21st - 30th June 2024

Sunday, 30th June: Rather cloudy and grey, and generally dry, with a few periods of fine drizzle mid-morning, followed by some brief spells of brightness, in a moderate NW breeze.

Bilsham farm: A brief visit to the reservoir this morning found little change, apart from two female Mallards which have appeared, each with a fairly new brood of 3 young. A dozen Coots were present, including the nesting pair, whilst 5 House Martins were feeding over the water. Nearby a Yellowhammer was calling from the hedgerow and 2 rival Whitethroats were still singing. In a recently worked field, a mixed gathering of gulls included at least 12 Great Black-backed Gulls with a single Lesser Black-backed Gull.

Saturday, 29th June: A lovely sunny day, with a little high cloud and a pleasantly light and variable coastal breeze.

Elmer Rocks: Although there was nothing unusual,there was a little more this morning than I anticipated. A Redshank flew E offshore, 2 Little Egrets were feeding along the shoreline and a Ringed Plover was roosting all alone on the rock islands before flying off W. Two adult Mediterranean Gulls were moving back and forth, stopping occasionally to feed on the shore; one of these was a green-ringed bird (indicating Belgian/French origins), although it was impossible to read any confirmatory numeric details due to distance.

Four Linnets were along the back of the beach, where a Green Woodpecker was also feeding before being disturbed, whilst nearby there were occasional brief bursts of song from a Chiffchaff, a Blackcap, 2 Whitethroats and a Greenfinch. Best of all though was a family of Swallows sitting on the telegraph wires for some while...there were I think 4 juvenile birds with at least one adult bird visiting, so presumably they bred nearby.

Non-avian interest today included the (presumed Grey) Seal well offshore, 'bottling' with just head and nose protruding, whilst a good number of commoner butterflies - including at least 5 Marbled Whites - were along the beachfront gardens eastwards between the Kiosk and the rife. There was also a fine example of the vegetated shingle specialist the Yellow-horned Poppy still in bloom at the Poole Place rocks.

(above) Ringed Plover on the rocks and (below) Mediterranean Gull (note green ring on left leg) on Elmer beach

Two of the recently-fledged Swallows on telegraph wires and (below) a fine example of the Yellow-horned Poppy around the rocks at Poole Place.

Friday, 28th June: Quite cool, cloudy and grey through the morning, but remaining dry, before brightening up later in a  fresh breeze W 4-5.

Barnham Brooks: It was much quieter than of late, with just a brief burst of song from the odd Reed Warbler, Cetti's Warbler and Blackcap, but once again Swifts were the dominant feature of the morning, with at least 120 feeding over the whole area. Fifteen or so House Martins were also present, with just a few Swallows amongst them. The vast majority of the Brooks have now dried up, but a count of 12 Little Egrets and c.50 Mallards was made, although there was little else of note.

Swifts over Barnham Brooks - again

Thursday, 27th June:A slightly cooler morning, with muggy and mostly overcast conditions at first, becoming warmer with sunny periods by late morning, with a light to moderate W/SW breeze, strengthening to force 5-6 by late afternoon.

Elmer & Ancton: A casual look around the local area yesterday evening and today produced  just a few of the expected species, with a Blackcap and a Chiffchaff on territory along the hedgerows in Ancton Lane still giving bursts of song. More of a worry though was the situation with Swallows....over the last few years at least, up to half a dozen pairs have nested in and around the Lane End stables and also raised several broods, but all I could find this time was what seems to be a single pair with up to 4 fledged young. In other words, just one family, all very worrying, but in keeping with other poor results being reported from elsewhere. Swifts too seem to have had a bad season; I have had no reported sightings of birds at the regular site of the Beresford Hotel, so far at least, although I did see a couple of Swifts over Ancton Lane, so there is perhaps a chance.

Swallow at Ancton - but numbers well down this year

Wednesday, 26th June: Another fine summer's day with unbroken sunshine, becoming hot by midday as the temperature reached into the high 20's, with little or no cloud and a light and variable breeze.

M-o-S beach: A westward walk for a change, along the beach at low tide, checking the rocks and shingle to the parish boundary, in fine weather. There were predictably few birds to report on, but among the many Herring Gulls, with a few Black-headed Gulls, were no less than 7 Little Egrets feeding, together with a Grey Heron, whilst a couple of Sandwich Terns flew west just offshore. 

