After the storms

A much more pleasant feel to this morning and at last some time to get out on the patch.  A dawn tramp across Down and Horse-eye from the New bridge road end was followed by a walk along the beach at Cooden and Norman's Bay which threw up a conundrum on the strand line...  Good to see Rufus down by Looker's cottage watching the harriers.  Numbers as follow:
Merlin - 1 - jill hunting over Down
Marsh Harrier - 2 - cream cap hunting over Down and imm male hunting over Mappins
Hen Harrier - 2 - both ringtails hunting over Horse-eye one of which watched preening for a while from White Dyke
Buzzard - 3 - 1 Downash, 1 Down, 1 Horse-eye
Peregrine - 2 - the resident pair perched on Down level bridge
Water Rail - 2 - 1 Down, 1 Horse-eye
Stock Dove - 2 - At nesting site
Teal - 4 - 2m 2f on Down
Wigeon - 4 - 2m 2f on Horse-eye
Shelduck - 1 - male on Down
Stonechat - 2 - m & f on Down
Fieldfare - 6 - Down
Redwing - 5 - Down
Common Gull - 14 on flood past Looker's cottage
At the beach little of note on the bird front apart from a flock of 30+ Turnstone.  Walking the strand line turned up a Common Starfish and an as yet unidentified invertebrate which looks like it is probably an anemone spp...