Wednesday 1st October

A neap tide with The Bight remaining uncovered, however, two Little Stint, along with 32 Ringed Plover, a few Dunlin, seven Sanderling, six Turnstone and a Grey Plover were on the exposed mud.

 Towards the Railway Saltmarsh were good numbers of Wigeon, Teal, Curlew and Redshank, with 23 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 14 Sandwich Tern, 11 Greenshank, two Mediterranean Gull and the Spotted Redshank on the mudflats as the tide dropped. 

The willows held seventeen Chiffchaff with another on Warren Point, where a Wheatear was an obvious migrant, a Coal Tit and a Reed Bunting were also a probable migrant. Overhead a dozen or so Meadow Pipit, six Skylark, five Jackdaw, four Siskin and just two Swallow passing through.

Other Wildlife: The Dune Ridge held several specialists including Dune Wolf Xerolycosa miniata, a Sea Rocket flea beetle Psylliodes marcida, a Sand Sedge planthopper Kelisia sabulicola and the more widespread ladybird, Point-keeled Rhyzobius R. litura.

Kelisia sabulicola - Alan Keatley

Dune Wolf Xerolycosa miniata - Alan Keatley

Point-keeled Rhyzobius R. litura - Alan Keatley

Sea Rocket Flea Beetle Psylliodes marcida - Alan Keatley

Elsewhere numbers of butterflies have dropped into single figures and a female Grey Seal was in the estuary.