Friday 20th November

A couple of birders were on site today to cover the morning tide. Both tides were about 20 cm lower than predicted, likely due to the max 1,037 mb high pressure overnight, despite some light rain. A few counts were conducted, 940 Dunlin, 406 Wigeon, 232 Black-tailed Godwit arrived on the dropping tide; 190 Canada Goose on the estuary before they departed from their roost; 165 Teal, 141 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 116 Grey Plover, 96 Bar-tailed Godwit, 53 Shelduck, 25 Ringed Plover, 16 Cormorant, seven Great Black-backed Gull, six Common Snipe rose from the saltmarsh; two Mallard, the drake Eider and a Kingfisher. Also present were the usual Oystercatcher, Curlew, Knot, Sanderling, Turnstone, Redshank, Greenshank and common gull species, but had no counts or those obtained were not representative of numbers present today. Elsewhere, notables were c.60 Goldfinch, a Coal Tit and a Reed Bunting.