A walk to Wassand Hide

Dry, sunny and breezy this morning and a temp of about 14 degrees C when I set out for my walk to the beach, then KP then on to the hide at Wassand.

I am still hoping for the passage of Sandwich Terns to happen. In the previous 5 years I've been here in Hornsea the Sandwich Terns have appeared off the beach in mid to late July and stayed around for about 3 weeks. Apart from two sightings of Sandwich tern in bad weather with northerly winds, they have been absent.

On to Kirkholme Point then!

Last night there were about 350-400 Little Gulls on the Mere, but they were distant, over towards Lady Island rather than flying near Swan Island. This morning there were about 30 still hanging about with a few on the boat jetties.

Little Gulls on the jetty

Along the south side of KP I saw a duck with a white flash at the base of its bill. Possible female Scaup...no, not this time of year, so a female Tufted Duck then.

Female Tufted Duck

Although autumn passage is still in its infancy, you never know whether something has dropped in overnight so a check of the water line around KP is always a must. Nothing this morning though. On to the south side of The Mere and to the hide.

There are still a few Sand Martins mixed in with the Swallows and House Martins but Swifts were absent today.

Warblers have been keeping their heads down recently, most notably the Cetti's - I haven't heard a Cetti's since 22 July!! They will soon finish their moult (or their sulk) so I look forward to hearing their noisy song again soon.

Into the hide and the only birds to see were Mute Swans. After a few minutes a Marsh Harrier came into view, calling continuously. Looks like a new juvenile which may or may not have hatched here on The Mere.

6 Great Crested Grebes swam by from the west end, the last of which was a juvenile. Again, it may have hatched here but then again it may have just flown in as part of the dispersal process.

Juvenile Great Crested Grebe

As it was pretty breezy I didn't expect many butterflies and I wasn't overwhelmed by their presence. A couple of Speckled Wood, several Large White and a Red Admiral was the list seen today.

Walking back through the wood Long-tailed Tits seem to have had a good breeding season as they were everywhere.