Monday 19th October

The morning spring tide was watched but that in the evening was after dark and the damage it caused to the beach by an unexpected additional third-of-a-metre in height (Exmouth gauge max 4.43 m) was not seen until the following day. The geotube ('sand-sausage') was further undermined, the dune cliff receded a bit further and more sand disappeared from the beach.

At dawn, lots of gulls offshore; two Sandwich Tern and single Red-throated Diver and Great Northern Diver. The previous site record was exceeded again today with 42 Cattle Egret in the estuary corner perched on the old saltings bank. Other highlights were two late Little Stint and a Golden Plover stood on the wader island.

A few selected counts of waterbirds include approximately a thousand Wigeon, 320 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 311 Dunlin, 230 Teal, 56 Grey Plover, 53 Bar-tailed Godwit, 19 Mute Swan, 15 Great Black-backed Gull, 15 Pale-bellied Brent Goose, 11 Cormorant, five Little Egret, four Sanderling; and single Grey Heron, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Kingfisher; the usual drake Eider and the Slavonian Grebe. Other notables today were two Jackdaw and a Grey Wagtail.  Six Rock Pipit, many in the saltmarsh was quite a large count and coincides with a typical period for max counts of this species.

Cattle Egret and Little Egret - Dave Jewell

flock of Cattle Egrets - Lee Collins

Cattle Egrets - Lee Collins

Golden Plover - Dave Jewell