SNOW BUNTING

The snow bunting stayed on the beach at the Point for most of the day on Saturday 3rd. It was seen flying over the river Colne towards Colne Point in mid afternoon and hadn't returned by the end of the day.

Andy Field took these photos on his second visit to the Point during the morning, having failed to locate the bird first thing.

The bird was found feeding in the same S.E. corner of beach at the Point where it had last been seen yesterday as the sun set. It seemed to prefer being very unobtrusive and easy to miss.
There was no sign today of the shorelark that had been seen yesterday morning or the 3 white-fronted geese in the fields.

Other birds noted during the day at or near the park were 2 jack snipe, 50+ common snipe, pale-bellied brent goose, 600 dark-bellied brent, 63 greylags and 2 swallows were seen on or over the fields, 6 red-breasted mergansers past the Point, kingfisher near Golfhouse, marsh harrier, sparrowhawk,100 greenfinches and 2 redwings near Oyster Fishery, 2 redwings, 6 siskins and chiffchaff near park pond.

The female muntjac deer walked across the pond-field at dusk, a common seal was just off the Point in the Colne and a weasel was hunting along the park's clifftop. A migrant hawker in the car park is the first ever November sighting.