A decent morning weather wise with 100% cloud cover on a moderate NW>4 but all turning pear shaped p.m. with blue skies and the sun beating down making the afternoon watch a matter of checking the gulls and a hope of a Scoter with any bird activity shut on shut down.
First job as I arrived this morning, as always, was a scope around the shoreline to see if anything special was showing before I decide which direction to walk first. As I was scoping the water for Scoter a Common Tern flew through quickly and low to the water heading for the North East bank where I hoped it would go down but the gulls had other ideas with several up and mobbing it sending it off NE past the Nab. Thats the first Tern I,ve had this year and only 1 Common last year down at EGP.
Across on the far NE shoreline, viewed from the NW corner, around 250 big gulls were present being mostly LBBs with a few Herring and 1 Common but no Yellow Legged that I could see . The long staying Ringed Plover was on the mud beside them whilst the Little Ringed Plover spent its second day at the ponds.
Common Scoters are late this year but with one reported at Ringstone today ( DF) and sightings around Manchester reservoirs along with Med gulls and Yellow Legged Herring gulls its got to be only a matter of time.
BS