We are blessed in the parish to have a good amount of vegetated shingle all along our coastline, also stretching into the Climping area. Many folks may not be aware that this habitat is in fact one of the rarest coastal habitats on the planet. Many of the blooms have now 'gone over' for the year, but although less colourful now, it is always a joy to see (to me at least!) so it should be treasured.

Vegetated shingle on M-o-S beach; a valuable and rare habitat, even though the blooms have largely gone by now.

This excellent (new?) information and interpretation board (erected by M-o-S Association & Arun District Council) explains things in more detail on this rare and valuable habitat than I can manage, and gets a 'thumbs up' from me.  (You might even see a ghostly birder!)

Bilsham farm: There was no sign of any Tufted Ducks today, but otherwise it was much the same as my last visit, with a Little Grebe, a dozen Coots (one pair nesting), 2 Pied Wagtails, a couple of Swallows and a House Martin. Nearby, in a small rife off Bilsham Lane, a small highlight was a Grey Wagtail, apparently coming and going with food, so presumably nesting in the area. At least 4 Marbled White butterflies also seen in the general area.

Grey Wagtail in the Bilsham farm area

Monday, 24th June: A fine, sunny and warm summer's day, with a blue sky, a little cloud and a light W/SW breeze.

Elmer Rocks: A flat calm, glassy sea with slightly hazy conditions offshore this morning made for difficult viewing early on, but there was very little of note bird-wise. The usual local gulls and Cormorants were the only things moving except for a couple of Sandwich Terns which drifted off E, whilst along the rocks and shoreline near Poole Place there were 4 Little Egrets. Away from the sea, a single Whitethroat was singing occasionally from the hedge by the set-aside, 4 Linnets were back and forth, a pair of Greenfinches were also present and a Song Thrush was singing full pelt from Poole Place for some while. 

The highlights though were non-avian, with a single Pyramidal orchid flowering at the back of the beach, on the bank beside the lower path (with many thanks to the local lady who originally found it and informed me - sorry, I have forgotten your name), and also several Marbled White butterflies were on the wing today, literally along the main beach path in grassland and gardens.

Little Egret feeding along the shoreline at Elmer Rocks and Pyramidal orchid on the banks along the beach path.

Bilsham farm area: A short visit to check out the reservoir area produced a single Little Grebe, 10 Coots (one pair nesting), 12 Tufted Ducks and 3 Pied Wagtails (probably a family party). There was little else of note beyond 2 Swallows and a House Martin which arrived for a few minutes before departing again, a singing Yellowhammer, a Chiffchaff and a family of Whitethroats.

Sunday, 23rd June: A warm, dry and sunny start, with just a light breeze W/SW2, but clouding over later with the wind increasing slightly.

Barnham Brooks area: A circuit of the area produced nothing out of the ordinary this morning, with breeding species providing the only interest, and we've reached that time which many birders consider the 'summer doldrums' .....with no migration going on and very little happening, as resident species quietly get on with raising their broods.

In one area a pair of agitated Redshanks were present, whilst a number of Lapwings were still active over the whole area. In one of the outer areas a Gadwall and a Mallard still have 8 young each, with up to 50 other Mallards nearby. At least 200 Black-headed Gulls and 15 Mediterranean Gulls were feeding around the still wet fields and apparently also on flying insects above. I'm no butterfly expert, but of those species I'm familiar with I noted a good number of Meadow Browns on the wing and at least 6 Marbled Whites.

At Barnham Brooks: Redshank and Marbled White butterfly

11th - 20th June 2024

Thursday, 20th June: Bright but still chilly early on, in the light NE breeze, but it soon backed SSW 2-3 in pleasantly warm sunshine with some white cloud.

Elmer Rocks: A  brief visit this morning - effectively just a walk from the Kiosk to Poole Place and back - where predictably there was no sight or sound of yesterday's transient Reed Warbler, although 3 Whitethroats were still giving short bursts of song. There was nothing moving at sea except a distant gathering of gulls, but a Little Egret flew E along the beach and a party of 6 Oystercatchers flew in to settle on the rock islands at high tide. It was soon time to move on.

