A bit late, but awaiting information on a red colour-ringed and yellow leg-flagged Ringed Plover which was on the Gann river yesterday at low tide around 1pm. The bird with code S06 was recorded by Museum Stavanger, Norway, as having been ringed as a 1CY in a mist net at Makkevika (Norway, Møre og Romsdal, Giske) on 10.09.2022. The site is an Ornithological reserve, 62°3029N, 006°0137E, and part of the larger Giske Wetlands System, a Ramsar site, 1371km from the Gann. It has been sighted twice previously at Easton Bavents, Southwold on 19th and 30th September 2022.
I had spent the morning at the Gann unsuccessfully trying to find a rarity amongst the small waders, but the most unusual were a pair of Bar-tailed Godwits just up from the bridge. There were about 40 Ringed Plovers and 45 Dunlin in a couple of distinct flocks, the larger one having some signs of summer plumage, but the second looking very wintery and also showing much longer bills, so presumably different subspecies. For once the Curlew flock all flew down from the marsh to the beach at around the same time and landed in a small area. There were 93 together when counted. A single Whimbrel came down an hour later. The gull low tide beach roost is increasing with 103 Great Black-backs, a few with red colour rings but none legible, with a few Lessers, plus 103 Herring Gulls. Also noted were 2 Common Sandpipers on the river, 23 Redshank, 5 Greenshank, 5 Mediterranean Gulls and 2 Stock Doves flying over the river. A Red Kite was working the beach on the Musslwick side, flying very slowly into the strong breeze, but without success and later a noisy Buzzard took a pop at the Redshanks and Oystercatchers beside the river, possibly an inexperienced juvenile. There were 13 Little Egrets on the beach shoreline to the west and at least one more on lagoon/river.
A quick trip to Kete in search of a pair of mysterious Golden Plover seen the previous day turned up almost no birds at all. On Sunday there had been hundreds of gulls and corvids on the fields northwest of the NT car park, but if anybody is keen on butterflies there were thousands of Large Whites on a big kale field near to the coast and several Clouded Yellows on the coast path along with blues and fresh Painted Ladies.
After lunch at Marloes Mere there were 4 Ruff on the stream out from the Britton hide plus singles of Lapwing and Snipe. About 100 gulls settled for a while on the mud and remaining water in front of the hide, about 30 of which were Black-headed Gulls. A juvenile Marsh Harrier came in from the west around 4pm and dropped into the long grass and seemed to settle there. I did not notice any missing tail feathers. Thanks go to the two visiting American birding ladies who saw it first. There were 6 Teal and 4 Little Grebe on the remaining patch of water, plus the coots and moorhens. Flocks of 20+ Starlings and 500 Jackdaws gave a hint of autumn, despite the warm sun.