Pembroke River & Angle Bay

Helped NT staff do a late WeBs count today - an old stomping ground route not done by me for some years. Most waterfowl numbers were quite low but notable species seen in Pembroke River were:
11 Little Egrets (including 9 feeding with cattle in pasture - but none were cattle egrets I'm afraid!), GC Grebe 1, Greenshank 1, Dunlin c. 200, Grey Plover 1, Knot 1, Jack Snipe 1 and last, but not least, a very fine water pipit (starting to colour-up a bit with a pinkish-flush beginning to show on the otherwise pale underparts) on the shore feeding with dunlin and turnstone nr Brownslate area.

At Angle Bay:
Numerous gulls including about 30 common gulls, at least unringed 2 Med Gulls - including a superb full summer plumage adult on the shore at Kilpaison end. May have been more, but for a walker with 3 dogs that went right through the BHG/CG/HG/MG flock - and then there were none!

6 GCGs off the old lifeboat station, plus 2 gt northern divers very close to shore. 75 turnstone around the bay - as usual majority at the old lifeboat stn end. Of the reduced wigeon flock, no obvious sign of the American wigeon but a few adult male Eurasians were imaculate with their broad green eye streaks, running from behind the eye to the nape - in full breeding plumage now. Three were displaying and probably paired up with females close by.

A resident of Angle, I spoke to inspecting his nest-boxes, noted that great tits had laid 2 eggs in one of his 20 boxes by end of Feb - remarkably early!!