One of at least 5 Yellow Wagtails on Orcombe.
An uncharacteristically busy day today with some long-awaited rain clearly having the desired effect. The morning started well on Orcombe when a Hobby paused briefly to snatch an insect or two, on the wing, out over the sea before heading east. Few migrant passerines but 1 Tree Pipit, 1 Wheatear, 1 Coal Tit, 5+ Yellow Wagtails and 1 Grey Wagtail were logged, along with a fly-over Ringed Plover, 10+ Swallows, and a handful of Chiffchaffs. Three or four Arctic Skuas were lingering offshore.
At about 1020 I was chuffed to pick out a beautiful adult Roseate Tern off Shelly Beach. It remained in the estuary, sometimes getting on Bull Hill until at least 1210 and was later picked up, by Lee, in front of the hide at the Warren. At least 185 Common Terns were roosting on Bull Hill along with 35+ Sandwich Terns, 8 Mediterranean Gulls (5 juv/fw), 20 Great Black-backed Gulls and 6 Lesser Black-backed Gulls. The roosting birds were briefly joined by 4 Sanderling and a Ruff. Nearby the 5cy Yellow-legged Gull was again on the rugby pitch and at least 120 Starlings were on rooves along Camperdown Terrace.
Best bird off Mudbank was a juvenile Black Tern over the high tide, having earlier been seen off Shelly Beach by Derek. Also off there today - the Osprey on its favourite perch, 1 Little Tern, 3 Wigeon, 3 Turnstones, c60+ Teal, 4 Greenshank, 1 Black-tailed Godwit, 7 Redshank, 7 Ringed Plovers, 2 Dunlin, 5 Grey Herons, c30 Little Egrets and 3 Stock Doves.
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