Sunday 19th September

Warmer this morning, but with a cold wind in my face coming up to Sea Walls.  The white flashes from the wings of a couple of Redshank attracted my attention as they flew from one mud bank to the other;  I found one more on the mud below the cliff. Low tide, but still receding.  A heron was standing in the water, and another, just below the storm drain outlet struggled with an eel.  At first I thought it was a large gull, but the Heron was crouched down trying to pull the eel from the mud.  The struggle went on for five minutes or more, eventually the Heron stretched out to its full height, extended its head and neck, and down went the eel!  At the Peregrine Watch I had a brief view of the gray back of a Peregrine as it disappeared among the trees at the top of the quarry.