Tern up for the books
Holden Tower
A breezy morning look out over the estuary revealed 100's of Black-headed Gulls feeding/roosting on the mudflats, the whole reserve was spooked by a hunting Peregrine which put up a flock of terns. Between 30-40 Arctic or Common Terns and 6 Sandwich Terns went up, the latter returning to the sandy shoreline and the former flock carrying on upriver with the bulk of the gulls.
A look from Middle Point showed the 'Sarnie's' to still be present but the tide was flooding in. Also present were a few Common Gulls and an adult breeding plumaged and juvenile Mediterranean Gull.
Sandwich Terns and Common and Mediterranean Gulls-images MJMcGill
Also over the very high tide- among the flock of 242 Curlew were breeding plumaged Red Knot and male Bar-tailed Godwit, 4 Whimbrel, Greenshank, 2 Redshank, 3 Oystercatcher, 2 Little Egret, 30 Dunlin, 1 adult Sanderling and 50 Shelduck. The tide pushed most of these birds off.
A Wheatear, 4 Linnet and 10 Meadow Pipit were on the fences at Middle Point.
Male Linnet
Zeiss Hide/Top New Piece
Red Knot-breeding plumaged bird among the 165 Dunlin, 70 Lapwing, Greenshank, adult Little-ringed Plover, Redshank and 60 Teal. One Green Sandpiper was also present.
South Lake
Two juvenile Little-ringed Plover, a juvenile Greenshank, 5 juvenile Avocet, 2 Ruff, 156 Black-tailed godwit, 61 Redshank and 40 Lapwing were on the wader scrape at 0900, plenty of duck, greylag geese and Coot on the deep lake.
Rushy Pen
Green Sandpiper 10
Tack Piece
Green Sandpiper 5
We have high tides for the next two or three days, it is well worth coming to scan the scrapes for a variety of waders, at least 14 species seen so far today.