Barnham Brooks area: A Hobby, a Kestrel and a Sparrowhawk were all distantly hunting over the Brooks at various times, but it was generally rather quiet, with the majority of the flooded fields now having dried up. Some of the outer margins still hold some water and a few wildfowl as a result, with several Shelduck, 4 Teal, and c.50 Mallard and 4 Gadwall all present, the latter two species still with their broods of young (3 and 1 respectively). Whilst I was on the public footpath at one outer area, a somewhat agitated Lapwing clearly had young nearby and soon after a similarly agitated Pied Wagtail and young were discovered.

(above) agitated Lapwing in flight and (below) agitated Pied Wagtail and (lower) the reason....adult and very recently fledged juvenile.

Wednesday, 19th June: A grey and unseasonably cool start, with a fresh and rather chilly NE wind force 4, but gradually warming up through the day as sunny intervals developed.

Elmer Rocks: With migration now effectively over and the breeding season in full swing, many birds adopt a low profile and/or go quiet, with some species, such as ducks, even choosing this time to complete their annual moult. Even so, the odd  common bird can still offer a surprise, as was the case this morning. Reed Warbler is a common migrant which arrives from early April and nests in reed-beds, so quite what a newly-arrived bird was doing in the second half of June, singing stridently from a hedge, right beside the beach path adjacent to the Boat Club compound, I don't know....perhaps a dispersing failed breeder or even a very late migrant from the Continent.

Apart from this, 3 Whitethroats, a Blackcap and a Chiffchaff were heard giving a few snatches of song. On the sea were 2 Great Crested Grebes, whilst a lone Oystercatcher was on the beach. A short sea-watch produced a dozen Sandwich Terns (8E & 4W) with some stopping off to fish. Several Mediterranean Gulls also went E, as did 3 Common Scoter. A Kestrel was seen hunting over the set-aside corner, eventually catching prey before flying off. Finally, Carrion Crow is a species that rarely gets a mention, but on a previous visit and again today, an adult with 3 well grown young was on the beach feeding and teaching them - so interesting to observe.

 

Sandwich Terns off Elmer Rocks

Young Carrion Crows learning from adult, Elmer beach

Bilsham farm: Predictably quiet again today; on the reservoir were 6 Coots (including a nesting pair), 5 Tufted Ducks, 2 Mallards with their broods and 3 Pied Wagtails. The perimeter hedges held 2 Yellowhammers, a Blackcap and a couple of Whitethroats.

Monday, 17th June: Bright and sunny, with scattered cloud and a fairly light to moderate SW breeze 2-3.

Barnham Brooks area: Another visit - fairly early as my available time was a bit limited this morning - but it proved to be much quieter than yesterday. The Gadwall with her brood of young was again present, together with 3 female Mallards all with broods, and additionally a large flock of Mallard flew in to join others already present, resulting in a total gathering of  c.100 birds. A post-breeding flock of 20 Lapwings also flew around several times before eventually settling on a still-flooded field. Raptors were restricted to a single Kestrel and several Buzzards, whilst just a few Swifts and House Martins were present, as were 8 Little Egrets and 150+ Black-headed Gulls. A few bursts of song from the resident warblers was again noted, as yesterday.  

Sunday, 16th June: Rather cloudy and grey at first, still with a brisk WSW wind force 4-5, but becoming warmer as sunshine developed later and the cloud receded.

Barnham Brooks area: There were 80-100 Swifts this morning, plus a few House Martins, but the highlight was the appearance of a Hobby hunting them over the Brooks, soon to be joined by a second bird - a fine sight as they both chased their aerial prey. On the remaining floods, a female Gadwall with 8 small young in tow was joined by 2 Mallards, each with a similar brood. A Little Ringed Plover was present in one area whilst several pairs of Lapwings now have young. Some of the warblers have now gone quiet, but snatches of song were still noted from Reed and Sedge Warblers, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and 4 different Blackcaps.

 

Saturday, 15th June: After a night of torrential showers, a wet morning with some heavy rain and a near gale-force WSW wind force 7, gradually clearing to give some sunny intervals.

Request to locals: To my knowledge, several pairs of Swifts have nested at the Beresford pub for a number of years, (they usually nest under eaves on the left-hand side, viewed from the front). However, whilst I have seen Swifts in the village, I haven't seen any coming or going from the pub area, so far this year. Could I ask you to keep your eyes open and if you see any activity around the area let me know - especially if they are seen entering under the eaves! Many thanks

Elmer Rocks: I didn't venture out until late morning, with a sea-watch (1110-1240hrs) from the shelter of the Kiosk area. The rough sea and varying light - going from bright sunshine to murky grey - made things a bit tricky, but there were just a couple of bits of interest. A single Gannet went W, followed soon after by a Fulmar going in the same direction. Then a small flock of 6 Sanderlings went E, before a Whimbrel headed W over the rough sea.

