Cold Coast

Cold and Icy this morning, Stewart and I decided to take a walk from Church Point north to Long Nanny Burn Mouth, returning via High Newton and south to Newton Pool.

Newton Church Point

As we walked through the dunes north of Church Point it was very quiet until we reached Football Hole, here in the weak morning sunshine sea duck, gulls and waders were feeding in the surf and on the rocks. Eider, 17 Goldeneye, 6 Common Scoter, single male Red Breasted Merganser and female Long Tailed Duck as well as Turnstone, Sanderling and Redshank.

Approaching Long Nanny Burn the fields to the west held large numbers of Curlew, Lapwing and Golden Plover which took to the air urgently as a large female Peregrine flapped low heading south carrying prey that seemed to be a Teal.

The Burn Mouth was quiet but a lovely flock of 14 or so Twite lifted from the salt marsh and landed on the bridge over the burn giving good views. Stonechat, Reed Bunting were seen in this area too.

Twite on the Long Nanny bridge

Cormorants, Long Nanny

Newton Pool was busy with wildfowl. Teal had to be counted twice as the initial count was foiled when a Sparrowhawk landed in Willows on the edge of the pond flushing previously unseen birds into view, 220 Teal were counted. Other birds included 6 nice Gadwall, 32 Mallard, 10 Wigeon, 7 Tufted Duck and a single Goldeneye. The flooded fields to the north of Newton Pool hosted a noisy flock of Grey Lag Geese.

Before heading back to the car for a cup of hot tea we paused at Low Newton Haven to watch a flock of Sanderling and a couple of Stonechats feeding on the high tide line.