There were at least 500+ wigeon and a similar number of teal spread along the channels. Shelduck numbers (around a hundred birds or so) were also up a bit on the December counts but there were noticeably fewer dunlin and curlew around today.
The usual winter resident greenshank was up at the Carew Millpond end but the main species of note today were lapwings (at least 1,500) and golden plovers (c.1,000) dropping in to roost on the exposed mud. They were generally dispersed along both river channels but many were roosting near Black Mixen.
Lapwing numbers had increased considerably since the December count. There had not been many golden plovers in this area at all this winter to date, so it will be interesting to see if their numbers continue to rise over the next couple of weeks or so.
