Storm

On Thursday I managed to somehow cycle in to work without getting wet despite being surrounded by thunderstorms! The high tide of over eight metres and low pressure meant that the view from the British Steel hide looked like this...

Saltmarsh totally submerged and torrential rain on its way!

Most birds were on the lagoon but some were sheltering in the banks of the NRA scrapes. The Black-headed Gulls showed some interesting behavior, pointing their heads directly up into the rain. Not quite sure why they do this.

The westerly winds had driven some seabirds up into the estuary, but nothing that exciting in the way of Skuas or Petrels, however I was pleased to see the first returning Eider, with two flocks of 13 and 6 flying west. There were also 14 Sandwich Tern and four Brent Geese on the estuary.

I've taken on the WeBS counting for the reserve for the year, which surprisingly hadn't been counted for the last few years! Maximums from today and Thursday include four Spotted Redshank, 862 Black-tailed Godwit (big count), 390 Curlew, 70 Greenshank, 156 Redshank, 151 Knot, 54 Lapwing, 152 Wigeon, 125 Teal and 35 Pintail. At least 15 Water Rail were calling across the Millennium Wetlands.

Amongst the Curlew was a colour ringed individual. I'm struggling to find the project it belongs to right now, but I'll keep trying and update later.