Shame on me - I have only just got round to twitching the Reef Heron. Having only seen this species in non-breeding plumage before I was struck by how smart the breeding plumage was - a silvery bluish grey - and how bright the feet were! It was continually moving along the far bank, fishing as it went, half-opening its wings before diving forwards - it must have been catching fry I suppose. There was also a big flock of Oystercatchers - about 50 - and also a flock of Redshank.
I have never seen the pools so low - the outlet stream was completely dry and the sea level wasn't going to come anywhere near - high tide today was only 5.64 metres - barely enough to cover the bridge. There were shingle banks in places where I never knew they existed.
NB Not birds: A nice piece of grasslands is developing at the far end of the bank - good grassland plants (trefoils etc) and plenty of 6-spot Burnet moths.
Rosemary Royle