December 20th. Partly cloudy, with moderate south-easterly wind.
A further increase of large gulls, with over 1000 Herring Gulls on the beach and another 900 heading south offshore. Numbers of Great Black-backed Gulls had also increased on yesterday's numbers and there were two Caspian Gulls. Sea records were similar to yesterday with a slight increase of Red-throated Divers, a high-flying Fulmar and a few skeins of Pink-footed Geese heading over to Norfolk.
Tennyson's Sands held 63 Shoveler, 3 Gadwall, 121 Teal, 5 Black-tailed Godwits and 2 Cetti's Warblers whilst 3000 Lapwing and 3000 Golden Plover were on Croft Marsh and beyond. The Mere held 1 drake Pochard again, 3 Shoveler and 15 Tufted Duck.
The lone Snow Bunting remained around the beach, with over 200 Sanderling feeding along the tideline and a Merlin hunting. Also around the reserve were 2 Woodcock, 3 Redwing, 2 Siskin, and a male Hen Harrier.
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| Male Chaffinch, 20th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Female Chaffinch, 20th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Long-tailed Tit, 20th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Grey Squirrel, 20th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
An hour's sea-watch early morning produced a good range of species in small numbers: Red-throated Divers, Red-breasted Mergansers, Eider and Common Scoter with a flock of 6 Pintail heading south. The main interest though was the movement of just under1000 Herring Gulls arriving from the north and flying into the Wash. With them were a good number of Great Black-backed Gulls by recent standards.
A small number of Chaffinch, Siskin and Skylark also headed south over the East Dunes and Beach, with a Merlin pursuing a Skylark.
Tennyson's Sands held 14 Brent Geese, 98 Shoveler, 466 Teal, 6 Black-tailed Godwit and a Cetti's Warbler was around Harvey's Hide. On or beyond Croft Marsh were 3000 Golden Plover, 2000 Lapwing, a Grey Heron and a Buzzard. The Mere was home to a drake Pochard and 14 Tufted Duck.
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| Long-tailed Tit, 18th December 2025 Photo - Jeremy Eyeons |
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| Great Tit, 18th December 2025 Photo - Jeremy Eyeons |
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| Male Shoveler, 18th December 2025 Photo - Jeremy Eyeons |
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| Black-headed Gull, 18th December 2025 Photo - Jeremy Eyeons |
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| Curlews, 18th December 2025 Photo - Jeremy Eyeons |
December 16th. A wet day until late afternoon, staying fairly warm in a light west-north-westerly wind.
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| Male Shovelers over Tennyson's Sands - one in Eclipse plumage still, 16th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Female Pintails on Tennyson's Sands, 16th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Shoveler's and Black-tailed Godwits on Tennyson's Sands, 16th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
Jackson's Marsh held 163 Greylag Geese, 90 Mallard, 27 Tufted Duck and 18 Gadwall. Tennyson's Sands was home to stacks of Teal and 70 Lapwing with a Marsh Harrier hunting over Croft Marsh and the lagoons.
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| Little Grebe on Fenland Lagoon, 15th December 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| Redshank on Fenland Lagoon, 14th December 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| Marsh Harrier hunting Croft Marsh, 15th December 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| Marsh Harrier, 15th December 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| A Great Tit in "take off" action, 14th December 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker, 15th December 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| A smart looking male Pintail from North Hide, 14th December 2025 Photo - Tony Foster |
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| Buzzard, 14th December 2025 Photo - Tony Foster |
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| Robin, 14th December 2025 Photo - Tony Foster |
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| Female Pheasant, 14th December 2025 Photo - Tony Foster |
Tennyson's Sands held 77 Shoveler, 495 Teal, 90 Lapwing and a vocal Cetti's Warbler (around Fenella Hope Hide). Over Croft Marsh and beyond were 2000 Lapwing and 2000 Golden plover. Around Syke's Farm was a Chiffchaff. Also around the reserve were a Marsh Harrier, a Barn Owl, 13 Rock Pipit and 2 Siskin.
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| Brent Geese, 12th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Brent Geese over Tennyson's Sands, 12th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Rhodotus palmatus, commonly known as Wrinkled Peach Fungus, 13th December 2025 Photo - Rob Watson |
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| Xylaria hypoxylon, commonly known as Candle snuff, 13th December 2025 Photo - Rob Watson |
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| Wigeon, 12th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Oystercatchers, 12th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| Little Egret, 12th December 2025 Photo - David Nutt |
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| 20+ Corn Buntings by the Hump Sycamore, 11th December 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
On Tennyson's Sands were 219 Brent Geese, 110 Canada Goose, 45 Greylag Geese, 103 Shoveler, 7 Gadwall, 1 male Pintail, 450 Teal and 16 Tufted Duck. Jackson's Marsh held 30 Gadwall and a Jack Snipe. On Croft Marsh and beyond were 2000 Golden Plover and 2000 Lapwing, with a Red Kite drifting over South at 12.45pm. The Mere held 14 Tufted Duck.
On the sea in the morning was 1 Eider, whilst going South were 2 Guillemot, 1 Common Scoter and 8 Red-throated Diver. Also around were 1720 Pink-footed Geese, 2 Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard, a Barn Owl, 1 Merlin, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 38 Siskin, 21 Corn Bunting (By the Hump) and 350 Wigeon (Field 10).
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| Skylark, 11th December 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| Corn Bunting, 11th December 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
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| Corn Buntings, 11th December 2025 Photo - Mike Watts |
