It was exceedingly quiet in the continuing mild conditions.    Heading south were 2 Whooper Swans, 5 Pink-footed Geese and a ringtail Hen Harrier.   60 Golden Plovers and 70 Lapwings were on the fields.   Three more Whooper Swans were on the flashes with a Little Egret, 11 Mallard, 55 Teal and a Jack Snipe.  A Common Buzzard was near the Coastguard cottages where there were 2 Collared Doves, 50 Stock Doves and a Redwing.   Birds on the shore just after high tide were 18 Oystercatchers, 23 Curlews, 120 Dunlin, 3 Cormorants and 4 Rock Pipits.

                                                                           Turnstone

                                                                 Great Black-backed Gull


         A short afternoon visit to the seal colony in the Stonebridge area produced counts of  250 Shelducks, 40 Mallard, 800 Brent Geese, 11 Turnstones, 250 Lapwings, 45 Skylarks, 15 Twite, 15 Blackbirds and a Song Thrush.

         Yesterday, there was a male Hen Harrier at Quad 3.

         An unremarkable WeBS count between Stonebridge and Pye's Hall.   Waders were 15 Lapwings, 100 Redshanks, one Turnstone, 280 Oystercatchers, 50 Curlews, 10 Grey Plovers, 420 Dunlin and 50 Knot.   Wildfowl were 1,060 Brent Geese, 292 Shelducks, 2 Eiders, 124 Mallard and 167 Teal.   Also of note were 3 Little Egrets, 2 Little Grebes, 3 Cormorants, 14 Rock Pipits, 2 Pied Wagtails, one Fieldfare, 20 Twite, one Kestrel and one Sparrowhawk.

         Birds on the fields at the south end included 37 Mallard, 15 Teal, 220 Lapwings, 117 Golden Plovers, 98 Curlews, one Mistle Thrush and one Short-eared Owl.   Along the flashes were 10 more Mallard, 5 Teal, 3 Whooper Swans, 2 Little Egrets and 2 Little Grebes.   A freshly-dead mink was found near the Beacon Flash bridge.   The dunes were fairly quiet with 12 Blackbirds, 3 Robins and a Sparrowhawk.

         13 Pink-footed Geese flew south over the sea and onshore were 180 Brent Geese, 190 Knot, 37 Redshanks, 29 Grey Plovers, 450 Dunlin, 5 Sanderlings, 8 Cormorants, 46 Goldfinches and good counts of 130 Twite and 380 Skylarks.

        

         Heavy drizzle, poor light and moderate to poor visibility were hardly conducive to worthwhile observations.   134 Shelducks and 50 Redshanks were on the shore at Stonebridge.   Waders on the realignment area were 167 Lapwings, 630 Golden Plovers, 40 Redshanks, 5 Curlews and 25 Dunlin.   Wildfowl were 220 Brent Geese, 4 Pink-footed Geese over to the south and a skein only heard, 21 Shelducks, 4 Mallard and 87 Teal.   Also of note were 3 Little Grebes, 12 Little Egrets, 60 Twite, 40 Goldfinches, 6 Rock Pipits, one Water Pipit, one Merlin and one Short-eared Owl.

         Yesterday (9th), there were 28 Common Scoters and 2 Velvet Scoters on the sea opposite Stonebridge.   On the shore here were 380 Brent Geese, 600 Golden Plovers, one Turnstone and 20 Twite.

         Birds on the shore between Stonebridge and Pye's Hall included 1,000 Brent Geese, 130 Shelducks, 140 Mallard, 90 Redshanks, 30 Curlews, 700 Dunlin, 1,500 Oystercatchers, 200 Knot and 22 Twite. 

         Waders on the realignment area were 350 Lapwings, 170 Golden Plovers, one Grey Plover, one Turnstone, 100 Redshanks, 99 Dunlin and 2 Common Snipe.    Wildfowl were 2 Mute Swans, 10 Shelducks, 6 Mallard and 26 Teal, plus 17 Pink-footed Geese which passed over to the south.   Other birds of note were 13 Little Egrets, 6 Little Grebes, 5 Cormorants, one Sparrowhawk, one Merlin, 3 Kestrels, one Common Buzzard, one male Hen Harrier, 2 Redwings, 6 Blackbirds, one Pied Wagtail and 7 Rock Pipits.   A sighting of 2 Red-legged Partridges was the first since 10th July.

         A very quiet day at the south end.   3 Whooper Swans, 55 Teal and 3 Little Egrets on the flashes while on the dunes there were 20 Blackbirds, one Corn Bunting, 4 Lesser Redpolls and a Peregrine.   Birds on the shore were 200 Brent Geese, 72 Curlews, 300 Lapwings, 30 Golden Plovers, 130 Knot, 40 Sanderling, 250 Dunlin and 17 Bar-tailed Godwits.