Up to lunch time.

Had yet another one of those enforced early finish days again today so, though I would have liked to have got out at daybreak I actually didn't make it to Conder Green until 8.30, too lazy or too old......take your pick.

Conder Pool appeared a little void of 'interesting' activity so by way of a change I began to note everything in view, 4 Greylag, 2 Canada Geese, 4 Tufted Duck, and at least 10 Oystercatcher and just as I was about to leave a Little - ringed Plover came into view. There was a worrying sight on here this morning in that a dead Mute Swan was at the back of the pool below the bank. The bird was bloodied which led my suspicions to a Fox, perhaps another alternative may have been human related, something I'd rather not contemplate. I'm sorry to confess I left without alerting anyone to the incident....but who? In the creeks a Common Sandpiper was seen briefly 'buzzing' upstream, also 4 Black - tailed Godwit and a solitary Dunlin.

Surprise of the morning was three birds bobbing on the sea 50 mtrs north of the lighthouse which turned out to be a pale and two dark morph Arctic Skua, I won't be taking bets on when that's likely to occur here again. In the bay by Crook Cottage c.55 Shelduck aren't a regular feature here, a Red - breasted Merganser, a single 'Red' Knot on Plover Scar was interesting, a few 'small' mobile groups of Dunlin and Ringed Plover, a Wheatear, the Little Owl was in its usual area again, 2 Stock Dove were probably the same as 28 April, 3 Skylark heard, 3 Sedge Warbler also heard, and I counted 12 Brown Hare, not as easy to see now the grasses have grown in the fields. There was another unfortunate sight in one of the fields where I saw a Lapwing which initially I thought was feigning injury to distract me from a nest/young but soon realised it too was injured and bloodied, nothing I could do there but I don't ignore this sort of thing easily. A return to Conder Green at the picnic area produced 7 Whimbrel on the marsh at high tide and 2 House Martin.

I was away from the car - parked at Cockersands lighthouse - for almost two hours, had the surfboarders been in full sail when I had arrived two hours earlier as they were on my return, I doubt if there would have been any Arctic Skua's on view then.