The last visit of a long, entertaining, sharply contrasting survey season on the Killingholme stretch of the Humber's south bank last week. It's been the second full 'winter' (early Oct to late March) of our studies there, and species diversity and abundance is different on each visit, reflecting the time of year (and the point of each species' migration seasons), the state of the tide, weather conditions and other factors; but there is always something to enjoy, without fail.
This visit was all about the Avocets, which put on beautifully balletic performances over the Humber, and settled in close to one of my vantage points - allowing lots of time to appreciate their unique feeding techniques on the virgin mud, as pictured. I also noticed a few colour-ringed birds, for which I await details. It was also great to see my first Sand Martins of the spring, battling impressively upriver on strong winds.
