01/11/2022

The morning sea watch was again very poor, the highlight being a single Goldeneye west and a few Brent Geese. As the rain set in I got on with domestic stuff.

On arrival at the beach this afternoon I was informed not to bother as Russ had been there for 3 hours and seen just a single Merganser and some Gannets. I did see the adult Arctic Tern which I think is the first I have seen in November.

I went to Hanson Hide which unsurprisingly was empty, I was soon joined by Russ for a short time, while I stayed till dusk.

The female Kingfisher came in to the perches but did not feed, A great White Egret spent some time feeding in fron the hide where it was catching numerous tiddlers in the torrential rain and general gloom. On the islands at least 3 different Caspian Gulls came and went as did a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls, a Norwegian Great Black-backed Gull and 2 Dutch ringed Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Water Rails were squealing around the hide, a single Dunlin was feeding along the edge of the islands. As dusk approached 2 Glossy Ibis appeared, as did 8 Cattle Egrets and 4 more Great White Egrets, all made their way down to the roost. I didn't see the Long-tailed Duck but most of the time the shutter on that side of the hide were kept shut to keep the weather out.

The female Kingfisher in the torrential rail at Hanson this afternoon

Great White Egret catching 3 tiddlers at a time in the rain at Hanson

1w Caspian Gull and 3w Yellow-legged Gull from Hanson

Another 1w Caspian Gull