A dry but mostly cloudy day, milder at 12c in a moderate west-southwest wind.
It was a good day to have one of our regular winter Brent Goose and wader count days ( for a change!). Results will appear on the Resources page in the near future.
Birds seen from first light at La Rocque and Seymour included a Common Scoter, 6 Red-breasted Mergansers, 7 Great Northern Divers, 2 Black-throated Divers, a Red-throated Diver, 9 Black-necked Grebes, 6 Great Crested Grebes, 49 Common Gulls, 129 Black-headed Gulls, a Mediterranean Gull, 5 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 14 Great Black-backed Gulls, over 500 Brent Geese, a Peregrine, 212 Grey Plovers, 7 Greenshanks and 11 Bar-tailed Godwits among the counted birds. At a very flooded La Sente were 109 Brent Geese, 6 Greenshanks, 72 Redshanks, a Wigeon, a Shoveler, a Cattle Egret, 15 Little Egrets, 8 Grey Herons, 16 Common Gulls, 33 Black-headed Gulls and a singing Chiffchaff.
Around Le Hocq were a Red-breasted Merganser, a Great Crested Grebe, 216 Oystercatchers, 7 Redshanks, 5 Chiffchaffs and a female Black Redstart.
At Goose Green and Beaumont Marsh were 323 dark-bellied Brent Geese, 16 pale-bellied Brent Geese, 76 Black-headed Gulls, 5 Mediterranean Gulls, 4 Lesser Black-backed Gulls, a Curlew, 26 Pied Wagtails, 3 Meadow Pipits and 2 Little Egrets.
The
Snow Bunting
was still in residence near Kempt Tower and in the cider orchard near Trinity Church were a
Woodcock, 5
Fieldfares, 12
Redwings, a
Firecrest, 2
Goldcrests and 13
Ravens. At Rue des Ifs in Trinity were 900
Chaffinches, 25
Linnets, 4
Fieldfares and 72
Redwings ( later 71 after a
Peregrine visited). In Vallee des Vaux were 4
Siskins, a
Blackcap and a
Grey Heron.
