Very high tide again this morning - Catsford Common nearly completely underwater. Offshore:
Long-tailed Duck 1, probably 1st-winter drake
Common Scoter 5
Brent Goose 15 (couldn't get a fix on the mix of races)
Purple Sandpiper 5 (flew past me heading east - their usual roost spots on the intake structure were underwater)
Pintail 50+
On land just a couple each of Skylark, Meadow Pipit and Stonechat.
The Long-tailed Duck still amongst a flock of c.15 C. Scoter off Hinkley Point on the noon high tide, quite a way off in a very choppy sea. A total of 6 Purple Sandpipers on the water intake tower. As the tide dropped 9 Pale and 4 Dark-bellied Brent Geese flew in to join the 92 Pintail and 61 Wigeon already feeding.
Along the fence between here and Stolford there were four male Stonechats, surprisingly not one female.
Long - tailed Duck still present lunchtime associating with a flock of 8 common scoter. Separate flock of 5 common scoter also. Also, 19 brent geese, 14 pale and 5 dark-bellied. Merlin shot through near Stolford.
Elsewhere, 2 whooper swans still viewable from main car park at Steart Marshes, and chiffchaff in copse north of Kilve car park.
1-Mar-15
45 mins either side of HW.
Didn't go any further from Stolford than the first high seawall at Hinkley Pt and could only find 2 separate drake Common Scoters off-shore, plus a Kittiwake resting on the sea. No sign of the Long-t Duck.