First birding: Mokbaai

Mokbaai's landscape

After settling in my new home and filling the fridge, I use this afternoon to make a quick walk around the nearest birding spot: the bay of Mokbaai.

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Thousands of waders were feeding here, mainly oystercatchers (Scholekster, Haematopus ostralegus), bar-tailed godwits (Rosse Grutto, Limosa lapponica), eurasian golden plovers (Goudpleiver, Pluvialis apricaria) and curlews (Wulp, Numenius arquata). Also spoonbills (Lepelaar, Platalea leucorodia), mallards (Wilde eend, Anas platyrhynchos), tufted ducks (Kuifeend, Aythya fuligula), greylag geese, common eiders (in eclipse plumage :( ) (eider, Somateria mollisima), sandwich (Grote stern, Sterna sandvicensis) and comic terns (Visdief/Noordse Stern, Sterna hirundo/paradisaea) or ringed plovers (Bontbekplevier, Charadrius hiaticula) were easy to see. Red knots (Kanoet, Calidris canutus), dunlins (Bonte Strandloper, Calidris alpina), greenshanks (Groenpootruiter, Tringa nebularia), common shelducks (Bergeend, Tadorna tadorna), and eurasian wigeons (Smient, Anas penelope) were in less numbers. 

 Oystercatcher, Scolekster.

In contrast the shore wasn't as lively as the bay. Only a set of ten migrating 1st winters of northern weathears (Tapuit, Oenanthe oenanthe), a meadow pipit (Graspieper, Anthus pratensis) and some juveniles of white wagtails (Witte Kwikstaart, Motacilla alba alba).

 Mokbaai eastern shore

Northern weathear, Tapuit. 1st winter.