The Beast!

 As I arrived at The Patch this morning the beast was waiting for me atop the bund

An excellent morning at The Patch this morning in the company of the new assistant observatory warden Jacques Turner-Moss. Again today1,000s of Gull present (a short video of them can be viewed The Patch.) The regular 1w Glaucous Gull was present all morning, 2 adult Yellow-legged Gulls were found and a minimum of 4 Mediterranean Gulls and 16 colour rings were read including a Danish ringed Mediterranean Gull. A few Gannets were off shore and 129 Brent Geese in 2 flocks flew east.

 Glaucous fly by

 Probably Danish ringed Mediterranean Gull 3NPV

 Suffolk ringed Herring Gull VNF

 Dunlin feeding on the brash ice on the ARC viewed from the causeway

A quick walk around the trapping area/Desert late morning found just a Common Snipe of interest.

Driving across the causeway I noticed a small wader on the brash ice on the ARC that turned out to be a feeding Dunlin, though what it was finding to eat I have no idea.

This afternoon at the fishing boats 15.15-16.15:

Common Scoter: 8 up
Red-throated Diver: 6 up.  5 down
Great-crested Grebe: 21 around
Gannet: 38 up. 7 down
Oystercatcher: 3 up
Mediterranean Gull: 2 around
Little Gull: 1 adult up
Kittiwake: 196 up
Guillemot: 267 up
Razorbill: 2 up
Auk sp: 87 up
Late afternoon I joined DW,GH & JTM in the reserve visitor centre where DW picked out a 1w Caspian Gull among the Great Black-backed Gulls.