As I had longer today I decided to try a walk through from
Shuart to Reculver. There was a breezy southerly wind with sunshine and cloud. Shuart seemed quite quiet on the whole and most things
seemed to be in a very skulky mode and even the butterflies decided they were
not going to stop long enough for a photo. I had a look around the top of the
bridleway and caught up with a Painted Lady butterfly there but otherwise it
was very quiet.
I carried on down the main path and had most of the usual
little jobs. A small flock of 7 Long-tailed Tits chattered away as they made
their way through the trees. A Cetti’s called loudly but though I caught
glimpses of it, it was never long enough to grab a photo and it remained deep
in the bush. At the bottom of the track a Marsh Harrier gave nice, if distant
views, as it hunted.
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| Marsh Harrier |
Near the railway crossing a family of Mute Swan gave a nice
fly past and a passing Kestrel allowed a grab shot.
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| Mute Swans |
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| Kestrel |
I had been going to walk along the embankment but the need
to be able to sit down won out and I headed for the sea wall. Small groups of
Chaffinch were going west and I had 28 in total, together with 1 Brambling and
2 Siskin. A Carrion Crow with whitish flight feathers was being chased by
another Crow. Unfortunately it never came close enough for a decent photo. A Common Darter was much more obliging and posed very nicely.
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| Common Darter |
The walk back along the sea wall was extemely windy and I
had trouble keeping my balance and major trouble keeping the camera steady. But
though the wind was strong, it was not at all cold. I sat and had some lunch
and a Cormorant on one of the poles gave very nice views.
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| Cormorant |
I carried on towards Reculver and enjoyed watching a Meadow
Pipit on the beach.
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| Meadow Pipit |
A little further on I came across 3
Wheatear and one was particularly obliging for photos. I love watching them.
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| Wheatear |
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| Wheatear |
I had a surprise when I was checking out to sea as there was
a Great-crested Grebe offshore. During my visit I saw 4 Great-crested Grebe and also 1
summer plumage Red-throated Diver. There were also 2 Common Seal offshore.
Just after Coldharbour, while I was sitting having a rest,
the Kingfisher shot past me and stopped on a groyne briefly before carrying on.
The Lichen on some rocks was catching the sun and I took a quick shot before moving on. I
wonder how long it has taken it to grow to that size and that was one of the
smaller patches.
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| Lichen |
As I continued I had a Snow Bunting fly west down the beach.
It did appear to go down much further up but I could not manage to relocate it. A
Pheasant was sheltering out of the wind at the edge of one of the oyster farm
lagoons. A Kestrel shot through the oyster farm and put up a cloud of
Linnet. I grabbed a photo as it allows a more accurate count. I was pleased
when I checked the photo that my estimate was actually very close to how many
there were. The Kestrel paused and rested on one of the trees before going back
to hunting.
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| Kestrel |
I finished off the visit with views of a Little Egret at the
foot of the towers and 1 of 2 Robins that were chasing each other on the rocks.
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| Little Egret |
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| Robin |
Birds seen this visit include: 7 Wren, 4 Magpie,
Woodpigeons, Blue Tits, Great Tits, 7 Long-tailed Tit, 6 Blackbird, Starlings, House
Sparrows, 33 Chaffinch which includes 28 in small groups west, 22 Meadow Pipit,
8 Chiffchaff, 1 Cetti’s Warbler, 1 male Blackcap, 1 Jay, 1 Great
Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Common Buzzard, 8 Skylark, 2 Greenfinch, 1
Red-legged Partridge, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Redwing, 3 Lapwing, 3 Mute Swan,
5 Reed Bunting, 2 Corn Bunting, 2 Siskin west, 1 Brambling west, 220
Linnet, 7 Goldfinch, 4 Great-crested Grebe on the sea, 1 Red-throated
Diver summer plummage on the sea, 3 Wheatear, 1 Snow Bunting, 1 Grey Plover,
111 Oystercatcher, 11 Redshank, 15 Turnstone, 3 Ringed Plover, 52 Mallard,
1 Kingfisher, 6 Little Egret, 4 Grey Heron and 4 Kestrel, 1 Pheasant. I also
saw a Painted Lady butterfly and 2 Red Admiral, while 2 Common Seal were
offshore. Common Darter and Migrant Hawkers were on the wing.
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