Ruddy Duck Culling

One of the shooters boats hauled out onto the causeway between New Diggings and Burrowes Pit

As I drove across the causeway towards The Point, I saw 3 4x4s with motor boat trailers on the adjacent causeway with attendant Ruddy Duck shooters. All perfectly legal and sanctioned by the RSPB!!!   

At The Point the Glaucous Gull was on the beach. Offshore still many Guillemots and Razorbills with lesser numbers of Gannets, Kittiwakes and Red-throated Divers but no real migration yet.

At the Varne Sailing Club the 2 Snow Buntings on the beach. On the falling tide 100+ Knot, 30+ Bar-tailed Godwits, 100s of Oystercatchers, 14 Redshank, 40+ Turnstone, 12 Grey Plover and 100+ each of Dunlin and Sanderling.

On the Lade Pits the Black-throated Diver on north pit, Great White and Little Egret on south pit, 4 Goldeneye and 2+ Water Rail squealing.

The ARC was quiet with just 8 Smew (2 drakes), 6 Goldeneye among small numbers of common wildfowl.

Boulderwall held the usual Tree sparrow flock, along the track  7 Barnacle Geese, another Great White Egret, c50 Curlew and a Bittern over. From Dengemarsh another Bittern and 2 Marsh Harriers.  

 On Walland  a Whooper Swan with 266 Bewick Swans (59 Juveniles). The feeders held the usual Tree Sparrows, Yellowhammers, Chaffinches and Greenfinches, nearby a Common Buzzard.