On the way back to Portland, having just dropped the dogs off for their 6 weekly wash and brush up, I stopped off at Ferrybridge, just as the tide was turning.
It was pretty good timing as the wind and rain that Storm Alex brought us overnight and early this morning, started to ease down a bit. So much so that from 10:20 - 11:20 there were just 2 very brief showers and there was actually a bit of sunshine.
There were some good highlights including an immature Kentish Plover, which I was told was in front of me a minute or so earlier, but had since vanished from view.
Fortunately I managed to pick it out 10 minutes later in amongst the 100's of Ringed Plovers and Dunlins feeding along the shoreline. And I was having some good views of it until my binoculars fell apart. At least I had my camera and was able to pick it up quite easily, not only because of its very light colouration, but in the fact that it never stopped moving in amongst the other waders.
Also here were 2 Bar-tailed Godwit and a Black-bellied Brent Goose, plus a fly-by Sandwich Tern and a 8 Swallows heading towards Portland.
Here are a few images and videos from today:
The immature Kentish Plover is just behind a Ringed Plover and.......
.........for once keeping still for another record shot.
I even got another photo. I need a bigger lens though.
When it was on the move it was very busy searching for for marine worms and small crustaceans etc.
Kentish Plovers once bred in the UK with the last known breeding pair at Gibraltar Point back in 1979. Sadly they are very much a rare migrant to our shores. There is an interesting article on BirdGuides Here
One of the hundreds of Ringed Plovers here this morning. At 10:30am there were 68. Thirty minutes later and that number had easily doubled.
This Ringed Plover looks a bit confused as to which way to go next.
One of the many Dunlin on the sand-flats
Birds Recorded: 1 Dark-bellied Brent Goose, 1 Kestrel, 5 Oystercatcher, 150+ Ringed Plover, 1 Kentish Plover, 1 Grey Plover, 80+ Dunlin, 2 Bar-tailed Godwit, Black-headed Gull, Mediterranean Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Sandwich Tern, Wood Pigeon, Feral Pigeons, 8 Swallow, and Carrion Crow.