Whimbrel battling its way W over a rough sea at Elmer Rocks...the best image I could manage in the difficult conditions!

Friday, 14th June: A bright but blustery day of sunny periods and cloud, with a brisk SW wind force 5-6, then occasional showers by afternoon.

Elmer Rocks: The blustery conditions suggested that a sea-watch would be the best option this morning, so I put in a shift of about two and a half hours in a fairly sheltered spot. The main feature was a mass gathering of gulls in a bit of a feeding frenzy offshore, with one section of around 300+ birds a bit nearer than most, albeit still quite distant. Whilst the majority of the flock were Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls, amongst them were also some Black-headed and several Mediterranean Gulls, a couple of Kittiwakes, at least 4 Sandwich Terns and 5 Gannets.

Apart from these there wasn't too much else, but a Great Crested Grebe was offshore, whilst a Little Egret flew E, 2 Whimbrel went W and 4 Oystercatchers dropped onto the shore briefly, before flying off.

Oystercatchers on the shoreline at Elmer Rocks

Thursday, 13th June: A bright and sunny start with a light breeze, but soon changing to a cool and grey day with an increasingly brisk SW wind, then rain sweeping in by late afternoon.

Elmer Rocks: I did a couple of hours this morning, before the weather started to go downhill, and although it was quiet there was a little bit of activity with a few birds of interest, as below...

Fulmar - 1E

Gannet - 2E

Little Egret - 1E

Common Scoter - 5E

Whimbrel - 1E

Kittiwake - 1E

Mediterranean Gull - 2W

Sandwich Tern - 3W

Kestrel - 1 hunting along back of beach & set-aside

Whitethroat - 1 singing in the usual spot by the rife

Linnet - 2

Wednesday, 12th June: A decidedly chilly start with a cool N wind again, though a bit lighter than yesterday. Dry with sunny intervals and cloud, the latter increasing later with the wind backing W/SW3.

Lidsey farm & WTW area: Swifts were again present in some numbers, with at least 250 over the WTW early on. The small reservoir nearby held 10 Gadwall, 10 Tufted Ducks, a Shelduck and 3 Little Grebes, plus a pair of Coots which are nesting on plastic floats. Although many of the nesting birds have now stopped singing, 2 Blackcaps were still going strong, but my highlight of the morning here was actually seeing my first Marbled White butterfly of the season.

Nesting Coot on plastic floats and Marbled White butterfly at Lidsey farm

Shripney area: Seven Egyptian Geese were together on the almost dry fields, together with 4 Little Egrets and a Shelduck. A few snatches of song emanated from the hedges and reed beds, although a Song Thrush and a couple of Cetti's Warblers were more strident. A male Yellowhammer settled briefly on the nearby power cables, before a Cuckoo appeared, calling from a tree top for quite some while.

Shripney this morning: Five of the Egyptian Geese, male Yellowhammer and tree-top Cuckoo

Bilsham farm: There were, surprisingly, only a few Swifts around by the time I arrived here, whilst on the reservoir were 11 Tufted Ducks, the 2 broods of Mallard and 4 Coots, a pair of which are also nesting on plastic floats!

Tuesday, 11th June: The fresh and generally northerly wind persists, keeping the temperature a bit below average for the time of year. A bright and sunny start, with cloud increasing through the day; mainly dry, bar a rogue shower, wind N/NW3-4.

Elmer Rocks: A large flock of (mainly) Herring Gulls was feeding well offshore this morning, but that apart it was predictably very quiet with no sea-bird movement. A single Great Crested Grebe was on the sea, but nothing else noteworthy was seen. At the back of the beach and along the hedgerows there was a little more activity; 6 Linnets included at least one breeding pair, a Chiffchaff and 2 Whitethroats were heard, 2 Green Woodpeckers were chasing about and calling, a Swallow went E and 6+ Swifts were high up over the back fields.

Barnham Brooks & Lidsey area: Swifts were present again today in good numbers - although not quite on the scale of the recent influx - but over the whole Brooks an estimate of 500 was realistic, with 'layers' of high and lower birds apparent. There was nothing much else of note here and the dried-up fields now hold far fewer birds.

