With the onset of heavy rain and at one of the peak times of year for passage of Waders, I opted on a mid-morning visit to the Cuckmere with Paula and our new addition to the family, Jasper.
The walk down to the scrape was generally quiet, but whilst at the scrape it all went a bit crazy. With a spell of persistent rain ending, the sound of many Shanks loomed from the dark skies above, and looking up was a flock of 106 birds, that in the end worked out to be 56 Greenshanks and 50 Redshanks. A flock of 11 Common Terns also landed on the scrape, which strangely is only the second time I've seen Common Terns in the Cuckmere.
The walk back down also produced my first Yellow Wagtail of the autumn, and another scattering of new Waders that were either flying through or landing on various water bodies on the west side.
Totals for the morning:
Greenshank - 56
Redshank - 50
Turnstone - 4
Common Sandpiper - 12
Dunlin - 4
Whimbrel - 4
Common Tern - 11
Yellow Wagtail - 1
On the 29th July a walk down the west side very early on produced a flighty Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper and two Little Ringed Plovers being the highlights.
The walk down to the scrape was generally quiet, but whilst at the scrape it all went a bit crazy. With a spell of persistent rain ending, the sound of many Shanks loomed from the dark skies above, and looking up was a flock of 106 birds, that in the end worked out to be 56 Greenshanks and 50 Redshanks. A flock of 11 Common Terns also landed on the scrape, which strangely is only the second time I've seen Common Terns in the Cuckmere.
The walk back down also produced my first Yellow Wagtail of the autumn, and another scattering of new Waders that were either flying through or landing on various water bodies on the west side.
Totals for the morning:
Greenshank - 56
Redshank - 50
Turnstone - 4
Common Sandpiper - 12
Dunlin - 4
Whimbrel - 4
Common Tern - 11
Yellow Wagtail - 1
On the 29th July a walk down the west side very early on produced a flighty Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper and two Little Ringed Plovers being the highlights.
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Black-headed Gull 2RFR ringed
as a 3rd cal/year on 02 Apr 2016
at Pitsea Landfill, Essex. |
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| Common Terns |
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| Yellow Wagtail |
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A mixture of Greenshank &
Redshank
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| A flock of 44 Greenshanks |
