Waders on the realignment area were 64 Golden Plovers, 46 Lapwings, a Black-tailed Godwit, 71 Redshanks, a Greenshank, 2 Common Sandpipers, 9 Dunlin, 6 Oystercatchers, 3 Whimbrels, and a Curlew.   Other waterbirds included 23 Little Egrets, 4 Grey Herons, 3 Tufted Ducks plus 5 young, 2 Shelducks, 4 Mallard, 2 Little Grebes, 2 Cormorants and a sub-adult Yellow-legged Gull.   Also of note were 4 Kestrels, a Peregrine, a Marsh Harrier, 6 Yellow Wagtails, 4 Pied Wagtails, 2 House Sparrows and 9 Tree Sparrows.   Moving NW were 440 Swallows, 6 Sand Martins and 4 Common Swifts.

         Late news from Chris Atkin for the realignment area on a particularly wet 27th July:- 24 Whimbrel, 3 Little Ringed Plovers, 3 Greenshanks, Green Sandpiper, 2 Common Sandpipers, 4 Yellow Wagtails and a Short-eared Owl.
     
         Today, 28th, there is a Goldcrest and a family party of Reed Warblers in my garden.

         Not much was passing out at sea in the very light wind, the best being 3 Arctic Skuas, 5 Gannets and 8 Common Scoters to the north between 0915 and 1045.   Waders heading south along the tide-line were 104 Oystercatchers, 24 Curlews, 49 Whimbrels, 3 Redshanks, 25 Dunlin, 2 Curlew Sandpipers, 21 Sanderlings and 40 Knot.   A Razorbill was on the sea and 11 Cormorants,118 Sandwich Terns and 6 Common Terns were on the shore or fishing closeby.
         An early Merlin was chasing Starlings and Linnets without success by the dunes.   Additional birds included 14 Lapwings, 5 Golden Plovers, 2 Grey Herons, 2 Little Egrets, Yellow Wagtail, 4 Pied Wagtails, 2 Sand Martins, 100 Swallows, 4 Grey Partridges, 3 Shelducks and 2 Common Buzzards.

         An Osprey was eating a fish on a post by the tide-line at Pye's Hall.   Also on the shore were 322 Oystercatchers, 120 Golden Plovers, 5 Knot, 15 Whimbrels, 7 Curlews, 4 Shelducks and 9 Cormorants.   Waders on the realignment area were 60 Dunlin, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, 35 Redshanks, 3 Greenshanks, 4 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Ruffs and a Turnstone.   Other birds of note were 24 Little Egrets, 4 Grey Herons, Kingfisher, 18 Mallard, 7 Yellow Wagtails, 3 Kestrels and a Hobby.

         Highlights from an evening walk around the realignment area for 22nd, by CA et al., were 2 Peregrines, Hobby, Marsh Harrier, Short-eared Owl, Ruff, 6 Whimbrel, Greenshank, 5 Little Ringed Plovers, 2 Common Sandpipers, 2 Yellow Wagtails and a Corn Bunting.

         Today, (23rd) there was a Kingfisher at my garden pond again and a Common Buzzard wheeling over the garden for some time this afternoon.

         WeBS count for Quad 3.  Waders were restricted to 97 Dunlin, 87 Whimbrels, 3 Curlews, 8 Oystercatchers and 2 Redshanks.   Wildfowl were 8 Mute Swans, 9 Common Scoters and singles of Eider, Tufted Duck and Shelduck.   Other waterbirds included 72 Sandwich Terns, one Arctic Tern, 8 Common Terns, one Gannet and 8 Cormorants while on the dunes the best birds were 2 Common Buzzards, 3 Kestrels, 85 Linnets, 2 Sand Martins and 28 Swallows.

         A few more waders were present over the high tide period for the WeBS count between Stonebridge and Pye's Hall.   Counts were 253 Oystercatchers, 11 Golden Plovers, one Grey Plover, 153 Dunlin, 11 Sanderling, 52 Redshanks, one Greenshank, 4 Avocets, 15 Turnstones, 56 Knot, one Bar-tailed Godwit, 3 Curlews, 63 Whimbrels and 2 Common Sandpipers.   Other waterbirds included 28 Little Egrets, 8 Cormorants and singles of Common Tern, Sandwich Tern and Gannet.
         Also of note were 65 Meadow Pipits, 2 Yellow Wagtails, 4 Pied Wagtails, 75 Swallows, 4 Sand Martins, 2 Common Swifts, Peregrine, Common Buzzard and Marsh Harrier.

