NESS POINT WADERS

   This afternoon with the fine weather and a high tide due I paid a visit to Ness Point at Lowestoft. The reason the tide was important was because it drives the waders up onto the rocks where they remain until the tide goes down when they disperse again which gives us a chance to get very close views of birds that we only usually see at distance.
   First up and most numerous were the Turnstones which at this time of year would be birds that nested in northern Europe and are on their way to Africa. Turnstones don't nest in the British Isles but during the autumn and winter we have a population that stay here having nested in Greenland and north-east Canada. The two pictures below show the bird firstly in summer plumage and then one in winter plumage showing that different birds in a flock can be at different stages of moult.

   The next bird was a Knot which was also in summer plumage but looking tatty and about to moult. This is another bird that doesn't breed here but instead arrives from Arctic Canada where it has to breed very quickly in the short arctic summer. They migrate almost non stop and usually only stop for a brief rest in Iceland before making their way here and congregating in flocks of 10,000 or more where they make magnificent displays at high tide in the winter around the Wash.

   The last wader today was the Dunlin which can actually breed here as well as Northern Europe, Russia and Greenland. They breed in upland areas and then make their way down to the coast to spend winter where they too can congregate in large flocks at their preferred feeding sites. The bird pictured below is also still in summer plumage but not for much longer.