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| Common Sandpipers DKC |
Grey Wagtail - Brooklands Park - BFF
August 10th 2018
GORING GAP: The tide was out when I arrived so I spent an enjoyable couple of hours scanning the beach. For the first time this season, there was some number of waders to look at, with three Sanderlings - the first returners - along with 20 Ringed Plovers, 10 Dunlin and nine Turnstones. Best of all, though, was a flock of six Common Sandpipers which were at first on distant sand to the east then flew west past me, close inshore. Intermittent seawatching during the morning produced two Arctic Skuas, Common Terns, a Fulmar, 20 Gannets, four Mediterranean Gulls and four Sandwich Terns, as well as a Sand Martin battling into the wind. 16 Little Egrets were feeding. I saw my first juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gull of the year on the greensward. Yet again I left it too late, once the wind has well up, to start looking for passerines, and thus only five Willow Warblers, five Whitethroats and a Blackcap represented the warbler tally in my notebook. However, four Wheatears flying high north was good to see, and a further singleton was near the beach later on. Eight Common Gulls were in the fields. DKC
BROOKLANDS PARK : General lack of migrants this morning around Brooklands Park and Lagoon.With only 6 Goldfinch noted.In the disused paddling pool 3 Grey and a single Pied Wagtail were coming and going.On the lagoon the new tern raft is now in place and occupied by loafing juvenile Herring Gulls.There is another raft that has been floated out which is hopefully designed for breeding Mute Swans BFF
