A good mornings birding before the real hot stuff started with clear blue skies at 18 degrees on a E>4 with good visibility. The late afternoon session was just a formality with the heat turned up to 27 degrees but luckily the wind had increased to E>5 keeping it cooler as long as I stayed on the top of the banking in order to get the full force.
With 2 Little Ringed Plovers briefly yesterday and 2 Dunlin today maybe things are moving slightly, hopefully boosted by tomorrows rain and thunderstorms, if they develop. Up to 12 Golden Plover were in the top field whilst a good move of Swifts and Swallows was apparent all fast and >E.
The 26 day old Ringed Plover juvs are still reluctant to fly far and stay way out on the shoreline whilst the adults are moving around more and leaving them alone for longer periods.
The 2 Dunlin stayed throughout the day using the east then north shoreline.
There are now 9 small Lapwing chicks running around on the mud watched over by the 4 adults. One today nearly came to grief as the adult male Ringed Plover launched itself at it landing on top of it but luckily it escaped and made a run for it. The RP must have seen it as the threat.
Whats strange to me is the gulls are a real threat to the young birds and the Ringed Plovers keep them at bay even now that they are the same size as the adults yet the adults can walk around feeding in the the middle of 150 big gulls and not get bothered even though a Herring gull could swallow them whole ??
Fly Flatts
2 Dunlin
5 Common Sandpiper
1 Oyk
1 pr Ringed Plover + 2 fledged juvs at 26 days old.
12 Golden Plover
2 Barnacle geese
1 Raven
sev Swallows and Swifts........>E
+ usual sp.
BS