Thursday 7th December

An early morning sea watch from 8:00 to 9:30, when the front when through and winds went round to north-westerly saw 960 Gannet head south, a longer watch may well have broken the site record. Also offshore 240 Kittiwake, nine Great Northern and four Red-throated Diver, eight Great-crested Grebe and just two Guillemot and a Common Scoter.

Counts from the estuary included 1250 Oystercatcher, 1100 Dunlin, 296 Dark and three Pale-bellied Brent Geese, 161 Grey Plover, 105 Redshank, 86 Knot, 65 Shelduck, 46 Turnstone, 22 Sanderling and four Greenshank. Elsewhere four Shoveler were on the Main Pond, two Chiffchaff were in the bushes and a Mistle Thrush was in Greenland Lake.

Shoveler - Alan Keatley