It was great fun counting the waders today, with strong totals of 159
Sanderlings, 129
Turnstones and 355
Dunlin, along with a
Redshank, 53
Grey Plovers, 50
Ringed Plovers and 52
Oystercatchers. Six
Mediterranean Gulls in the area were all adults but for a second-winter and 77
Common Gulls were along the shore. Highlights at sea included a
Common Scoter, a
Teal, 41
Gannets, 46
Kittiwakes, seven
Red-throated Divers, 20
Red-breasted Mergansers, four
Great Crested Grebes, five
Guillemots and a further 27 distant
auks in the haze zone. I heard the
Treecreeper in the Plantation.
For some reason it had taken me until this morning to venture over the Ferring Rife and I was much impressed by the potential of the habitat there, which will surely be bustling with life come the spring, or perhaps even during a cold snap this winter. Sightings there today included a
Snipe, a
Water Rail, a
Grey Wagtail, three
Redwings, three
Pheasants, a
Grey Heron, a
Sparrowhawk, a
Green Woodpecker, three
Song Thrushes and a
Moorhen.
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| Sanderlings (and Grey Plover) at Goring |
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| 2nd-winter Mediterranean Gull with Black-headed and Herring Gulls at Goring |
