Not a bad job really.

A tough day at work today. The marsh was heaving with Lapwing nests. In fact there were so many that many of my usual scanning points were unsuitable as they were too close to some of the nests. Can you see this one sitting just to the right of the dock?

As well as lapwings, I also bumped a couple of female Shoveler off their eggs. I only discovered these as I was marking nests and it made me wonder if they adopt the same strategy as Redshank. In a couple of weeks time, when I will be out checking Lapwing clutch sizes, invariably as I approach a nest, a redshank will burst from cover within ten metres or so. Lapwings make for excellent early-warning systems and missile defence.

 

A handsome male Lapwing.

 

 

A male Shoveler. No doubt a female is on eggs nearby.

 

 

I came off the marsh at lunch and spent an hour down at Mistley Walls. There were 110 winter-plumaged Bar-tailed Godwits coming up on the rising tide. There was a similar number of Knot in amongst them, with one or two of them showing their true 'Red' name. The 30-odd Black-tailed Godwit were all in summer-plumage.

 

As I was stood watching, a passer-by told me that there were three Mandarins at Mistley Quay. I thought this was a little odd, but it turned out he was right!