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Resume of birds on beach/sea from Churchill to south end of reserve thru' last week's high tides to present low tides and dry beach:
Whimbrel 4> high over garden in Brickyard Lane as I begin this at 1700hrs. 09/08/12
Evening tides didn't come high up the beach this series of springs, but the samphire bed was flooded on mornings of 4th, 5th and 6th. These gave the highest counts, building from 200 waders on 4th and 5th, to 500 and 6th, by which time the samphire was well wetted and held birds for a while. The mix consisted mainly of sanderling, ringed plovers and dunlin with peaks of each being 180, 160 and 150 respectively. By the 7th, with good weather, the sands and samphire were dry again, so most of the waders had moved on, although sanderling had moved to the tide edge.
There were 4 juv little ringed plovers together on the 4th, but these flew high to the south as the tide turned.
Dunlin included 20+ juvenile birds as well. I can normally pick up curlew sandpiper on call first in flocks of waders, but haven't heard or seen any yet this autumn.
Whatever time I go out, there are always small parties of oystercatchers to be seen flying south during July and August. For example, there were 70>S in 3 groups on 31/07 from 1800 to 1900hrs, 56>S between 0700 and 0740hrs on 06/08 and 170 in 5 groups between 1700 and 1800hrs on 08/08, with lesser numbers on other days.
Knot, redshank, turnstone and whimbrel don't linger on the beach, but have all been seen flying south each visit.
My first Bonxie of the autumn was over the sea yesterday evening, 08/08 and there have been 1-2 Arctic skuas most days chasing the terns, which have numbered up to 550 sandwich terns, with common terns increasing, also on 08/08 to 50+, with 16 Arctic, which flew south.
A common scoter flock numbers up to 145 each day, but splits into several smaller parties, so exact counts are difficult. However, the northward passage hasn't been apparent this week. There were also 3 eiders > on evening of 08/08 and there was a full breeding plumage red-throated diver on the sea on 06/08. Up to 20 gannets have be seen on the sea/ fishing each day.
Whilst the gull roost is now increasing, only 1 kittiwake and 1 little gull have been seen, both on 08/08.
Regards
Cliff
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