Feels like spring

The Safari set foot outside to a crisp morning, frost blanketed the roadside grass verge and was accompanied by a beautifully clear view of the waning gibbous moon. Despite the sub-zero temperature much birdsong was heard as the reddening hues of dawn started to glow above the eastern horizon.

Blackbirds, Robins, Dunnocks, a Wren and a distant Song Thrush were all heard on our short excursion...Poor old Frank has hurt himself again; too much jumping round like a puppy than is good for him at his age, so we didn’t get far or stay out long.

Driving into work we could see that the sea conditions were just about as perfect as you can get and we were eager to grab the scope and get out onto Patch 2. Needn’t have rushed! The settled conditions had brought anything new in, the same Common Scoters were there but visibility further out was poor so numbers appeared to be down a little. Only six Great Crested Grebes were found and a single Red Throated Diver. 

On the beach we counted 31 Sanderlings and 14 Redshanks but didn’t count the not so many Oystercatchers it was almost gull-less. All a bit samey unfortunately... Overhead three single Pied Wagtails made their way south and keeping the three theme three Blackbirds poked about on the frosted grass by the hedge at the front of the office...indicating a bit of movement???

At lunchtime the tide was almost full. The beach was gone and the sea was unchanged apart from fewer grebes and double the amount of Red Throated Divers. Away on the hazy horizon many dark spectral shapes were Cormorants, the nearest signs that there might be some fish about. With nothing doing apart from the lovely (and by now warm) sunshine we reluctantly returned to our desk only to learn that FOUR Harbour Porpoises and at least 10x as many Common Scoters had just been seen at the other end of town...cruel - don't you just hate it when you're in the wrong place at the right time!

Mid-afternoon saw us wandering down the corridor mug in hand towards the brew room, looking out of the windows we noticed a bloke heaving slices of bread around that had attracted a good number of Black Headed Gulls, a Common Gull and a couple of Herring Gulls. So many gulls that they’d polished off all the bread before we had a chance to double back and grab the camera for some in-flight shots. 

Where to next? More of the same and with no change in the weather forecast it could well be exactly that - more of the very same.

In the meantime let us know what was (annoyingly) found just outside your outback