Saturday 20 March 2010

12:00 Light Rain 9 o C. Wind N 8mph. Humidity 96%. Pressure 1000 mB. Visibility very poor. High tide today 13:40, 8.85m

What a difference a day makes. Miserable, grey, drizzle all morning, still feeling mild. Far more cormorants in the dock today, perhaps a sign of storms elsewhere. Fewer gulls though.

Albert Edward Dock
Blackheaded gull x 50
Lesser black backed gull x 10
Common gull x 5
Mallard duck x 10
Cormorant x 12
Coot x 4
Mute swan x 2

The garden pond is currently full of croaking frogs, the singing is so loud the double glazing hardly seems to muffle it. It's a regular Frog Chorus when we go outside.

There was a moorhen in the shrubbery this morning, eyeing the garden pond interestedly. I wonder if it's the one I saw in the dock basin earlier this week.

Tuesday 17 November 2009

In the dock basin

14:30 Cloud, showery 10 o C. Wind SW 15mph. Humidity 77%. Pressure 1003mB. Visibility poor. High tide today11:10, 9.25m

Dock gates closed

Feeling much colder, water quite choppy.

25 black-headed gulls on the water in the dock basin
Another 10 black-headed gulls sat on the wall
1 cormorant on the boom

Thursday 3 September 2009

Albert Edward dock

14:30 Cloud, heavy showers 12 o C. Wind W 20mph. Humidity 87%. Pressure 995mB. Visibility poor. High tide today 23:46, 8.97m.

What a wild and windy day, very choppy water in the dock. The cormorants are having problems getting airborne.








I haven't seen the terns for a few days so decided to take a look at the hest. Quite a bit of the nesting material is gone and no sign of any terns. They usually fledge at around 4 weeks, so am hoping they have simply moved on.



Mute swan x 2
Cormorant x 10
Coot x 5
Mallard x 20
Black-headed gull x 50
Herring gull x 5
Lesser black-backed gull x 5

Sunday 30 August 2009

Dock basin and lock

13:00 White cloud, 16 o C. Wind S 10mph. Humidity 81%. Pressure 1014mB. Visibility moderate. High tide today 20:44, 7.26m.

Lock gates closed.

Very quiet down here today, just one or two walkers & nobody at work in the boatyard. It has been dull all morning, no rain so far.

I watched a cormorant fishing in the lock for 10-15 minutes. I love watching these birds, they are so quick and fluid of movement when they're fishing.



Coot x 2
Mallard x 5
Cormorant x 3
Black-headed gull x 40
Swallow x 2

Thursday 27 August 2009

14:30 Cloud, 19 o C. Wind SW 10mph. Humidity 60%. Pressure 1010mB. Visibility very good. High tide today 16:48, 7.82m.

Lock gates closed.

Very quiet around the dock today, no trains & the showery weather seems to have kept the walkers away.


In and around the dock basin today:
Coot x 1
Mallard x 1
Cormorant x 3
Black-headed gull x 20