Gulls, Dragons and a Spitfire

 

The Patch was very quiet this morning with just 2 Common Terns and 2 Sandwich Terns with a few Gulls and a single Wheatear on the sea wall.

Great black Backed Gull

  The fishing boats were just as quiet with the Yellow-legged Gull in its usual place and a colour ringed GBB Gull among the other loafing gulls

Yellow;legged Gull

On the ARC from Hanson the adult Little Stint, 4 Dunlin, c60 Golden Plover, 8 Little Egrets, 2 Pintails and 26 Wigeon among the numerous Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal and Mallard.

  On the way back to the car park I finally managed a decent flight shot of a Migrant Hawker.

 A walk up to the pines found the sallows held 10+Chiffchaffs, 2 Willow Warblers, 4 Sedge Warblers, 2 Reed Warblers, 3 Cetti's Warblers, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Common Whitethroats, 1 Blackcap and large Tit flock of Great, Blue and Long Tailed Tits also seen there 2 Marsh Harriers, a Common Buzzard and a Hobby.
While I was at the pines a Spitfire spent a few minutes circling overhead.

 

By the track to the reserve centre near the gull roost a Whimbrel skulked. In Firth hide I met Mike Hook hoping to get shots of a very uncooperative Pectoral Sandpiper, and while we were  chatting  saw 1+Marsh Harrier, 2 Pintail fly by as did a distant Hobby. Round the rest of the reserve 2 Great White egrets, 6 Little Egrets, 2 Hobbys, 2 Sparrowhawks, 2 Marsh Harriers, 4 Ravens, 6 Cetti's Warblers, 5 Chiffchaffs, 1 Blackcap, 4 Common Whitethroats and 3 Dunlin.



14.00-1600 from the fishing boats;
5 Dark Bellied Brent Geese W
58 Wigeon (45,9,4) W
4 Arctic Skuas off shore
1 Guillemot W
And few each of Common and Sandwich Terns and gannets off shore
8+ Harbour Porpoises off shore.