Counts over the evening high tide included an increase to 18 Ringed Plover, with the first migrant Whimbrel, earlier on the beach, roosting with 55 Curlew on Finger Point. Also present in the estuary 32 Bar-tailed Godwit, 17 Turnstone, 14 Sanderling, 11 Snipe, nine Grey Plover, seven Dunlin, six Knot, five Greenshank and a Dark-bellied Brent Goose.
Offshore a drake Gadwall, the first of the year, 12 Sandwich Tern, three Great Crested Grebe, two Red-breasted Merganser and a Red-throated Diver.
Year List addition:
120. Gadwall
Other Wildlife: Good numbers of insects on the wing early afternoon including the first two Speckled Wood and Orange-tailed Mining Bee Andrena haemorrhoa of the year.
Along the beach at least a dozen Dune Scarab, several Marram Weevil Philopedon plagiatum and a Hypera nigrirostris, with the darkling beetle Opatrum sabulosum at Langstone Rock.
Opatrum sabulosum - Dean Hall
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| Yellow-legged Mining Bee - Dean Hall |
Seawatching early morning saw 10 Red-throated and seven Great Northern Diver, six Common Scoter, three Sandwich Tern and two Great Crested Grebe offshore.
Counts from the estuary over the morning high tide included 109 Curlew, 40 Bar-tailed Godwit, 15 Turnstone, 13 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 12 Ringed Plover, eight Red-breasted Merganser, seven Dunlin and a Knot.
Elsewhere migrants included single Blackcap, Swallow, Wheatear and Willow Warbler with a Shoveler on the Main Pond and the Red-legged Partridge was still on Warren Point.
Other Wildlife: It wasn't a day for flying insects, but there good numbers of beetles on the beach and edge of The Bight, including two new species for the Recording Area, a horned dung beetle Onthophagus similis and the ground beetle Bembidion dentellum, both relatively common and widespread.
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| Onthophagus similis - Alan Keatley |
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| Bembidion dentellum - Alan Keatley |
Other species included the rove beetles Tachyporus hypnorum and Philonthus cognatus, the rare driftwood weevil Pselactus spadix, the ground beetle Harpalus affinis and a 2-spot Ladybird, plus, the dune spider Zelotes electus.
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| Pselactus spadix - Alan Keatley |
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| Tachyporus hypnorum - Alan Keatley |
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| Philonthus cognatus - Alan Keatley |
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| Harpalus affinis - Alan Keatley |
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| 2-spot Ladybird - Alan Keatley |
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| Zelotes electus - Alan Keatley |
Counts from the evening hight tide 125 Curlew, 41 Bar-tailed Godwit, 22 Dark and a Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 21 Sanderling, 18 Redshank, 17 Turnstone, eight Dunlin, eight Grey and seven Ringed Plover, seven Knot and five Greenshank.
Elsewhere 18 Sandwich Tern, six Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver were offshore and migrants included six Chiffchaff, three Wheatear and a Willow Warbler.
Other Wildlife: The first two male Orange-tip of the year were on the wing with at least a dozen Peacock, also emerging for the first time the hoverflies, Spring Epistrophe E. eligans and Common Tiger Hoverfly Helophilus pendulus.
On the beach the leaf beetle Prasocuris phellandrii, the rove beetles Bledius spectabilis and Cafius xantholoma and in rock pools, that were recently part of Warren Point, Painted Goby Pomatoschistus pictus, new for the Recording Area, and a European Sting Winkle Ocenebra erinaceus.
European Sting Winkle Ocenebra erinaceus - Kevin Rylands
Counts from the evening high tide included 100 Curlew, 36 Bar-tailed Godwit, 22 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 12 Redshank, nine Knot, seven Grey and six Ringed Plover, seven Dunlin, four Red-breasted Merganser and two Greenshank.
Elsewhere eight Sandwich Tern, four Great Crested Grebe and two Red-throated Diver were offshore.
Other Wildlife: The lack of birds on site were compensated with a variety range of insects, mainly in sheltered areas. On the wing were nectaring Gooden's Nomad Bee Nomada goodeniana near Langstone Rock, Empis femorata dancefly and the hoverfly, Smudge-veined Clubtail Neoascia podagrica, with a Dark-edged Beefly searching for solitary bee nests to deposit eggs by the Entrance Bushes,
Gooden's Nomad Bee Nomada goodeniana - Alan Keatley
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| Smudge-veined Clubtail Neoascia podagrica - Alan Keatley |
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| Empis femorata - Alan Keatley |
Elsewhere an Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni on nettles, the water scavenger beetle Cercyon unipunctatus on the beach and a click beetle Agrypnus murinus under a log.
