Canvey Point- Essex

Top to bottom: a) Juvenile Mediterranean Gull with Sandwich Tern, Common Tern and Dunlin, b) adult Knot with Dunlin and Common Tern, c) Dunlin (race presumably schinzii), d) adult Curlew in active wing moult, e) Oystercatchers.

Plenty of birds staging now in the Canvey/Teweks/Two Tree complex and with a 6.0 tide the whole lot were up in the air- hundreds of waders, gulls and terns including 150+ Oystercatchers, 60+ Curlews, 30+ Whimbrels, 120+ Black-tailed Godwits, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Knot, 1 Sanderling, 150+ Dunlins, 50+ Ringed Plovers, 40+ Avocets, 24 Grey Plovers, 1 Golden Plover, 45+ Turnstones, 1 Common Sandpiper, 80+ Redshanks, 2 Greenshanks, 4 Mediterranean Gulls, 500+ Black-headed Gulls, 10 Sandwich Terns 25+ Common Terns and 21 Little Terns. Also 2 Yellow Wagtails in saltings and one Swallow over.

Curlews were in active wing moult, in contrast to the Whimbrels which were showing no signs of moult. Also intersting variation within the Dunlins- only the odd adults were moulting, also a few juveniles now. Not so many Ringed Plover which were outnumbered by Dunlin.
Previous early autumn pics from Canvey:
http://peteralfreybirdingnotebook.blogspot.com/2008/08/weekend-in-essex.html

Bit more on Canvey Dunlins etc here. Note how the birds have worn since they were here in the spring:

http://peteralfreybirdingnotebook.blogspot.com/2009/05/essex-160509.html