A couple of hours with Andy Leat around high tide yesterday afternoon produced a dozen or so bar tailed godwits and 20ish common gulls on Bassetts Ridge viewed from Heanton Court. Also present were a few dunlin, a sanderling, some black headed gulls and two greater black backed gulls. On the water, a great crested grebe and a pair of goosander accompanied by a red breasted merganser. Interesting to see the two side by side for comparison. I notice that neither Collins nor BTO comparison video mention the lack of a hooked bill on the merganser, a pretty useful ID detail I would have thought. Any ideas why that would be? Is it not definitive?
