Who let winter come back?

The Safari's little ones didn’t get much time on the beach today as they were a bit late starting and the tide was already close. Their sharp eyes did find a nice selection of shells in their all too brief visit. Brief was probably a good thing cos the wind began to howl (can’t beat a bit of Bob Dylan (prefer the Jimmy H and Savage Grace versions though, not that Dylan’s original is in any way inferior)) and there was no sun making it rather chilly out there. 

Four Sanderlings soon disappeared as the tiny rabble appeared t the last step

Tiny hands grasped a large Edible Whelk but it was too cold on the ears to have a listen to see if we could hear the sea in it. A large Common Otter Shell was ooohhed at and the small Common Razors were cast aside in favour of the much bigger Pod Razors. Common and Prickly Cockles were collected and the sharpest eyed little girl picked up a tiny Thin Tellin.

A Grey Plover in all its summer finery flew past in to the wind.

All too soon the tide was upon us and it was time to climb the steps to terra firma. We had taken the camera but there wasn't really the time nor the opportunity to get any pics for you :-(

By lunchtime the wind had picked up and sporadic showers blew through. Heavy cloud enveloped the horizon and the waves were giant and beginning to foam. Without gloves it was cold on the hands and we wished we had our woolly hat on rather than a peaked cap that annoyingly nearly blew off several times, hard to keep the scope still with one hand on your head!

We had a constant possession of Sandwich Terns jinking and darting in the strong wind, further out a flock of 10 Dunlins flew south then ten more followed by a single a little later, they have been very few and far between on Patch 2 this year. Another Grey Plover headed towards the estuary and way out in the edge of the cloud we watched six Gannets trying to feed, the height of their dives suggesting that that the fish were quite deep today. Two Manx Shearwaters bucked the trend and flew northwards with the wind.

All too soon our gloveless hands were too cold and throbby to stand any more excitement and a warming cuppa was urgently required.

Where to next? Will the persistent wind and heavy showers have dropped anything on Patch 2 by tomorrow?

In the meantime let us know who’s picking up what in your outback