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PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:05 pm 
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Location: Welton le Marsh
Just returned from an amazing evening watching Terns and Skuas at Gib Point. From about 16:00 this afternoon to when I left at 20:00 there was a large gathering of Terns and attendant Skuas on the sand/shingle banks just across the creek from the beach opposite north Building.
Birds were coming and going all the time and the following are just one count

Sandwich Tern - 870 roosting and bathing
Common Tern - 142 roosting and bathing
Arctic Tern - 36 but surely many more and coming and going all the time
Kittiwake - 62 roosting and bathing
Arctic Skua - constantly present - 16 in the air at once. 11 actually on the beach roosting amongst the Terns. All ages
guillemot - 5 on sea
Gannets
etc etc

All of this action was very close and Skua events with Terns were often virtually overhead.
I personally cannot remember when I have had such fabulous views of Arctic Terns and Arctic Skuas.
This situation was the same yesterday afternoon/evening and with the present tides is likely to be the same for the next few evenings.
I strongly reccommend a visit to Gib Point to see this spectacle.
As the birds are close please take care not to disturb them and take a hat as the midges and sandflies were hungry when the wind dropped
Perfect for photographs.


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:36 pm 
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Location: Boston, South Lincs
*** THUD ***


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 28, 2007 11:49 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 18, 2005 6:36 am
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Location: Doddington Park, Lincoln
Edmund
I left Gib at about 15:30 and the spectacle had been the same most of the day - but perhaps not in the same numbers

Certainly there was well over a thousand terns with a big number of them being sandwich terns, plenty of common and a few artic. I didn't spot any little terns.

Artic Skuas were plentiful with six in the air at one time over a sandbank. They were harassing both gulls and terns whilst I was there. Gannets were showing well and there were good numbers of kittiwakes

All this with the wind blowing off the land

The spoonbill was was still present on Tennysons Sands. Good numbers of avocet and black tailed godwit and one mail ruddy duck were also present. A guy from Boston told me he had spotted a little stint on Tennysons about 10:00

Plenty of swallows and one or two house martins about

Three little egret sat in a tree at Jacksons Marsh

I agree it is well worth a visit tomorrow if it is the same


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 12:00 am 
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Location: Boston, South Lincs
I might brave the possibility of a snake sighting (YUCK!!!!!!! YUCK!!!!!!!)and go see these masses of birds!


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 29, 2007 9:03 am 
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Location: Welton le Marsh
I sense that I have not been quite clear enough in the above description.
These birds are NOT out over/on the offshore sandbanks which are exposed at low tide they are on the sand ridges on the beach which are created at high tide. With the creek running in it's present position the birds feel 'safe' on the other side of it and the closest are only 100 metres away. Also the sun only gets around behind the observing positions in the afternoon/evening.
Apologies.


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