I had a walk along the sea wall this afternoon. It was sunny with a light wind to begin with. Later on it became very misty and cool. There was a far bit of activity around the rocks by the car park. A Pied Wagtail posed very nicely while a Robin was surprisingly shy and definitely did not want its photo taken.
 |
| Pied Wagtail |
A Peacock butterfly was sunning itself on one of the rocks.
 |
| Peacock Butterfly |
A Wren was also in the same area and though a little distant it did allow some photos.
 |
| Wren singing |
 |
| Wren |
I was really pleased when a Black Redstart popped up onto the rocks and allowed me to take some photos. At one point it caught a Large Yellow Underwing moth. I was well chuffed to see the Black Redstart. I have been looking out for one, without any luck, for a while now.
 |
| Black Redstart |
 |
| Black Redstart |
I finished off with nice views of a House Sparrow and then carried on past the towers and onto the sea wall. It appeared to be pretty quiet overall and that proved to be the case. There were a few Herring Gulls on the sea but nothing else. 12 Brent Geese flew west. A Meadow Pipit was feeding along the shore line.
 |
| Meadow Pipit |
A Dunnock popped up on some brambles and looked very handsome in sunlight.
 |
| Dunnock |
Some Stonechats were also making the most of the sunshine and insects available. I saw 5 in total during the afternoon. On several occasions they were close to the sea wall but at that point there was always a dog walker or cyclist coming along before I could get a photo. As I neared Coldharbour I could see a bank of mist coming in from the east and within a short space of time it had blocked out the sun and the temperature rapidly dropped. There was a pair of Mute Swan on Coldharbour but apart from them and the odd Meadow Pipit it was deserted.
 |
| Mute Swans |
120 Oystercatcher were roosting on the shore near to Coldharbour and as I headed back I came across a group of Ringed Plover. There was a juvenile with very dull legs and who looked smaller and it gave me pause for a moment. I think though that it is a juvenile Ringed Plover. Still, it was nice watching them. I saw 25 in total during the afternoon.
 |
| Ringed Plovers |
I carried on with visibility getting worse quite rapidly. I had hoped for an owl or harrier but was decidedly out of luck. A Meadow Pipit gave some nice close views.
 |
| Meadow Pipit |
As I walked past the towers a Common Gull was paddling for worms on the grass. It managed to catch quite a large one and swallowed it in one.
 |
| Common Gull |
The best bird of the day was without doubt the Black Redstart, as otherwise it was pretty quiet but it was nice to be out.
Birds I saw included: 1 Robin, 4 Wren, 1 Black Redstart, 4 Mute Swan, Carrion Crows, 5 Redshank, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 15 Goldfinch, 12 Meadow Pipit, 5 Reed Bunting, 121 Oystercatcher, 25 Ringed Plover, 8 Turnstone, 1 Curlew, 5 Stonechat, 4 Dunnock, House Sparrows, Starling, 5 Great Black-backed Gull, 3 Little Egrets, 2 Grey Heron, 3 Chaffinch, 1 Common Gull
No comments:
Post a Comment