After a little time away from Marshside, it was extremely pleasant to return to Sandgrounder’s and see the place looking like the old Marshside again, with small groups of Avocet, godwit, Redshank and assorted waterfowl approaching the hide quite closely.

At Junction Pool a drake Scaup was sleeping with the Pochards whilst Tufted Ducks and Little Grebes dived nearby and a few Cormorants tried to warm themselves in the feeble sun.

Today’s stars, though, were the Gulls seen from Nel’s Hide. A single Mediterranean Gull was with the Black Headed gulls at the back of the water, mostly preening but also posing a little bit. That was a life tick for me although there have been plenty around recently. Also of interest were three lesser black backed gulls, one of which had much more pronounced red rings around the eyes than the other two, or indeed than any of the pictures I can find via Google. I wonder what that means? Apart from the demonic visage imparted by the eyes, it didn’t look different in any way I noticed from the other LBBs in attendance. Hmmm.

Several flocks of Golden Plovers, Snipe and a single Dunlin made up the numbers; it was a nice little visit.