Moving on to the still-flooded areas of Lidsey things improved, with egrets the main feature. A Great White Egret was a surprise, given the date, and I wonder where that came from and is breeding a possibility somewhere? At least 12 Little Egrets and 4 Cattle Egrets were also present in the area. At least 40 Mallard were on and around the floods (plus 2 broods of young) whilst 8 Teal and a dozen Shelduck were also seen, and c.120 Black-headed Gulls were feeding all around. 

Great White Egret at Lidsey and Swifts over Barnham Brooks

1st - 10th June 2024

Monday, 10th June: Rainy, cool and grey early on with a brisk W/NW wind force 5-6, drying as the morning progressed, with sunny periods, variable amounts of cloud and lighter winds.

A day off the patch for me, but worthy of mention is the reason why....a singing Cirl Bunting on the Downs in the Southwick/Portslade area - the first in Sussex for almost 30 years. A small photo is attached for information....

While I'm on about previous records, some of you may be interested in a couple of current statistics....as far as I can ascertain, the total number of species recorded (by all observers) on the 5Km patch so far this year stands at 160, with my personal total currently standing at 136. I should perhaps be doing better and seem to have missed several 'dead certs' so far, but there is time yet!

Sunday, 9th June: A fine and pleasantly sunny morning with plenty of scattered cloud and a light to moderate breeze, W 2-3.

Barnham Brooks & Lidsey area: The flooded fields continue to dry up, with some exceptions. The 6 Egyptian Geese were still present, but the highlight was a pair of Grey Partridges, unexpectedly flushed from long grass at the edge of a footpath, by a dog. At least 40 Mallard and 12 Shelduck were in the rifes and remaining floods, a single Oystercatcher was also present and a Cuckoo was heard calling distantly. Swift numbers were back to normal with about 15 high up over the brooks and a few Reed and Sedge Warblers, Cetti's Warblers, Whitethroats and Reed Buntings were heard or seen during my circuit.

Moving on to the Lidsey area, 6 Cattle Egrets with 4 Little Egrets were found in the existing floods, with around 150 Black-headed Gulls feeding on the periphery. Another 60+ Mallard were also located, with a few more Shelduck, 2 Teal and 2 Gadwall.

Cattle Egrets were again the main focus of interest in the Lidsey area around the remaining floods.

Saturday, 8th June: Sunny interludes with frequent cloudy and grey conditions and a fairly cool, moderate to fresh wind, W/NW4-5.

Editorial: The blog has been running for several months now, and I'm generally encouraged by the supportive comments received. Whilst it has run smoothly, by and large, there have been one or two technical issues behind the scenes as the Blogger system can be quite temperamental sometimes! I also said earlier I might tweak a couple of things as time goes on, and that point has now been reached.

I plan to reduce the number of colours used in the birdnews texts from four to two; this will be one to indicate the whole of the parish of Middleton-on-Sea (M-o-S) and another for the  rest of the patch. I will also be experimenting with a number of colour tones before finally deciding, so if things look a bit 'odd' please make allowances. There may be other tweaks in due course. 

M-o-S beach & Elmer Rocks: With migration now virtually over, all bar the shouting, a bit of a change this morning, starting at the M-o-S beach end. I was surprised to find a Great Crested Grebe still on the open sea, although two Little Egrets along the beach were perhaps more to be expected. The highlight though was a couple of summer-plumaged Sanderlings* which dropped onto M-o-S beach for a quick feed, before they flew off W. This species has an extended migration  and although it's now very late they are still doubtless on their way to the Arctic. (*Non-birders note: this is the same species you see regularly in numbers during the winter - those grey and white little birds running along the shoreline. They look very different now in their  summer colours and most are already in the Arctic).

At Middleton-on-Sea beach: (above) Little Egret and (below) summer-plumaged Sanderlings

Bilsham farm: On the reservoir this morning were 7 Tufted Ducks, 4 Coots and 2 broods of Mallard - a female with a recent brood of 5 small young and a female with a much older, established brood of 8. Also, 6 Pied Wagtails were feeding around the water's edge - probably a recently fledged family. Swifts were also much in evidence again and a view high to the N revealed at least 100 and probably more.

