Waders...

...sorry, shorebirds were starting to appear today - a walk round the point before the start of the count produced superb close views of 6 Dunlin, 1 Sanderling, 2 Piping Plover and 1 Spotted Sandpiper. 4 Whimbrel flew through mid-count. A shorebird flew over giving an unusual, quick 4 note wi-wi-wi-wi call; this is a close match for the description of Upland Sandpiper, though of course we'll never know what it was!
A warm welcome to the team again for Phil Chu; i know he needs no introduction to many of our visitors and was greeting old acquaintances as soon as he arrived. Phil will be helping out with the waterbird count for the next couple of weeks as usual. And he got off to a nice start by spotting a Black Tern, a great point bird and just totally stunning! Conditions were cloudier today and there were fewer duck; whether the two are somehow related i have no idea.