Pett Level
6th November 2008, Thursday
Grey, still, damp and silent.
A conspicuous increase in the number of Blackbirds, with several often evident in a single bush or flying ahead of me through the orange reeds of the canalside ditches and even more when scolding an invisible owl. Lots of Song Thrushes with them too, and Robins everywhere, with a good deal of territorial head-kicking going on.
Few flocks going over though, for a change: just a few Siskins and Skylarks.
Several Stonechats flitting and hovering over reed and thorn, at least 6 Little Egrets, 3 Grey Herons and a Green Sandpiper along the canal.
Hundreds of Lapwings, Curlews and Starlings swirling up into the sky denote the passage of a Peregrine and the persistent quartering of 3 Marsh Harriers.
On the sea, a f Eider accompanies the small flocks of G C Grebes which are beginning to build up and the first divers speed along the horizon.