Angle Bay Thurs afternoon

We made another visit to Angle Bay yesterday afternoon. Curlew roost numbers at Sawdern Point were around 120-130 or so, plus whimbrel (numbers not known) heard. Oystercatcher numbers roosting there were also c. 120 (similar to Sunday's count) but the roost was more spread out. Near the shore an adult yellow-legged gull was resting on the sea and much further out an adult gannet was feeding, as was one on Sunday. We could see five great crested grebes loafing and feeding closer to the south shore. Over at the village harbour side we noted 16 Mediterranean gulls (mostly 3CY/adult birds) resting on the spit with several BH gull (several of the mixed flock in the photo below). At least 4 other Med gulls were noted further away along the south shore. Of the 16 seen well, none were ringed; possibly these included some new arrivals since Sunday? We now know that Sunday's ringed bird white ring 32PJ had been ringed on 11 May this year at Putten West, Kieldrecht; Beveren; Oost-Vlaanderen; Flanders, Belgium aged >3CY.

When we left the area in the late afternoon, at least half a dozen or more swifts were heading west towards the coast over the Angle-East Blockhouse road.