Hornsea Mere Pelagic

I went up to Hornsea mere again last night in the hope of some more shots of the little gulls.
The light was going to be an issue as thin cloud was hanging over there mere when I arrived.
I found out that there was an organised boat trip so seeing as the light was not good, I thought I'd tag along.
There was a few other local birders on board as we set off for the south bank.
A few common sandpipers feeding along the shore were the first birds on view followed by an extremely obliging juvenile spotted redshank.
Going further round the mere we saw plenty of little gulls streaming up and down along with a huge amount of cormerants, 3 herons and hundreds of coot.
We then headed for the spit near swan island and it was here we got our best views of the little gulls, thanks to our expert skipper he got us really close to the bank and it was here we saw a juvenile ruff and had a visit from another spotted redshank.
We continued on and went past a buoy with an extremely obliging common tern perched on top then after nearly 2 hours we headed back to dry land.
It was a most enjoyable evening, good company with a very priveledged access to a very special place.
If this was done on a regular basis (coupled with the frequent rarities that turn up at the mere at this time of year) it could be come very popular.

Pat Haven

I had a look down at Pat haven this morning-got there early and being an hour out with the tides it gave me an extended wait.
Not much on the way down, quite a few gulls on the lagoon including a single little gull also common sandpiper.
As the tide flooded the lagoon began to fill up with birds-first the greenshanks, then a few knot and the hundreds of dunlin.
Nothing out of the ordinary buth the calm conditions and early morning sun made for some nice photo opportunities.
Single marsh harrier was the highlight of the walk back.

Marsh Sand-Again

I went back to Blacktoft for the fourth time last night to see the marsh sandpiper.
At first and for most of the time it was quite distant, occasionally flushing with the other waders then returning to the same spot (it liked frequenting the fringes of the nearest island.
Eventually it came as close as possible given the location of the hide and it was then I was able to get my best shots.
It really is a spectacle at this time of year and I saw 13 species of wader last night.
the sun was setting and the light was fantastic for photography.
If only the hides were a little closer.