Friday, 7th June: A pleasantly sunny day, with periods of cloud though staying dry, with a chilly edge at times due to a moderate NW breeze force 4, backing SW 4-5 later.

Barnham Brooks: In case anyone was wondering about my lack of recent reports, the last two days have seen me unavoidably committed with no birding possible, thus I was keen to be out in the field this morning. After a bit of catching up elsewhere, I spent most of the time at the Brooks, where I soon discovered that the flooded fields are fast drying up; some are still likely to last a while yet, while others now hold little or no water at all, so it will be interesting to see how things progress into the summer.

Six Egyptian Geese were present today, together with a pair of Gadwall, perhaps up to 30 Shelduck, 30 Mallard and a single Tufted Duck. A loose gathering of 18 Lapwings was around one pool and a Little Ringed Plover at another, but otherwise it was quiet for waders. However, a good count of 9 Cattle Egrets and 8 Little Egrets was made, while 10+ House Martins are still visiting to collect mud and just a handful of Swifts were feeding high up and fairly distant. I seem to have had a very bad spring for Swallows with numbers way down; just 2 birds were all I noted today and I seriously wonder if there has been a bit of a dramatic event during their migration. Time will tell.

Egyptian Geese (above), Cattle Egret and mixed flock of Cattle and Little Egrets at Barnham Brooks

Tuesday, 4th June: A rather grey and cloudy start, with a light breeze W2-3, the cloud breaking to give sunny periods as the day progressed and the wind  freshened.....

Elmer Rocks: Having not visited the beach for a few days I thought it might be worth a brief visit today, and it certainly paid dividends when an Osprey flew west along the shoreline at 07:50hrs, but quite high up, pursued by a number of hostile gulls. (What was almost certainly the same bird was seen a while later by other observers at Pagham Harbour).

Unsurprisingly, it was fairly quiet otherwise, though up to 6 Sandwich Terns were back and forth offshore, 2 Oystercatchers were on the rock islands, a Little Egret flew W and 6 Linnets were on the beach. In the long hedge behind the beach 2 Whitethroats were still to be heard singing, whilst singing Song Thrushes were at Poole Place and weedscreen woods.

Just before I left, a final check produced a family of cute and very recently fledged Blue Tits in the tamarisk bushes near the Kiosk, whilst on the horizon a fine two-masted sailing ship was worth a second look and a photo! 

How cute! Recently fledged Blue Tits in the hedges near the Kiosk, and (below) a two-masted sailing ship heading west along the horizon - a fine sight!

        

Sunday, 2nd June: Another cool early morning, with the N/NE wind continuing, although much lighter (force 2-3), before brightening up considerably and becoming warmer, with plenty of sunshine and scattered cloud.

Barnham Brooks: After birding elsewhere early on, I returned to the patch mid-morning, again concentrating on some of the more outlying areas. Eventually I located something of interest, in the form of 2 drake Garganey, amongst a few other ducks and often elusive in vegetation, then nearby were 4 Cattle Egrets, 8 Little Egrets and a Little Ringed Plover. It seemed that Swift numbers were easing back to normal, whilst a Cuckoo was calling from nearby and at least 4 Blackcaps and the same number of Cetti's Warblers were also still singing. 

Cattle Egrets at Barnham Brooks

Saturday, 1st June: The start of summer  - meteorologically speaking at least - began on a distinctly cold and grey note with a brisk N/NE wind 4-5 prevailing, but it wasn't too long before the sunshine came through and the temperature increased to give a bright and breezy day.

Bilsham farm: A fairly brief visit is all that was needed today and it soon became apparent that Swifts were going to feature heavily again, with 100+ above and around the reservoir, together with several Swallows and 10 House Martins. There was nothing at all on the reservoir itself, except 4 rather tatty Mallards and a Pied Wagtail, whilst around the hedgerows were a couple of singing Blackcaps and a Yellowhammer.

More Swifts (!) this time at Bilsham farm reservoir

Barnham Brooks: I concentrated on some of the more outlying areas of the Brooks today, but once again Swifts were present in large numbers. I could also see  from a distance that there were certainly hundreds more, if not thousands, over the main area - but made no attempt to estimate numbers this time,

Highlights from these outer areas included 3 Cattle Egrets, 5 Little Egrets,  2 Little Ringed Plovers and an agitated Oystercatcher, which perhaps indicates breeding nearby. Around 15 House Martins were also back and forth, collecting mud.