Holy Island was fresh and windy today. The harbour was quiet apart from some Eider, Shag and R B Merganser. At the Lough a selection of Ducks could be seen, which were mostly sheltering from the wind in the reeds. These included 10+ Teal, 20+ Mallard, 6+ Wigeon, a single female Tuftie and a pair of Shoveler. There was also a Little Grebe, a single Moorhen and a Robin.
On the sand, not far from the causeway, there were at least 100 Brent Geese, 9 Grey Plover and over a dozen Bar-tailed Godwits amongst lots of other coastal waders.
The causeway proved more entertaining however with up to three Little Egrets, which are always a great bird to see. We were also lucky to experience a dramatic chase which lasted about five minutes, involving a Merlin, chasing a Goldfinch. The Goldfinch managed to escape into some nearby bushes, much to the disappointment of the exhausted Merlin. This was like a scene from BBC’s autumn watch, which as it happens has just started showing on the tele again. There were no sign of any Pink feet.
Next stop was the short drive to Budle Bay. In some nearby fields not far from the bay we watched 100+ Barnacle Geese, with dozens of Greylag and 7+ Pink Feet.
On Budle Bay there was another Little Egret and 4 Whooper Swans, all asleep on the mud. Other birds present included 100+ Wigeon, 50+ Mallard, 200+ Shelduck and a great selection of coastal waders.
Finally at Stag Rocks we were very lucky to find a flock of 16 Snow Buntings flying restlessly as the rocks etc. were busy with lots of people and dogs today.
P Buskin, MP Frankis, J Dobinson & A Swan