Monday 19 December 2022

Monday 19th December

The wet and windy weather continued through the day, an early afternoon visit saw big seas but nothing passing offshore. The high tide arrived early due to the amount of flood water in the river but conditions once again hampered counts.

A near adult Spoonbill was a surprise in the estuary, presumably the bird that flew south on Friday, also present, three Avocet, a pair of Gadwall and a late winter high of just 10 Red-breasted Merganser. Interestingly these were all feeding in the channel from Eels Dock, presumably a clearer area of water than the flood water coming down the river.

Other counts from the estuary included 264 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 134 Wigeon, 92 Knot, 87 Shelduck, 65 Great Black-backed Gull, 53 Teal, 10 Turnstone, two Greenshank and two Kingfisher.

Elsewhere two Golden Plover were on Golf Course, six Shoveler were on the Main Pond, with three Redwing and a Chiffchaff in the bushes. Other passerines were in short supply, with 15 Cirl Bunting pushing Blackbird as the most numerous species recorded. 

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