Thirteen members and three visitors met at the National Trust car park at Newtown for a walk led by Toni Goodley. Ten species were recorded as we walked down the road to the church before taking the footpath to view Causeway Lake. Although the majority of the wintering wildfowl had departed for their breeding sites, there was still a few Teal, Pintail and Wigeon present. We retraced our steps and then walked through the Coastguard Meadow and along the board walk to the wooden boathouse, also known as the Black Hut. It was here that we recorded our bird of the day. A Golden Plover was initially sighted on the saltmarsh and after further checking, there were over 130+ Golden Plover well camouflaged in the vegetation. A lovely sight. Three Red-breasted Merganser and two Great Crested Grebe were also seen at the harbour entrance. The latter two appeared to be a pair which was interesting. We then walked to the main hide where the Black-headed Gull colony was noisily vying for the best breeding sites in the Scrape, along with a few Mediterranean Gulls. In total, 30 species were recorded during the morning plus seven Grey Seals. The birds seen were as follows: Jackdaw, Woodpigeon, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Dunnock, Great Tit, Robin, Blackbird. Wren, Teal, Pintail. Wigeon, Carrion Crow, Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Dark-bellied Brent Goose, Common Gull, Black-headed Gull, Curlew, Herring Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Great Crested Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser, Shelduck, Peregrine, Golden Plover, Canada Goose, Cormorant and Long-tailed Tit.
Jim Baldwin
