Half a dozen mute Swan, about 600 Dark-bellied Brent Geese, 2 little Grebe, 1 little Egret, about 50 Common (?) Gulls, a dozen Herring Gulls, a score of Black-headed Gulls, one Great Black-backed Gull, about 30 Cormorant, 6 Grey Plover, 2 Ringed Plover, 30+ Redshank, 2 Curlew, half a dozen Turnstone, a score of Oystercatchers, a score of Carrion Crows, a Magpie, a pair of Stonechat, 3 Blackbirds.
It was so nice the see the pair of Stonechat, with good views, I do always like to see "monogamous" birds. The male is perhaps the same one as I saw here on the 27th, 3 days ago, in a howling gale along the seawall but quite a bit further to the West. Plumage features for this male were all OK for hibernans, with a deep russet and widely-spread chest patch, not too extensive a white collar, and a fairly buffy rump. I could see white wing bars when either bird flew, but more obviously in the male. The pair were on the grassy islands and seaward borders of the Coldharbour Lagoon, and I saw the male first, mainly perching, occasionally descending to the ground and back again. The female was generally quite close, once only a few metres away. It was possibly using lower perches on average than the male, and I couldn't keep track of it as well as the male.
Then a few minutes later either the same pair or a new one were on the beach between the Coldharbour Lagoon and the Outfall, causing me some considerable confusion! I think the male was on a seaweedy breakwater first, then on the beach with the female, then on a line of boulders.
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