Purple Haze

I have always looked for an excuse to use a Hendrix track as a blog title as I am huge fan of the late great genius guitar player and this morning it sort of fitted. It was very hazy at first this morning, well more like murky, and one of the birds I had this morning had a 'Purple' in its name!

I was a bit in shock that it was actually fit to go birding this morning and in my excitement to get out got up too early and spent a while looking into the darkness from the observation tower. Just as it slowly came light Ian joined me and we spent the first half hour complaining of the poor visibility, again, and dodging rain showers. Eventually it came light and the visibility improved and it was possible to see across the bay.

It didn't exactly get going this morning but there were one or two bits and pieces on the move at sea and these included seven Red-breasted Mergansers, 71 Common Scoters, a Shag, 70 Teal, eight Pintails and six Wigeons.

It was just about bang on high tide when I got there and there were a number of waders roosting on the shore including 329 Sanderlings, a Purple Sandpiper and twenty Ringed Plovers.

I'm usually moaning about dog walkers flushing the high tide wader roost but this morning we incredulously watched a birder do it. I am guessing he was desperately trying to year list Purple Sand and thought the way to do it was to flush all the waders. Instead of walking along the promenade he walked all the way along the shingle ridge until he came to the roosting Sanderlings. He spent some time looking at them and then just walked towards them flushing them. And he did this two or three times before walking back to the car park perhaps after collecting his target bird! This type of behaviour is becoming more and more prevalent in birding today, where so called birders seem to have no field craft and no consideration of the bird's welfare!

The Sanderlings afterwards and before the desperate birder flushed them 

again!

It's looking a bit unsettled to say the least this week so it will be a case of birding as and when!