Seymour Birdies Diary: A Couple of Hours on the Beach at Walton-on-the-Naze

5th August 2020

Why on earth are you going to a crowded beach at Walton-on-the-Naze during the school holidays and in the midst of the pandemic I hear you cry? Well, our beach was a little different. Our beach was a mile long and we only met three people all day, so lets get started.

The plan was to photograph some of the returning waders and then at high tide get some photos of terns in flight. Initially waders were in short supply with just a couple of Ringed Plovers, presumably breeding residents.

Then as the tide came in a few Sanderling arrived, presumably having been displaced from other areas. Some of them were still showing the remnants of summer plumage.

Over the next half hour numbers continued to build up until the whole flock was about 60-strong.

Hidden in amongst them were a handful of Dunlin,which were obviously not returning in such numbers yet, but still added some variety.

By now the tide was up so time to turn our attentions to the terns. There is a considerable Sandwich Tern colony here, but the biggest surprise was to see a couple of Little Terns fishing along the beach. I wonder where they are breeding?

But the constant stream of Sandwich Terns was the order of the day. The birds were flying north up the coast and then cutting inland to the colony, so choosing the right position on the beach was crucial.