More on the Angle Bay Brents etc

As Richard mentioned in an earlier posting, there was rather an eclectic mix of waterfowl and waders at Angle Bay this morning – and in glorious autumn light! 

The 47 brents (all pale-bellied) were mostly adults but there were at least 9 slightly darker-plumaged juvs. in the group (possibly 3 family parties). They all eventually started feeding in the shallow water or on the shore as the tide ebbed. We couldn’t see any ringed birds among them, but with numbers building up now, on their way to Ireland etc, some ringed-birds could turn up any day now. 

Riding the waves - waiting for the tide to drop sufficiently over their preferred feeding area

A small part of the feeding waterfowl flock. The Wigeon and Brent Geese were most likely feeding on Zostera marina (eelgrass) a potentially important and restricted food source here at this time of year.

There was a distant metal ringed black-headed gull, noted on one of the photos when we got home. The inscription was impossible to determine, and wouldn't have been possible by telescope either. 

A few knot also flew along the shore just after we arrived. 

The immature male scaup was loafing some distance away offshore - telescope view only. It gradually drifted towards a large flock of wigeon (a few hundred perhaps) resting with curlews and other waders etc on the Sawdern Point-side of the bay. 

We didn't see many small passerines there but a chiffchaff called in the roadside willows before we left the area.