The display showed a temperature of one degree this morning, a degree more than yesterday but enough
to make a huge difference. There was little frost about, it felt damp rather than dry, certainly it felt much warmer than yesterday. In fairness it was clear that the temperature had not dropped so low during the night, the light frost that had occurred had almost disappeared by the time we went out to Fishbourne. There, the foliage was covered in drops of water, not the crystals of ice seen yesterday.
This arm of the Harbour lived up to it’s reputation for being one of the best places to see wildfowl and waders, they were varied and present in large numbers. It was about half tide and draining away fast so there were huge areas of mud freshly
uncovered for the birds to feed on. As usual there were plenty of Oyster Catchers, Redshank and other larger birds but today for some reason the smaller species were there in huge numbers.
Notably amongst the larger waders were occasional Greenshank and several pairs of Godwits seemingly on stilts. A few Lapwing joined in flapping about as they moved along the waters edge.
However it was the Dunlin and Ringed Plovers that were most striking, unusually large numbers, spread all over the head of the harbour, feeding on the mud. There were plenty of much smaller birds too that looked and acted like Sanderlings
but half their size. Perhaps they were Stints but surely there were too many of them. Unfortunately I didn’t have my glasses so it remains a mystery.
The duck were not to be outdone, many wigeon were sitting quietly just off the waters edge, noticeably moving as the tide retreated. A few took flight providing such a spectacle as they circled the harbour before dropping down to a more attractive feeding spot.