December 31st. Clear, freezing start, gradually warming up, with light north-westerly wind.
Wishing all our contributors and followers a Happy and Bird-filled New Year !
Similar numbers and range of birds to yesterday, including another Great Northern Diver heading south. Numbers of Pink-footed Geese had increased considerably though, with 800 leaving the roost in the morning and 3000 arriving at dusk.
On Tennyson's Sands were 25 Curlews along with 89 Shoveler's, 58 Teal, 2 Tufted Duck whilst 245 Lapwing and 80 Wigeon were on Croft Marsh. Jackson's Marsh held 7 Shoveler, 15 Gadwall, 36 Wigeon, 14 Teal and 9 Black-tailed Godwit. A male Merlin was perched up on Croftmarsh and other birds around included 2 Marsh Harrier, Woodcock, a Tawny Owl and a Cetti's Warbler.
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| Curlews on Tennyson's Sands, 31st December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Curlews on Tennyson's Sands, 31st December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Mute Swans over the Mere, 31st December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| A very late moulting Mute Swan juvenile on the Mere, 31st December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
Birds on Field 10 included the 5 White-fronted Geese and 275 Wigeon. Croft Marsh and beyond was home to 250 Golden Plover and 1200 Lapwing. On the sea were 30 Common Scoter, 20 Red-throated Divers (mostly south) and a Great Northern Diver (south).
Also around were 7 Snow Buntings, 17 Corn Buntings and 3 Water Pipits. Flying south were 100 Pink-footed Geese.
December 29th. Cloudy, with moderate north-easterly wind and occasional drizzle or light rain.
The White-fronted Goose was reduced to 5 today. There were 300 Wigeon on the water bodies with 26 Tufted Duck on the Mere and 12 Black-tailed Godwit on Tennyson's Sands. A good spread of waders were feeding along the foreshore: 91 Grey Plover, 21 Ringed Plover, 300 Oystercatcher, 22 Turnstone, 64 Curlew, 65 Sanderling, 18 Bar-tailed Godwit and 161 Redshank. The overall day total of over 310 Redshank was high for this period. 6 Red-throated Diver went south over the sea.
Fair numbers of Robins and Blackbirds remained in the dunes with 4 Goldcrests and 2 Woodcock. 10 Corn Buntings were near their usual spot near the hump. Birds of prey included a Barn Owl, a Peregrine, a Merlin and a Marsh Harrier.
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| Hazel Flower Catkins out already! 29th December 2025 Photo - Rob Watson |
December 27th. Cloudy, with fresh north-easterly wind.
December 26th. Clear with continued strong easterly wind and remaining dry.
An hour sea-watch early morning produced the following: 2 Great Northern Diver south, 3 Velvet Scoter, a Manx Shearwater, 5 Fulmar, 5 Gannet, 5 Little Gull, 33 Kittiwake, 23 Auk sp and 17 Red-throated Diver north. Single Chiffchaff and Goldcrest were around Sykes Farm. The 8 White-fronted Geese continued to feed on Field 10.
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| White-fronted Geese on Field 10, 25th December 2025 Photo - Stuart Ainsworth |
Today's highlights included a Water Pipit on the Mere and 8 White-fronted Geese on Field 10. Also 21 Corn Buntings were by the Hump Sycamore but mobile.
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| Water Pipit on the Mere, 25th December 2025 Photo - Adrian Royle |
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| Water Pipit on the Mere, 25th December 2025 Photo - Adrian Royle |
An hour's sea-watch in fairly challenging conditions due to the wind and strong sun, but the following were recorded: 51 Kittiwake, 3 Little Gull, 5 Fulmar, a Great Northern Diver and 22 Red-throated Diver. In the afternoon, 200 Golden Plover dropped into Tennyson's Sands with the Lapwing flock.
December 23rd. Cloudy, with increasing easterly wind.
A morning sea-watch was rewarded with a northbound Great Skua but the only other seabirds of note were 2 Gannets and a Kittiwake with a slight increase of Red-throated Divers, and small numbers of Eider and Common Scoter. Five Goldcrests were still present in the East Dunes.
December 22nd. Partly cloudy, with light south-easterly wind.
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| Mistletoe in the Orchard, 22 December 2025. Photo - George Gregory |
December 21st. The Winter Solstice - the shortest day. Cloudy, with moderate south-easterly wing and rainy spells.
Just counts of the Lagoons and the West Dunes were made this morning. Around the lagoons were 700 Teal, 350 Wigeon, 80 Shoveler, 600 Lapwing, 3 Snipe, a Marsh Harrier, a Water Pipit and 2 Cetti's Warblers, whilst in the dunes the highlights were 8 Goldcrests and a single Redwing.
