En route 2 Buzzard, 1 each Kestrel & Cormorant, 5 LTT, Cattle Egret (my first for the UK ) Grey Heron, c200 Mute Swan, Lapwings, c100 PFG? (distance) Herring Gulls etc.
Breydon Water Day One. Calm Sunny and Cold. When I got there the tide was up so I took a long walk along the S shore returning the same route and then nearly halfway back again to retrieve my dropped binocular case doh!
There was a spectacular flight display of c600 Lapwing and similar no. of Golden Plover lasting 2/3 minutes to start with. Then I picked up several Shelduck and Curlew along with a couple of Stonechat. Scanning the fields and marshes got me a Marsh Harrier followed shortly after by Little Egret and a nearby exploding Cettis Warbler.
The tide dropped and the wader action began with numerous Redshank, several Black-tailed Godwit and hundreds of Dunlin. Strange that I should only get 2 Oystercatcher methinks. Shoveler & Teal came relatively close while further out on the mudflats were hundreds of Wigeon.
After some grub I went down to the beach to look for the specialty here and I was onto the beauties immediately. c28 Mediterranean Gull were loafing around with one particular bird quite amenable for photography (pics later) A handful of these birds were sporting leg rings and I know from my last visit they are local breeders.
