A Pleasant Day!

06.30-08.00 from the sea watch hide. Many thanks to AJG for supplying the numbers.

Brent Goose: 112 up

Common Scoter: 5 up

Red-throated Diver: 95 up, exactly 100 flew down channel after disturbance by the range boat.

Gannet:17 around

Oystercatcher: 4 up

Kittiwake: 64 up

Guillemot: 89 on sea

At The Patch the 1w Iceland Gull was still in residence along with a couple of Mediterranean Gulls 

among the many Herring and great Black-backed Gulls, for the second day running no sign of the regular juvenile Glaucous Gull.

A stroll around the Kerton Road triangle mid morning found 2 Dartford Warblers, 2 Stonechats and 6 Meadow Pipits.

Dartford Warbler at Kerton Road mid morning

Dartford Warbler at Kerton Road mid morning

2 Hares squaring up on the Boulderwall Fields

Late morning on the reserve 3 Smew including a drake and a Great White Egret on Tanners Pool viewed from the entrance track. In the adjacent fields 2 Hares were nice to see and watch. Another 5 Great White Egrets were on Dengemarsh per MH. Only a few Gulls present apart from a couple of readable colour rings there was nothing of any note among them.

1w Iceland Gull

Early afternoon when I arrived back at The Patch the 1w Iceland Gull was still in the roost, a few minutes later it and all the other Gulls were flushed by fisherman who insist on casting there lines out towards the boil, the only up side was they flushed the Iceland Gull towards the hide giving me a nice fly by. 

1w Iceland Gull

14.30-15.30 from the fishing boats:
Brent Goose: 2 up
Red-throated Diver: 46 up
Great-crested Grebe: c150 offshore
Gannet: 4 around
Kittiwake: 17 down
Guillemot: 16 down   2 up
Grey Seal: 1
Harbour Porpoise: 1

Juvenile Glaucous Gull on Burrowes late afternoon

Late afternoon on the reserve 2 Marsh Harriers and Great White Egrets flew over the entrance track,  on Burrowes the regular juvenile Glaucous Gull was roosting among the Cormorants, 5 Goldeneye could be found among the Pochard and Tufted Duck, still good numbers of Shovelers present.

1w Iceland Gull!

Many thanks to AJG & MH for the Sea watch numbers this morning:

06.30-08.00:

Brent Goose: 85 up in 4 flocks (another 123 seen from The Patch later)

Wigeon: 12 up

Common Scoter: 13 up   9 down

Red-throated Diver: 72 up

Great-crested Grebe: 137 around

Fulmar: 2 around

Gannet: 54 up 

Oystercatcher: 8 up

Mediterranean Gull: 1 up

Little Gull: 2 up   1 down

Kittiwake: 451 up

Guillemot: 5 on

Razorbill :2 up

Auk sp: 78 up

 1w Iceland Gull at The Patch

When I arrived at The Patch DW & JTM were already there and had seen a 1w Iceland Gull briefly, fortunately the Iceland Gull reappeared and showed reasonably well on the beach and around the boil. Among the all the Gulls around The Patch were at least 7 Mediterranean Gulls one of which was a another Danish ringed bird, there were also several of the Pitsea/Rainham ringed birds, Norwegian ringed birds, another from North Yorkshire, 1 from Weymouth another and from Guernsey.

While most of this morning was spent looking at Gulls a few more Red-throated Divers, Brent Geese and a party of 6 drake Eider flew up channel.

  1w Iceland Gull at The Patch

  1w Iceland Gull at The Patch

 Eider passing The Patch

Mediterranean Gull atThe Patch

This afternoon at the fishing boats was very quiet with a more Red-throated divers and Kittiwakes passing, also a Harbour Porpoise offshore.

Baltic Gull?

First Eider of the year

Sea watch from 06.45-09.25 many thanks to AJG & MH for collating the numbers:
Brent Goose: 46 up
Teal: 1 up
Common Scoter: 56 up  12 down
Eider: 4 up
Red-breasted Merganser:18 up
Red-throated Diver: 350 up
Great-crested Grebe: 150+ around
Fulmar: 4up    3 down
Gannet 85 up
Fulmar 4 up
Oystercatcher: 3 up
Curlew: 2 up
Great Skua: 1 up
Glaucous Gull: 1 around
Little Gull: 2 up
Kittiwake: 321 up
Sandwich Tern: 1 up
Guillemot: 19 up
Razorbill: 1 up
Auk sp: 696 up

1w Glaucous Gull with colour ringed Herring Gull K7LT

After this mornings sea watch I wandered down to The Patch joining DW who was already there going through the Gulls. The Glaucous Gull and few colour ringed birds were present but not the huge numbers of birds that have been present through the cold spell. While scanning the boil DW noticed a very interesting Lesser Black-backed Gull sp. Trying to pick out an individual Gull over the boil is usually fairly difficult, but this bird was easy as it was so contrasting black and white, it helpfully flew alongside a Larus fuscus graellsii (Lesser Black-backed Gull) which highlighted the difference. I see no reason why it's not a Larus fuscus fuscus (Baltic Gull) all opinions welcome.
While I was at The Patch another 72 Red-throated Divers, 14 Common Scoter and a few each of Kittiwake, Gannet and Auks flew up channel.
A very short visit to the fishing boats in the rain this afternoon saw 3 Little Gulls moving up channel.

