Oh Fog It!

It looked very good for sea watching today - well that was until I got down to the sea front at 06:15...

A murky sea

Although in the photo it does look like there's plenty of sea to look at, in reality there wasn't! This probably isn't so much of an issue for all you headland sea watchers, but here in a bay we need to see as far as possible. Luckily at about 06:45 it cleared for just over half an hour, but it came in again, so I finished watching at 07:45. This is what ended up in my notebook...

3 Common Scoter
4 Great Northern Diver (all ended up on the sea, the closest one was a stonking pristine summer plumaged bird - the best example of one I've ever seen here without a doubt)
24 Gannet
39 Manxies
2 Grey Plover
1 Knot
41 Dunlin
25 Whimbrel
2 Bonxies (sat on sea for twenty minutes before flying off west - a great sight as always)
5 Kittiwake
34 Auk sp. (all looked like Razorbill)

After a good few hours at home, the continued foggy conditions encouraged me back down to the beach. But not to sea watch, for a beach walk...

See - still very foggy!

This proved very worthwhile as on the beach there was a flock of 7 Ringed Plover, 8 Dunlin and these 8 gorgeous Sanderling...

What a treat!

Whilst watching the above birds, another flock of waders flew straight through west along the beach and away into the murk. This flock included another 15 Sanderling (so a total of 23) and 10 Dunlin. 20 Whimbrel also flew west (18 and a 2).

After this, a look at Black Hole Marsh still showed no Red-rumped Swallow. But for the second day there were 14 Gadwall (so odd to have such large numbers here in May!?), also 2 Shoveler and these 2 Tufted Ducks...

Always swimming away I'm afraid! Soon after they flew off west

The only waders here were 8 Dunlin. A little later a quick look along the Estuary added 44 Whimbrel, 4 Blackwits and 2 Barwits, with another 14 Dunlin and 2 Ringed Plover past the sea front mid afternoon.

So nothing outstanding today at all - but some lovely highlights. A male Kentish Plover would have topped it off so nicely though....