Pegwell Little Egrets

I took a drive down to Pegwell Bay NNR this afternoon to coincide with high tide. I actually stayed longer than I'd anticipated due to a belt of rain which had me confined within the dry, yet worst hide, from an optic users perspective, I've ever sat in. The steel container which has been converted into a hide has, for security reasons, had the viewing windows completely compromised by the heavy metal bars which are positioned half way up the opening to prevent lowlife, drug taking, alcohol fueled, scum-bags from using the facility as a squat! Oh, the joys of living by the seaside. Still, the hide does allow a reasonable view across the bay and Stour estuary, although not particularly suited for the use of telescope or camera with a long lens. Fortunately, none of this was a concern today, as the majority of what I saw was around the "Garage Pool". A Greenshank and four juv Ringed Plovers were the only waders around the muddy margins with a large number of Black-headed Gulls present on the far margin of the pool. Careful scanning allowed me to pick out a lone adult Mediterranean Gull but, it was the presence of thirty-nine Little Egrets which really surprised me. I actually added another seven when I reached the hide, so the minimum total was forty-six!

From the hide, itself, I was able to see good numbers of Sandwich Terns (100+), a few Common Tern, another ten adult & two juv Mediterranean Gulls, lots of Dunlin, seven Shelduck and a smattering of Redshank, Curlew and Whimbrel. There were a few hirundines moving south over the saltmarsh, the majority were Swallows, but I did pick out two Sand Martins for my efforts. Bird of the session was a smart juvenile Yellow-legged Gull which dropped in on Shellness Point briefly. A big adult Grey Seal was seen a few times out in the bay, whilst the more familiar Common Seals were bobbing about in the mouth of The Stour. No great shakes, but nice to get out of the garden for a change of scenery.