SANDERLING IN THE SURF

Thirty sanderling were on the beach at the Point at high tide, this one scurrying along the foaming edge of the waves late on Monday 23rd.

Many of the sanderling were quite confiding, allowing close views as they searched the tideline for food.

In the Colne ten red-breasted mergansers and a couple of great crested grebes were the only birds noted in the river.

The high level of water in the dyke has brought some waders like this redshank to feed on the inside of the seawall. Along with one or two lapwing and black-tailed godwits, there have been 100+ wigeon too.

Eleven tufted ducks were seen on the dyke in two groups.

A sparrowhawk flew over the saltmarsh near the Point and then over the fields sending all the roosting birds away in different directions. Birds flying about were 400 brent geese, 500 wigeon, 800 golden plover and 100 lapwing. Also here were 30 black-tailed godwits, 100 dunlin and three snipe were hiding beside some tussocks of rushes.

Late in the afternoon a female marsh harrier flew low over the field, upsetting more of the wigeon and 150 teal on the pools.
The female stonechat was seen by the beach on Monday and Tuesday.

Recent weather has been a mixture of showers and sunny spells, with this black shower cloud passing to the south of the Island on Monday afternoon.

The song thrushes have been singing and showing well at the park over the last month, with this one sitting on a bush in the car park on Tuesday morning. At least two others have been seen in the car park along with a dozen blackbirds. A rarer bird for the park seen in the same bush was a chirping male house sparrow on Tuesday morning.

A little owl sat in the usual Leylandii hedge to the north of the park during the day, keeping out of the chilly wind. At the end of Tuesday the barn owl was seen a couple of times hunting over the park, its last sighting was near the park entrance when it perched on the field side of the Bromans Lane hedge.

Found this pair of dotted border moths mating on the outside of the park's Information room late on Saturday 21st.

Only the dotted border male has wings and can fly, with the female looking like a little black bug without any wings. Here locked abdomen to abdomen.

The first butterfly of the year at the park was a red admiral that flew across the car park on Tuesday 24th.