                                                                             Knot

        
         The WeBS count for the realignment area produced the following results.   Only 5 Avocets were present, but Redshanks had increased to 73 along with 3 Greenshanks, 3 Green Sandpipers, 9 Oystercatchers, 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 5 Knot, 2 Curlews and 39 Whimbrels, the last species passing over to the south in four parties.   Also moving south were 130 Swallows, 2 House Martins, 19 Sand Martins and 4 Common Swifts.   The only ducks seen were 13 Mallard, 3 Shelducks and singles of Tufted Duck and Teal.   Other waterbirds included a juvenile Yellow-legged Gull, 17 Cormorants, 32 Little Egrets, 3 Grey Herons and 2 Little Grebes.
         Also of note were 4 Kestrels, a Chiffchaff, a juvenile Cuckoo, 8 Yellow Wagtails and 4 Pied Wagtails.

         A day spent gardening proved to be more productive than some of my recent days in the field.   A Kingfisher was present at the pond, a Goldcrest and a Sparrowhawk were present and a party of 7 Siskins passed over to the west.   A Hummingbird Hawk-moth was an added bonus.

         Very quiet at the south end this morning.   Highlights were 180 Swallows hawking over the dunes and beach, a Green Sandpiper, 40 Oystercatchers and 6 Sandwich Terns.

         Birds on the shore at Stonebridge at high tide included 130 Oystercatchers, 3 Whimbrels, 5 Curlews and 420 Black-headed Gulls.   Three Common Terns flew NW over the sea.   Waders on the realignment area were 23 Avocets, 32 Golden Plovers, one Little Ringed Plover and 15 Oystercatchers.   Other birds of note were 36 Shelducks, 8 Cormorants, 9 Little Egrets, 3 Grey Herons, 2 Little Grebes, 4 Yellow Wagtails, 30 Swallows, 2 Common Swifts and a Chiffchaff.
          Earlier, the Montagu's Harrier was seen from the house as it passed over Marsh Lane and out to the dunes at Quad 3.

         A 2nd cy male Montagu's Harrier was the bird of the day at the south end this morning.   Hunting along the set aside field margins by the sea-bank, it slowly worked its way south at 1035.   Also on the dunes were 2 Common Buzzards, 3 Kestrels, 4 Little Egrets, including a colour-ringed bird, a Green Sandpiper, a Grey Partridge and a Robin.   59 Common Swifts, a House Martin and 17 Black-headed Gulls passed to NW, but 40 Swallows went mainly south.
         A Gannet and 3 Cormorants flew north at sea and an Arctic Skua south, and 2 Sandwich Terns rested on the tide-edge.

Late news for 1st.

         Broadband problems, hence late report.    Around the realignment produced 26 Shelducks, 2 Tufted Ducks, 20 Little Egrets, 6 Grey Herons, 8 Cormorants, a 2nd cy Mediterranean Gull, 68 Black-headed Gulls, 21 Avocets, 4 Lapwings, 28 Golden Plovers, 3 Little Ringed Plovers, 5 Oystercatchers, 2 Curlews, a Redshank and a Common Sandpiper.   Also noted were 3 Kestrels, a Common Buzzard, 150 Jackdaws, 80 Rooks, 45 Swallows, 14 Swifts and 400 Starlings.   There were 10 Sandwich Terns on the shore.
         Additional birds seen in the evening by Chris Atkin et al. were 2 Hobbies, 2 Little Owls, a Green Sandpiper, a Common Snipe and a Cuckoo.


3rd.

         On the flashes in the Howden's Pullover area were 5 Little Egrets, 30 Swallows, 2 Common Swifts and a hunting Barn Owl.   No evidence of any breeding birds on the shingle ridge and only a Shelduck, 5 Curlews and a handful of gulls on the tide-line.