On the drive across from the A1, it was nice to see a Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, flying over the road.
Lovely to get down to the beach and hear the thunder of the waves! As I dropped down the slope from the car park past the scrub, a Whitethroat, Sylvia communis, sang briefly just to the N of the path, and then when I cluttered over the dunes what I thought was a Meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis, called "sip-sip" from the top of one of the bushes on the crest and then several more times from overhead as it flew high, repeating the whole process twice.
It was half past seven in the evening, and the weather started off poor and then finished atrocious. I got very wet! Along the beach some Black-headed Gulls, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, were feeding by the edge of the incoming tide, picking at the sand as the first salty water washed over it. Many others skimmed regularly overhead travelling in both directions along the tide line. Sadly no Sandwich Terns were seen today.
There were several small groups of small waders scuttling along the tide. I think they were too dark above to be Sanderling, Calidris alba, but equally there were no obvious dark patches seen on their breasts, so unlikely to be Dunlin, Calidris alpina, and therefore Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula, would be my best bet, with no very clear wing-bars when startled into flight. About 20 in total I reckon, one smaller group, one larger group.
Lovely to get down to the beach and hear the thunder of the waves! As I dropped down the slope from the car park past the scrub, a Whitethroat, Sylvia communis, sang briefly just to the N of the path, and then when I cluttered over the dunes what I thought was a Meadow pipit, Anthus pratensis, called "sip-sip" from the top of one of the bushes on the crest and then several more times from overhead as it flew high, repeating the whole process twice.
It was half past seven in the evening, and the weather started off poor and then finished atrocious. I got very wet! Along the beach some Black-headed Gulls, Chroicocephalus ridibundus, were feeding by the edge of the incoming tide, picking at the sand as the first salty water washed over it. Many others skimmed regularly overhead travelling in both directions along the tide line. Sadly no Sandwich Terns were seen today.
There were several small groups of small waders scuttling along the tide. I think they were too dark above to be Sanderling, Calidris alba, but equally there were no obvious dark patches seen on their breasts, so unlikely to be Dunlin, Calidris alpina, and therefore Ringed Plover, Charadrius hiaticula, would be my best bet, with no very clear wing-bars when startled into flight. About 20 in total I reckon, one smaller group, one larger group.
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