A brisk north westerly promised little in the way of migrants this morning, and so it proved with just a single Chiffchaff and a female Blackbird seemingly the only non residents present, although up to 4 Robins could have been new. A short sea watch was the obvious alternative but this also was not fruitful and a single Arctic Skua and 2 Great Crested Grebes was the sum total of sea birds that were not gulls, distant terns or Cormorants.
This being so, attention wandered to the shore where 49 Bar-tailed Godwits, 145 Sandwich Terns and
4,000 Oystercatchers waited for the incoming tide (above) and while scanning the Oystercatchers a ringed individual was found with a black and white ring on its right leg (right).It is uncertain whether there was a ring on the left leg as it spent most of the time resting on the single right leg. Enquiries as to its origin may be difficult but colour ringed Oystercatchers are not often seen at Hilbre despite the large number present in winter.
(CJ,AW,PSW,SRW,TGW)
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