Morning Out Afternoon Count

I went out with SH and DMcK yesterday to do the WEBS count at Castle Island, it was a short trip as Steve had to be back earlier.
After a quiet Webs count we walked up to the seaton cemetery area where the Waxwings have been seen through the week.
Intstead of driving up to the cemetery we walked through the gut which takes you straight to the site. In the gut a Grey Wagtail was bobbing on a rock in the stream.

There was no sign of the Waxwings at first then we were told that they had flown off into the housing estate where they were showing well in a tree.
We found them and watched the 12 birds sitting trilling away in the tree tops before being chased away by a pair of Mistle Thrushes.
A Sparrowhawk was in the area so this didn't help the Waxwings settle properly.

Next we went to the fields around Bells pond which to our suprises held no geese!
From the hide at Cresswell a Barn Owl was hunting over the roadside reeds before flying in front of the hide and off towards Warkworth Lane.
A microlight and a Helicopter went over the pond and the missing Geese erupted from the fields near Warkworth Lane and flew over the pond in five seperate flocks.
There must have been 4000+ Geese in the air before they landed back in the fields.
A single Brent flew from the fields over Bells pond followed by another six which were much closer just over the hide.

I was dropped off at West Hartford where I added two Oystercatchers to the patch list. They where standing on the ice amongst a group of Gulls.

Late afternoon I went back out with Steve who was doing the Cormorant count at Blyth Harbour. 99 Cormorants came into roost.
Also the Iceland Gull flew over and landed near by.

57 - Oystercatcher