Friday, Saturday 4th, 5th January

An interesting couple of days! Friday was so misty, and the cloud so low that it was difficult to see over to the quarries from the Peregrine Watch, so not much to report there. However at Sea Walls I saw the lanky form of a Curlew picking around on the mud, there were several Redshank and a number of Black Headed Gulls and Mallard, all making the most of the mud. On Saturday I passed the Grey Wagtail at the beginning of Saville Road, he was unphased by a jogger, or by me turning my bike for a closer look. Cute! The sunshine at Sea Walls brought the Redshank legs to life, several were feeding on the mud. They move their head back and forth as they travel. One bird was moving up and down on the mud, alternately climbing the mud bank and then returning to the water edge. From the Peregrine Watch, on the other side of the river, two Redshank were probing the mud, but keeping away from the water edge. It would be interesting to know exactly what these birds find in the mud?
There was a very brief glimpse of a female Peregrine as she came to the cliff face beneath the Watch, at the time the grass behind me was crowded with Jackdaws, picking up some scraps left for them. The Jackdaws are largely paired up, they are also quite tame, especially if one keeps still! On the river, Mallard, Black Headed, Greater and Lesser Black Backed and Common Gulls, and a Heron flapped off downstream.