Quiet on the coast

I finished work promptly today so headed down to the coast for a quick check of St Mary's north beach and Briardene.

As it's been a nice bright afternoon SMI was very busy indeed. A bit too busy actually. The north beach was pretty much devoid of birds - no rock/water pipit on show, a couple of redshank, curlew and turnstone... and a barking dog. Boo. Hopes of a wheatear and sandwich tern disappeared so I headed back to the car via the "gut". On the wetland there were a a few teal, gadwall, mallard along with pairs of mute swan and grey-lag geese. Snipe and redshank quartered the pond edge with a single stonechat in the west field.

A med gull has been regularly reported at nearby Briardene, so I chanced my luck for ten minutes en route home. No sign, just a few BH/H/GBB/CGs and a carrion crow scrounging.

The white stork from yesterday appears to have flown back to its pen, so here's another picture to brighten up what is undeniably a dull post. This blog isn't doing too well for photographs of decent birds of late... what with dodgy ducks and free flying storks...

Late March should provide some better birding - a quick glance back through earlier note books bring back recent memories of Northumberland and Durham records of common crane, penduline tits, and firecrest. So exciting times definitely ahead eh?