Hornsea Mere in a 40 mph wind

The wind at the Mere this afternoon was very strong indeed and made walking hard work. I was after Hobby but didn't hold out too much hope with the windy conditions.

An hour or so in the hide at the East end was largely unfruitful apart from views of the resident Marsh Harriers and hundreds of Sand Martins that had been pushed down by the wind. A Swift made a brief appearance as did a single Common Tern (90% it was Common, not Arctic).

I walked back home via the fields to check for Hobby but no luck, however, the summer plumage Red-necked Grebe was there, showing well and quite close in to the south shore. I never realised they have weird feet a la Coot and Moorhen!

Red-necked Grebe with Sand Martin fly past

There must have been upwards of 500 Sand Martins on the Mere with a scattering of Swallows and House Martins mixed in.

As I neared the last field I saw a Kestrel hovering in the wind. It was doing its best to remain stationary but it looked to be fighting a loosing battle and as I closed in it landed on the shore of the Mere and had a drink then perched on a tree stump to regain some strength. It was probably knackered as it was very accomodating and didn't fly off as I fired off a few photos.