Charleton Marsh / Bay (14:15-16:30, high tide ).
Only 2 Chiffchaffs seen in the sewage works with the usual Grey Wagtail but also a Coal Tit, 3 or 4 Goldcrests and a noticeable increase in Blackbird numbers.
Out in the bay were 2 Shoveler, 7 Tufted Ducks, 9 Goldeneye, 26 Red-breasted Mergansers and the wintering Whimbrel. A small male Peregrine did a rapier lap of the marsh and bay catching nothing.
On the marsh were c 200 Teal, 58 Wigeon, Pintail, Shoveler and 40+ Snipe, the latter from where they were obviously recent cold weather arrivals. The wildfowl emptied out of the marsh as it started getting late, no obvious disturbance but they may have been psycich. All manic twitchers, over-eager photographers, space invaders and crooked politicians welcomed here in preference to the five shooters who turned up, marched straight to the scrapes to put the dogs around the reed fringes, maybe for snipe. I am not anti-shooting but i thought this was out of order given the present weather.
