This picture is of a flock of dunlin wheeling very fast over the far side of the reserve, about a thousand present altogether on the roost I would think. This flock were put up from roosting with several hundred grey plover on the edge of the pools at high tide.
Other waders present included well over a thousand black-tailed godwits, a couple of dozen lapwing, several ringed plover, at least one avocet, one greenshank, and several redshank.
Duck included hundreds of tufted duck, smaller numbers of Shoveller, Shelduck, Teal, Pintail, Goldeneye, Clangula bucephala, Scaup*, Common Scoter* - and a Velvet Scoter* that I didn't see! Also great crested grebe, little grebe and coot, all in large numbers.
There may have been many more birds on the pools further over, but I didn't have time to cover the whole of the reserve.
The Scaup and Common Scoter are *new birds for me, very exciting!
The next two pictures are of the drake Scaup seen on Flamingo Pool, distinguished from the Tufted Duck by its grey back (rather than black), greenish rather than blueish shine to the head, lack of a tuft, and
The next two pictures are of the drake Scaup seen on Flamingo Pool, distinguished from the Tufted Duck by its grey back (rather than black), greenish rather than blueish shine to the head, lack of a tuft, and
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