Fenham Flats 13th October

Today was my monthly WeBS  at Fenham Flats, the weather wasn't too promising, damp and breezy, but the birds didn't seem to mind. The Wigeon numbers have really started to build up and todays count was 2570, the sight of so many birds taking off at once is awesome and the sound they make made me think of a friend who was born on Holy Island and told me that Islanders called them "Hugh's" as that is the sound they make, their call is a repetitive "Hugh,Hugh,Hugh". Geese numbers were also impressive today, with totals of 723 Pale Bellied Brents and 400 Barnacle Geese. It was also nice to see 3 Little Egrets feeding on the salt marsh and also all the small wadres taking to the air when a single Merlin flashed across the Flats. On the way back I came upon a Seal pup with an injury to it's mouth, it was also at least 500 metres from the colony, but it did look very well fed and obviously had hauled up at high tide, gone to sleep and been left behind. Fortunately my last view of it was of a Labrador sized slug flopping it's way along the beach in the direction of it's friends.