at a Black-headed Gull out over the Desert. The larger bird (presumably a female) seemed to be doing most of the damage as clouds of feathers exploded from the gull; eventually it flopped onto the shingle and became breakfast for the falcons. From Hanson hide the usual wildfowl noted, plus several each of Great White Egret and Marsh Harrier, a perched Kingfisher, calling Water Rail and Cetti`s Warbler and a Goldeneye and Sparrowhawk from Screen hide. Over the road at Dennis`s hide I joined Martin and Richard who were busily counting double figures of Caspian and Yellow-legged Gulls amongst the more numerous Greater and Lesser-black Backed Gulls. We finished up at Littlestone Green for waders on the bay which included several Grey Plovers, Barwits and Redshanks, although still no Ringed Plovers.
Kingfisher - ARC (through glass)
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