63 species in morning visit including highlights of 4 chiffchaffs (hedge leading to seawall), green woodpecker, family group of mute swans and 2 separate adults, 3 herons, 360 black headed gulls (6 juvs), 198 curlew at high tide on 3rd lagoon (3 colour ringed birds and 3 whimbrel mixed in), 176 dunlin (6 juv birds also), 2 lt ringed plovers, 2 green sandpipers, 1 common sandpiper, gt b b gull, 6 teal, 4 ruff (2 together and 2 seperate birds elsewhere and all of different plumage’s), 146 sand martins through with 46 swallows (and resting briefly on mud 2nd lagoon), 4 knot (1 colour ringed adult), 1 spoonbill, 1 turnstone in breeding plumage, 36 coot, 2 buzzards, 136 redshanks, 1 cettis calling, sedge warbler feeding, 1 yellow wagtail over with 3 later on, female wigeon, 3 common snipe, 72 oystercatchers (lagoon 1), 1 greenshank, 1 wood sandpiper, 6 lt egrets, 3 reed warblers, gadwall, 2 peregrine possibly 1st year males?, 305 black-tailed godwits, 406 shelduck (raft on sea), male sparrowhawk hunting, female tufted, pair of stock doves and a 1st year male merlin from hide 3 which caught an eat a linnet. Unusually it had two metal leg rings as opposed to the usual one – wondering if possibly an escaped falconers bird? Other: good numbers of gatekeepers and meadow browns, 2 emperor dragonflies, 1 red admiral, 4 painted ladies and 1 small skipper.
