Cleethorpes sightings

300+ knot feeding on central beach at 9.45am today  (ebbing tide) with 100+ common terns (resting) nearby.. 

On outer beach, between 5pm-6pm this evening, there were 100+ of both common terns and curlews. There were also 200+ oystercatchers. Also three sanderling and one dunlin but I didn't see any knot.

I honestly don't know Jim. I saw John's post regarding Theddlethorpe, and can understand the large numbers he is lucky enough to see. Its further out of the river, and is more secluded and quieter. In all the years I have walked the beach here, I have never seen so many before. Maybe it has something to do with the cleanliness and loss of pollution in the river. Food must be easily obtainable, we do see more porpoises now and its not uncommon to see sea creatures like octopus and cuttlefish in the rock pools further up beyond the saltmarsh. I am trying to look at it all in a positive way.
Little terns would be great! I was never fortunate enough to see the Caspian recently, but would settle for the Little to add to the latest list.

Terrific! Where do they all come from?  Are they birds that have bred further north on the British coastline or have they flown west from Belgium, the Netherlands etc? Or a bit of both?

Within the next few days, here's hoping for a repeat of last year when good numbers of migrating little terns were also passing through. However, in my experience, they tend not to land on the beach.  

IMO, the significance of Cleethorpes and the mouth of the Humber estuary to migrating terns is somewhat overlooked  in Lincolnshire's ornithological literature.   


 

Another bumper tern fest at Cleethorpes this morning. Around 40 Sandwich terns, and this time around 50 Commons too. I don't think I have ever seen so many at Cleethorpes before.

To be honest Jim, it was pure luck. I pulled up at the Leisure centre and was getting the bins ready, when I could hear them screeching. I knew from your post that they should be in the area so I was quite chuffed to see a few along the shoreline of the retreating tide. I always have a little point and click camera, and luckily I had just turned it on when the tractor beach cleaner started coming down the beach and scattering them all. As they came over toward me I pointed and clicked away. Those two pics are the best of about 20