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Monday, August 9, 2010

Sea-watching with kids

With a reasonable 6 metres per second westerly forecast it was time to get out and see if anything was moving this morning. Dragged the kids out late (0830) to Yttre Kattvik in the rain and settled them in the back of the car with the seats down, in a big nest filled with books and toys. It worked quite well...

No proper seabirds noted but the first hour of the three was not bad for passage waders and also had a total of 31 common scoter, one velvet and two smart summer-plumaged black-throated divers. Waders past included a superb flock of fifteen grey plovers, six dunlin, a whimbrel and two redshank. A single razorbill was a notable, they have become scarce since the local birds fledged young.

Later after tea I nipped out quickly to check Stora Hult and Ranarpsstrand. Stora Hult had many of the same waders as the other day with the adult curlew sandpiper still present, along with seven snipe, three wood sandpipers, over 20 dunlin and a Temminck's stint on nearby Vejbystrand. Three bar-tailed godwit were also present. A very quick look at Ranarpsstrand revealed an absence of Caspian or black terns (my next most likely patch-ticks now that garganey has fallen) but did produce at least 25 teal, three snipe, one 1K spotted redshank, two greenshank and nine wood sandpipers.

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