Was up at the northern mud-flats this afternoon (best time at this stage of the season is two hours after scheduled high tide). No accurate count, but I guestimate that there are now 2,500 - 3,000 geese up there, so, with the mild weather, there has been a major influx.
As usual for this time of year, the birds are flighty, and tend to keep out at the distant margins on the dropping tide. The current hot weather doesn't help either, and "heat haze" becomes a major let-out excuse for not being able to read rings!
Anyhow, discovered David Nixon was out ring-reading just round the corner from me, and between us we managed to read quite a few ringed birds.
Peak numbers at Strangford Lough (where the majority of the flyway population stage) are likely to be in the first week or so of October, but previous experience shows that many of these "early" birds will move on before then, so any help you can give with reading ringed birds there now would be very welcome.
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