Monday 25th August

After a morning of heavy rain, on the Garnock Estuary at Bogside 13 Knot were feeding, along with 63 Dunlin, and a Sanderling (as well as the usual Ringed Plover, Turnstone, Redshank etc.). The first 12 Golden Plover I’ve seen on the estuary this autumn were roosting nearby. A Black-tailed Godwit was on the far shore. A Wheatear was on the debris on the beach before I flushed it up onto one of the old concrete fence posts. Duck numbers have significantly increased on the upper estuary over the weekend, with 93 Mallard, 13 Wigeon, and 5 Teal present. A Common Sandpiper, a Ruff, and a Kingfisher were also on the upper estuary. c.250 Lapwing were in the cattle field at Garnock East; a further 100 flew over the railway towards the Garnock Floods.