A record count of Lapwing

A few images of the patch during the snow, 5/2/2012

I had just finished stocking up the feeding station at the basin when I checked my phone and saw I had a missed call from Gary, he was downriver at Gallions Reach and it looked like it was shaping up to be a good day there on a rising tide; I weighed up the options and decided to join him, intending to return to the patch to coincide with high tide; what followed was one of the most incredible birding sessions I have ever experienced in the capital. I expected a few more birds to be about because of the snow but the number and variety of species exceeded even my glass half full expectations. As I approached the river a flock of 20 Lapwing passed over moving north-east, this was the first of eight flocks totalling nearly 300 birds, all moving inland. Other large plovers were also on the move, a flock of four Golden Plover moved north followed by 45 moving north-west but one of the biggest surprises of the day was the movement of some 60 Grey Plover mostly  moving north-west including flocks of 28 and 20 but at least ten were also roosting in the area, a very good count this far upstream. The undoubted highlight of the day was around a dozen Common Snipe and at least three Jack Snipe indulging in eye-level flypasts as they were pushed off their roosts by the rising tide; both of us agreed we had never seen Jack Snipe this well in flight, often both species together for comparison; other waders included four Dunlin, a single Common Sandpiper and several Redshank. Before I arrived Gary had found a male Pintail, I could not locate it but towards the end of the session I found a female flying upstream; at least 20 Wigeon were noted including flocks of ten and eight and six Gadwall. Shelduck, Common Teal and Tufted Duck along with the ubiquitous Mallard were also present in numbers but no counts were made.On the passerine front three Grey Wagtails were noted along with a single flock of around 60 Redwing and about 50 Linnets  in one group, perched in riverside trees, many of the males singing in their fresh breeding plumage. We missed the high tide roost back at the patch but we added Sparrowhawk and :Lapwing to our yearlists, the latter a flock of about 70 moving downstream at the basin, easily the largest count at the lower Lea, also noted were seven Shelduck, the female Pintail, two Redshank, a Common Sandpiper and a Kingfisher whilst the feeding station had attracted at least ten Chaffinches and three Reed Buntings with at least another six in the same area. With the cold weather set to last for another week at least, next weekend can't come fast enough.