A bright mild day so I took a walk up towards Castle Coote to check out the common seals hauled out on The Horse Sands. On the walk west I saw 4 stonechats, a dozen mipits, 4 reed buntings. 1 skylark, c.200 lapwings plus c.1000 golden plovers which were out on the mud flats. The seal colony seemed busy with a count of 102 seals on the horse Sands.
The brent flock was still empty of juveniles except for just three individuals, clearly a poor breeding season.
26th
I didn't go out this Sunday as I was due to go to an exhibition and lunch at Ditton but five minutes before I was about to leave Geoff rang to tell me of a yellow-legged gull he was watching just off the outfall. A potential patch tick, so I nipped down there rather quickly in time to see it and get photos, thanks to Geoff. The poor gull unfortunately had a piece of plastic stuck over its head, hopefully it will manage to get it off. An example of what Sir David Attenborough was talking about in his current programme about the dangers of plastics in the sea.
A colour comparison of our herring gull and the yellow-legged behind
27th
A late afternoon visit to SS after a tip off from Keith Dugmore about a small marsh harrier roost at SS. Viewing from the seawall near the toilet block I counted 4-5 marsh harriers plus 1 barn owl and further on by the sub-station 1 hare.
28th
Spent the morning doing some painting for my daughter but pm I made another visit to SS seeing 2-3 marsh harriers and the barn owl again over the plots.
30th
A freezing cold morning, 1 deg., and from the car...........102 lapwing on the pasture, 42 lapwings plus 41 curlew and c.800 goldies. It was good to see the lone rook back on the seawall near the YC.......by the oufall a few turnstones, 1 sanderling, 2 redshank, 2 grey plovers and 1 marsh harrier. I went home at 10.00ish, too cold!
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