I arrived at the basin on a falling tide, it was mid afternoon but the light was almost crepuscular, omnious scudding clouds threatening, but not delivering rain, and a nagging southerly wind, but exceptionally mild for the time of year. The big shock was that I found only eight Common Teal on the basin and absolutely no more throughout the site, this has to be an all-time January low count, even before the silting-up of the basin, birds could usually be found on the creek at low tide, very puzzling. This visit has to be the least productive I have ever made to the patch, the only other notables were a rise in the Tufted Duck flock to 19 and two Chiffchaffs in the copse, both silent and both looking like normal collybita to me.
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