WeBS count and Mandarin

Due to Sunday commitments I did the WeBS count a day early and was joined by Laurie. We started by viewing Passage House from the bottom of Hackney Lane where a couple of noisy Sandwich Terns were flying about, 46 Mute Swans was a good count and the first returning Kingfisher was present. We next moved to Flow Point where a mixed group of waders comprised 80 Curlew, 18 Oystercatchers, two Dunlin and singles of Greenshank and Whimbrel. Four more Sandwich Terns were mixed in with the roosting Black-headed Gulls, although we failed to find any Med Gulls. Other totals from around the estuary included 36 Little Egrets, 22 Canada Geese, 9 Cormorants, 7 Shelducks, 10 Mallards and five Common Sandpipers.

We parted company at Passage House, with Laurie returning home via the new footbridge over the Teign where he found this Mandarin: