MINNIS BAY IN THE GLOOM

With the end of the year rapidly approaching trying to catch-up with one or two missed species seemed the order of the day.  With Purple Sandpiper a difficult patch species two and a half hours were allocated to Minnis Bay in the hope of finding one at high tide.  Heathy arrived slightly after me and we strolled along the front, unsuccessfully.  However, we did find 3 SNOW BUNTINGS in the gathering gloom who were very accommodating.  We recorded c80 Brent Geese during the morning along with 13 Lapwing, c20 Turnstone, 6 Grey Plover, 2 Curlew, c50 Oystercatcher, 4 Red Throated Diver, 1 distant Common Scoter and c40 Sanderling.  Despite large numbers of Great-Crested Grebe approxiamtely 80 birds, we failed to find any more smaller, rarer ones.  About ten o'clock we decided to head for home, with increasing numbers of dog-walkers arriving with the dogs on the whole being more responsible than their owners.  Fortunately, most of these owners rarely make it beyond Cold Harbour.