The Linc's Coast...

After hearing the 2 Great-northern Diver where still present at Covenham and also with a bonus of Water Pipit,Dave and myself made an early start heading for the res first.After arriving at Covenham,we got our gear together and made our way up the steps to the reservoir,being greeted at the top with the first bird we saw being a juv. Great-northern Diver feeding at very close range,what a start!After watching this bird,we quickly located the second bird,slightly further away.Both birds were juv's and gave great views,the first time i have seen more than one at a time in Linc's.After watching these monster water birds,we began our walk around this brilliant site,seeing at least 4 Grey Wagtail and a drake Pintail before seeing our next goodie of the day,a superb Water Pipit watched feeding along the concrete bankside,giving excellent views of this very smart species and it gave us both a great chance to study this sometimes difficult bird to get a good view of,we later saw 2 birds together near to the yacht club.We then carried on our walk seeing a large flock of 216 Cormorant and 65 Great-crested Grebe,i then spotted a Peregrine on the bankside,drinking and bathing and being curiously sorrounded by an interested audience of Coot,Tufted Duck and Goldeneye,i think things would have been differant if the Perg had been in the air,no doubt scattering  the duck and Coot in all directions.Our next decent bird was a single first winter male Scaup,watched feeding and loafing with a mixed flock of Tufties and Goldeneye,giving great views and a certain surprise shortly after,i heard a familiar call and a bunting flew in and landed on the bankside nearby,it was what i had suspected,a smart Snow Bunting and a  juv. male,we then watched it feeding on the bankside ,with the bird  showing very well,so a very productive 3 hours.We then made our way to Saltfleet and walked from the haven up to Howdens Pullover seeing several good birds,but no surprises, apart from a small flock of Eider,which contained 5 drakes and 4 hen birds making their way north along the tide edge.Other expected sightings,but nice to see nonetheless where the following,1 Grey Wagtail,1 Merlin,75 Twite,190 Linnet,20 Snow Bunting,3 Kingfisher and a super juv. male Peregrine watched attacking a flock of Redshank,the shanks taking evasive action as the Perg made it's attack,scattering in all directions,a couple diving into a small flash on the beach,fantastic stuff!!.A couple of notable mammal sightings during the day,included a Stoat watched chasing a Rabbit at Covenham for a good five minutes,a brilliant piece of action,the rabbit finally getting away and several Grey Seals with Pups out from Howdens Pullover.An excellent day's birding.