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.

 Another bitterly cold day on the peninsular but quite pleasant if you are properly dressed for it. Driving past Cockles Bridge I could see many Lapwing and Golden Plover wheeling around after being flushed by a Common Buzzard.
First stop was the ARC where a gorgeous lone Goldfinch was feeding on the Teasels by the track to Hanson. A turn around the Willow Trail was disappointing with the only bird being seen was a Blackbird. A very quick look from Hanson due to the icy blast blowing straight into my face through the open shutter, saw that the lake was quite extensively frozen with just a few wildfowl to be seen on the far side. Walking back along the track to the car 2 Song Thrushes dropped into the ditch and Water Rail squealed.
At Boulderwall several Tree Sparrows were around the feeders with a few Great and blue Tits. In the farm fields 100s of Coot and Wigeon feeding around the frozen Cook's Pool also more Lapwing and Golden Plover and 4 Curlew there. Driving down the track several Blackbirds and a Song Thrush flushed from the side and a Marsh Harrier flew over. 

Long-tailed Tit by the New Excavations

As I parked at the visitor centre 6 Pintail flew over, from Dennis's Hide the usual wildfowl sheltering under the far bank, on the islands a few Great Black-backed Gulls and plenty of Cormorants. By the New Excavations a party of Long-tailed Tits were feeding in the lee of the Sallows where a couple of Common Snipe flushed. As I made my way to Dengemarsh more Common Snipe flushed as they did all around the reserve. 

Golden Plover at Hookers

I met GP and wandered around the back of Hookers where a Golden Plover was feeding by the track ignoring us in its search for food. Coming back to the viewing ramp a Bittern made a brief flight, as we reached the top of the ramp a Fox snatched a Canada Goose off the ice and dragged flapping into a small patch of reeds. The killing process took quite a while as we could see the Goose occasionally flapping. Thinking the Fox would drag its kill into the cover of the main reed bed we watched and waited, only for it dash across the ice leaving its kill which I'm sure would feed it for least a couple of days, hopefully it will come back and get it before the ice melts. 

A drake and duck Smew were seen from Christmas Dell and 2 Great White Egrets were on Burrowes. 

Fox from the ramp leaving its kill in the reeds

 Common Snipe from Dengemarsh

Some of the 1,000s of Gull at The Patch this afternoon

This afternoon at The Patch the regular Glaucous Gull was in the beach roost among the 1,000s of Black-headed gulls and Herring Gulls, a Yellow-legged Gull was roosting on the portacabins, at least 5 Mediterranean Gulls were over the boil and in the roost, offshore a few Gannets could be seen battling the gale.

Yellow-legged Gull on the portacabin behind The Patch

Hungry Birds!

First thing this morning around the ARC a Firecrest and Chiffchaff in the Tit flock in the Willow trail. From the screen 22 Black-tailed Godwits, a Dunlin, a Ruff, a Redshank, 4 Golden Plover among the Lapwing and brief views of a Bittern, At the Pines several Song Thrushes and Blackbirds feeding under them, despite searching several places where I've previously found Woodcock and Jack Snipe in cold weather none were found today.
2 visits to The Patch today found the regular 1w Glaucous Gull on both occasions among the 1,000s of Gulls there, also  4+ Mediterranean Gulls of note. c30 Guillemots offshore with a few Gannets, 5 Red-throated Divers flew east as did a party of 7 Pintail and 3 Kittwakes but little else of note today.

 Stonechat at Cockles Bridge

Stonechat at Cockles Bridge

At Cockles Bridge the birds have lost their wariness in their search for food in the cold weather, Stonechats, Lapwing and Golden Plover appearing exceptionally tame today. The highlight though was spotting a pair of Red-legged Partridges there, now very scarce on the peninsular, I've seen more Glaucous Gulls here this year. 

 Stonechat at Cockles Bridge

Golden Plover at Cockles Bridge

Lapwing at cockles bridge

 A peninsular rarity at Cockles Bridge

A bitterly cold and windswept Scotney was devoid of birds today. On Brett's Marina a couple of Great white Egrets were sunning themselves with Grey Herons and Cormorants in the shelter of the island, also a few Shoveler, Tufted Duck and Pochard there.

Great white Egrets at Bretts Marina