Back to Botany Bay

Back to Botany Bay (Margate) for the first time in a while - this was where I spent my lunch breaks in the mid-2000s, learning quickly from the Planet Thanet forum.

Fortunately it was full high tide, so Fayreness beach was protected from dog-walkers and other disturbance, giving the waders a chance to rest in peace.

The roost held 260 Sanderlings, 150 Oystercatchers, 57 Ringed Plovers, 20 Curlews, one Purple Sandpiper and an uncountable number of restless Turnstones.

This is a similar count to that reported on the blog back in 2008: https://kingsdownkent.blogspot.com/2008/10/sanderlings-and-other-favourites.html

Love the way the Ringed Plovers hunker down in footprints to avoid the wind.

These Turnstones were some of the few that were not scuttling around, while the other species were taking their ease.

And just one Purple Sandpiper - good to see.

Tucked away under the cliff was a solitary Cherry Plum bush, anticipating spring like its relatives planted along the road verges. You can tell it's a Cherry Plum by its early flowering, and by the folded back sepals.

More frequent across the sand dunes was Sea Spurge, and there'll be a host of other interesting psammophiles ready to appear in the warmer weather.  I must return for a swim later in the year.