Friday 19th and Sun 21st Dec - Elegug Stacks to Carew/Cresswell Rivers

Frid 19th Dec. At least 4,000 guillemots (possibly mainly adult territorial males) all in summer plumage and vocalising loudly on the main stack and other smaller stacks; a single snow bunting at Mt Sion; around 70 curlew and smaller numbers of oycs, ringed plovers and dunlin at Frainslake area; some 200 or more lapwings on the dunes at Broomhill Burrows.

Sun 21st Dec: Wigon numbers on Carew/Cresswell Rivers topped 600, though only 100 or so teal seen. More than 200 shelduck also present; redshank numbers quite high for the location (over 90) and little grebe numbers also around 20 individuals seen. The very tame and very approachable red-necked grebe is still present on Carew Millpond - swam within about 20-30 feet of the mill dam, not even at all bothered by noisy dog-walkers. A flock of at least 16 little egrets in a nearby cattle-grazed field, but no other egret species present.

On Cosheston Pill on 19th 10 black-tailed godwits noted.