All change
With a lot of over night rain the water levels covered most of the remaining mud, so there was a clear out of the small waders from yesterday. Only 1 Dunlin was seen today but Ruff numbers broke 60 for the first time this autumn. A single Golden Plover was among the Lapwing flock, a Greenshank was seen from Ron Barker where 2 of the 4 Little ringed Plovers were still present and new birds included 7 Black tailed Godwit. Snipe numbers are increasing with a count of 30+ today, this number should hopefully increase to over a 100 birds in the coming weeks. An Arctic or Common Tern was seen briefly in the morning but quickly headed off west to the coast.
At least 2 Kingfishers were showing on and off today and 2-3 Marsh Harrier continue to keep the birds on edge. A flock of 60 Stock Dove were feeding around the edge of the Mere and 20+ Shoveler were on the Mere among the Teal and Mallard.