Bits from this week

 After the excitement of the Wryneck last Saturday it was back to normal (almost) around the doors this week, but still some highly enjoyable encounters.. Low tide on Monday saw us on the Marsden beach to watch the sea bird colony at close quarters, a place I love to visit and no doubt will over and over again in the coming months. Its just a fantastic site,sound and smell at times.

 Tuesday, I went along the old mineral line at Mount pleasant (across the road from Testoes pond) this site is usually great for warblers and today was no exception with all the commoner stuff and a Lesser whitethroat. But noYellowhammers sadly seen or heard.Ive watched the numbers falling here for the last few years, hopefully I might have missed one or two here on this visit. What did surprise me was this Jay doing a fly around, a bird not too easy to encounter in ST especially at this time of year.

 The Terns are starting to show well around the pier area with mostly Sandwich but a few Arctics have passed over and one was settled on the beach a couple of days back.(poxy dog ban! I couldn't get down).

 Common terns numbers building on each visit here now.

 On a visit to the pier on Wednesday we sat and watched over 150 Swallows passing over in a 15 minute period, only 2 House Martins with them. Up to 6 Wheatears have been seen on every visit to this area around the Sandhaven rocks, different birds passing through. And I added a new warbler to my South Marine park list on Wednesday when a Lesser Whitethroat was belting out its song with the resident male Blackcap singing close by also...marvellous mix of songsters! Unfortunately the Lesser white seems to have moved on now.

 Dropped into the Washington wwt later on Wednesday and seen 8 young Avocets ( 10 reported a day or two before). One older family with 4, this one above with 3 and one pair with one chick. Other chicks could well have been hidden and I haven't checked the site reports for this place lately.

 The Common terns where soon getting down to business.

And finaly ...A quick response from the wader ringing folk on this Sanderling. This photo was taken a couple of years back when I first reported the bird on Sandhaven, I submitted another report about the same bird in the same place last week. Its wintered mainly on the Northumberland beaches between St.Marys island and Whitely Bay and returned to its original ringing site on the southwest coast of Iceland in May each year. Ringed in 2009 and very well reported.