Today's early morning sea watch was very slow, just 2 Arctic Skuas, 2 Whimbrel, a Shelduck and small numbers of Commic Terns. The watch was livened up when myself Anna & Charles picked up a wader out at sea flying in straight towards us, we could make out a black belly and from the size deduced it was a Grey Plover, as the bird came in dropped exhausted on the shore where to our surprise we could it was a summer plumage Golden Plover, it sat motionless for about 20 minutes in the rain, no doubt trying to recover it's strength, then it gradually made it's way up the beach towards the hide where it was picking up insects from the Kale. Shortly after reaching the hide it gave a brief alarm call as a Peregrine swooped in. A stooping Peregrine against a very tired Golden Plover was no contest and was over very quickly.
Golden Plover
Golden Plover
The inevitable was only a split second away, pity I couldn't get a focus lock!
On the reserve on Burrowes Pit, 5 Turnstone, 20+ Dunlin, 5 Grey Plover, 4 Black-tailed Godwit, 4 Whimbrel, a Redshank, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Ringed Plovers, 3 Hobby's, the now ever present Ring-necked Duck, also the 1w Iceland Gull had commuted from The Patch to bathe in the lake.
Slavonian Grebe
On the new diggings late afternoon a summer plumage Slavonian Grebe and 100s of Hirundines but nothing unusual among them.
While I was scanning through the Hirundines I got a text from Lea about a Short-eared Owl in the trapping area, I drove a short distance further down the road where I could view the trapping area, very quickly the Owl made a brief appearance before dropping back into the area. I went back to the Hirundines, where I received another message from Lea this time about a Stone Curlew he had accidently flushed in the The Desert which he had now pinned down. A few minutes later I was viewing the Stone Curlew a very scarce bird here now though once a fairly common breeder. Many thanks to Lea Gregory all the messages.
Stone Curlew in The Desert
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