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| Cercyon unipunctatus - Alan Keatley |
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| Agrypnus murinus - Alan Keatley |
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| Alder Leaf Beetle Agelastica alni - Alan Keatley |
As water levels drop a lesser water boatman Corixa punctata appeared out of place and struggling on mud near the Main Pond. It can at least fly to the pond, an option unavailable to the stranded tadpoles.
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| Corixa punctata - Alan Keatley |
Counts over the evening tide included 42 Bar-tailed Godwit, 34 Turnstone, 31 Dark and a Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 12 Grey and six Ringed Plover, 12 Redshank, 10 Knot, seven Dunlin, five Greenshank and four Red-breasted Merganser.
Elsewhere a redhead Goosander flew S over the Main Pond and offshore there were 30 Kittiwake, 20 Gannet, 12 Common Scoter, 12 Sandwich Tern, three Manx Shearwater and single Great Northern and Red-throated Diver.
Counts from the estuary included 118 Curlew, 46 Bar-tailed Godwit, 46 Turnstone, 12 Grey Plover, nine Knot, eight Dunlin, five Greenshank and two Dark-bellied Brent Geese.
Elsewhere seven Sandwich Tern, four Great Northern Diver and two Common Scoter were offshore, three Wheatear were on Warren Point and at least 12 Chaffinch called overhead.
Other Wildlife: A stiff NW wind meant flying insects were restricted to sheltered areas, these included the first Early Nomad Bee Nomada leucophthalma for the Recording Area, found in Skipper Meadow.
Early Nomad Bee Nomada leucophthalma - Alan Keatley
Also on the wing the muscid fly Phaonia subventa and the brown lacewing Micromus paganus with the ground beetles Bembidion quadrimaculatum and Paranchus albipes under logs.
Phaonia subventa - Alan Keatley
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| Paranchus albipes - Alan Keatley |
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| Bembidion quadrimaculatum - Alan Keatley |
Counts from the estuary included 41 Bar-tailed Godwit, 12 Grey and six Ringed Plover, 10 Dunlin, nine Knot, five Greenshank, two Dark-bellied Brent Geese and a drake Red-breasted Merganser.
Elsewhere 17 Common Scoter, eight Manx Shearwater, five Sandwich Tern, three Great Northern and a Red-throated Diver were offshore, the first Willow Warbler of the year was in the Entrance Bushes, a Swallow was over the estuary and the Red-legged Partridge was still present.
Year List addition:
119. Willow Warbler
Migrants on site included six Chiffchaff and three Wheatear, with a few Chaffinch and a lone Swallow overhead.
Wheatear - Dean Hall
Counts from the estuary included 47 Sandwich Tern on Bull Hill on the dropping tide with 37 Bar-tailed Godwit, 35 Redshank, 12 Grey and two Ringed Plover, 11 Knot, 10 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, eight Dunlin, five Greenshank and four Red-breasted Merganser at high tide
Elsewhere the Red-legged Partridge was on Warren Point and offshore at least 30 Sandwich Tern before moving to the estuary, 17 Common Scoter, 11 Great Northern and six Red-throated Diver.
Other Wildlife: The sunny start encouraged some insect activity despite the windy conditions but things slowed down in the later showery weather. New emergences for the year included Small Sallow Mining Bee Andrena praecox near the Entrance Bushes and a male Trimmer's Mining Bee A. trimmerana on the beach.
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| Trimmer's Mining Bee Andrena trimmerana - Alan Keatley |
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| Small Sallow Mining Bee Andrena praecox - Alan Keatley |
Also noted on the wing for the first time this year, the dung fly Norellisoma spinimanum and the hoverfly Melanostoma scalare. At ground level in the dunes, bugs included Cymus claviculus and Nysius huttoni, beetles included Dune Scarab Aegialia arenaria and Phylan gibbus and spiders were represented by Dysdera crocata, a woodlouse spider and Arctosa perita, the Sand-bear Spider.
Nysius huttoni - Alan Keatley 
Phylan gibbus - Dean Hall 
Dune Scarab Aegialia arenaria - Dean Hall
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| Sand-bear Spider Arctosa perita - Alan Keatley |
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| Dysdera crocata - Alan Keatley |
