Dip, what dip?

I guess that you can't dip (miss a bird) if you don't know it's there,! When I visited the Restharrow Scrape hide today I was told the the Pectoral Sandpiper had gone, which was a surprise because I didn't know there has been one there this morning.

There was a rather nice Little Ringed Plover on the nearest island to the hide. It is the first I've seen there this year, but unfortunately it is just passing, perhaps already on it's migration south.

I'm told that a pair did breed not too far away, but sadly there was no sign of any around the Scrape during the breeding season. They prefer to nest on un-vegetated shingle or gravel and the island is now overgrown and not attractive to them. In France I have seen them breeding on shingle islands in fast flowing rivers, but our rivers are normally quite different, slow moving on muddy bottoms.

This Black-headed Gull dropped by and it is the first of this years crop that I've seen out and about. Although it isn't as neat looking as the adult bird, the juvenile plumage is quite striking and quite instructive.

While some birds are already on the move south many House Martins will be beginning their second broods.

The mud at the scrape seems to be attractive to them and many drop in for a beakful of mud, either to make a new nest or to do some running repairs on the existing one. This birds come in from the Sandwich Bay estate, so I suppose they have certain standards to maintain.