Yesterday was Colin and Charlotte’s second day out with NEWT this week and this time we were heading north to Lindisfarne…

A quick look at Monk’s House Pool on the way up the coast revealed the continued presence of the Long-tailed Duck that we saw with Sue earlier this month and then we headed to the causeway. It was still impassable but that was intentional because it put us in position to watch how quickly the birds exploit the newly revealed food supply as the tide falls. Pale-bellied Brent Geese, Shelduck, Wigeon, Red-breasted Merganser, Eider, Curlew, Turnstone, Redshank, Knot, Dunlin, Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Bar-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover and Little Egret were all feeding or flying past us and a Merlin flew over the causeway as we drove towards the island. The eerie moaning of Grey Seals carried on a southerly breeze and we set off to walk around the main body of the island. A Sparrowhawk flew low through the dunes, a male Stonechat was in rank pathside vegetation and Roe Deer were watching us warily from the dune tops before bounding away and, as the light faded, Starlings began streaming across the saltmarsh and dunes towards their nighttime roost.