Piltanton Burn estuary – 3.xii.24

 It was my first visit to this site for quite a while and well worth braving the bitterly cold breeze. The best bird appeared before I even reached the beach, perched on a fence-post along the entrance track. A female-type Merlin. I just had time to make out the brown upperparts and faint moustache before it took off, revealing a boldly barred tail and relatively short narrow wings. It shot low across the field causing panic among the grazing curlew and wigeon, even though they are much larger than the little falcon’s usual songbird prey. Maybe the raptor profile triggers an instinctive response regardless of size.

The tide was not long past full, which explains the number of water-birds utilizing the adjacent pasture when I arrived. As water levels sank, waders began dropping in to feed on freshly exposed mud. Redshank were the most numerous with plenty of Curlew and Oystercatcher too. There were also a few Bar-tailed Godwits and some Dunlin. To the east where the shore is stonier, a small flock of Turnstone flying low over the water showed their distinctive stripy backs. A single Grey Plover on the seaward edge of the flats and a handful of Lapwing roosting on the saltmarsh completed the wader tally.

Wigeon and Shelduck were the most populous types of duck, then Mallard. I spotted just 3 Teal and a single female Shoveler but there may well have been more lurking out of sight in saltmarsh creeks. Out in the main channel, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers sported their punk hairstyles and they were joined by a male Goldeneye, looking very smart with his white loral patch on a dark green head. Also actively fishing were a couple of Cormorants and a Great Crested Grebe. Gulls were mainly Common and Black-headed with a few Herring, but no Black-backs. Most notable of the passerines were a pair of Stonechats and a small flock of Greenfinch. As I departed, the usual noisy gang of starlings and corvids were scattered about the rough pasture like an old-fashioned printer’s jumble of type.

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