Black Tailed Godwit

It started fine but quickly clouded over.

We went to Gibraltar Point Nature Reserve, south of Skegness, stopping at Dave's Windsor Cafe in Ingoldmells for a spot of breakfast. Basil is allowed in there providing he sits under the table. He seems to have got used to sitting under tables and persists in choosing that location.

We chose the hide overlooking Tennyson's Sands conveniently close to the second car park. My knee doesn't like to walk far these days.

At first, we could see only ducks and a cormorant with its head under its wing. But then we spotted waders such as this Black Tailed Godwit, and lapwings. Len identified an avocet prodding in the shallows on the far side.

Another photographer came in with a very meaningful lens. A Canon 300 mm with a 2x extender. It gives him excellent photos but he's beginning to find it too heavy.  He showed us some of the photos he's going to show at a presentation on wildlife of Majorca shortly. Terrific photos.

He told us how he'd been looking for stone curlews in England for ages without luck. In Majorca, his friend pointed out the window and there was a stone curlew right beneath. He had to change his lens to one with a shorter focal length.

He came from Mansfield and had just popped into the hide for a spot of birdwatching while his wife went shopping in Skegness. He confirmed the identity of several species for us and showed us his Svarovski scope. I was enamoured. It has amazing magnification and clarity. I think I'll buy one for Len for Christmas so that he can indulge in birdwatching while I try to take photos. 

It's incredibly relaxing at Gibraltar Point. Naturally we went to the rebuilt visitor centre where glass panels protect those sitting on the terrace from the wind while enjoying the space and the view. They even had gluten free Victoria sponge. Yum.

The old centre is still there. It can't be knocked down, despite the danger of floods, because it's a Grade II listed building, a former coastguard station. The wardens use it as an education centre.