Morning tides

 For the past three mornings I've been down at Pegwell Bay NNR to watch the incoming tide. On Friday, minus my scope, I was fortunate to spend some time chatting with Andy Lipczyski who was undertaking the monthly WeBS count for SBBOT. Realising just how much I had missed I returned on Saturday morning in plenty of time for the high tide. This time I carried the trusty Kowa TSN 823. Only thing was that I totally misjudged how quickly the tide covers the exposed mud and almost completely missed it due to spending time around in Stonelees LNR watching the Common Seals that haul out on the banks of The Stour Estuary. 

Early morning tides aren't conducive to good viewing conditions
because of the "Bay's" geographic position meaning you're looking directly 
towards the rising sun!

The exposed mud was already well underwater an hour before the high tide had been reached, entirely due to the moon phase and the resultant effects. That's why I bothered to post a photo of the (almost) full moon last night. 

This morning I was in position three hours before high water, yet still only had ninety minutes of scanning before the mudflats were lost from view and, with it, the waders obscured as they sought shelter in the saltmarsh vegetation. I really enjoyed myself, although failed to add any species to my self-found year list. A couple of distant specks looked good candidates for Little Stints, yet light and distance ensured they remained un-id'd. Swirling flocks of Sanderling, Dunlin and Ringed Plovers were frequently on the move whilst huge numbers of Oystercatchers assembled on Shellness Point as the water levels rose. Black - tailed Godwit numbers were certainly a surprise (100+) with Grey Plover (11), Golden Plover (1), Common Snipe (3) and a Lapwing flock (30 - ish) ensuring that I always had something to point the scope at.

Plenty of passerine activity in the shrubs and bushes of the country park with a very obvious increase in the numbers of Robins and Stonechats around the area. I didn't spot a single hirundine today, although there had certainly been a few about on Friday and Saturday.