Passage on the coast

Photo: Osprey.

I've not had a lot of work during the COVID-19 lockdown but I've had just about enough to keep me sane and get me out of the house to some beautiful locations. In this post I'm not going to say exactly where I've been working today, but regular readers will have a good idea. Suffice to say that it's a coastal survey and at this time of year with an easterly wind it offers a good opportunity to see a bit of passage.

Photo: Grasshopper warbler.

As soon as I arrived today I immediately heard a grasshopper warbler reeling from the bushes just ahead of me and amazingly the bird was right out in the open, probably not much more than about 2m from me. A whitethroat was singing in the same area and as I dropped down onto the beach I flushed four whimbrel which flew calling for about 200m before landing again. I walked along the scrub covered base of a low, clay cliff and heard two lesser whitethoats rattling out their song along with the usual linnets.

It was approaching low tide and I was to spend my day watching the movements of birds as the tide came in. Wader numbers were low but I did count a fine flock of 600 pristine looking dunlin and ringed plover. Up to eight little egrets fished the creeks and channels.

As high tide approached a few ducks came into the bay, 17 eiders, five red-breasted mergansers and a pair of common scoter all in immaculate breeding plumage. Further out to sea and set against dark threatening skies I could see brilliant white gannets and up to 50 sandwich terns plunge diving in dramatic fashion, and suddenly a dark phase arctic skua flew past.

It was now high tide and looking south down the channel I noticed a large, long winged bird of prey circling high above the water. It was clearly an osprey and it was slowly heading my way. As it approached my vantage point it dropped considerably and started to fish by hovering above the water. Even in these days when ospreys are more frequent than they used to be they are still always a magnificent sight. I watched it as it drifted north and was eventually lost to view.

The final highlight was just as I was packing up to leave, a hooded crow flew across the channel and disappeared inland.