A Foggy Reculver - 22/02/19

I came down to Reculver late morning, as I had the afternoon free, but unfortunately the weather had turned pretty foggy. If I looked up I could see the blue sky above but at ground level it was pretty misty. It did however seem to be giving some clearer patches and as I was here I thought I would give it a go. There was quite a cold south easterly wind.

Reculver Towers

There were some Brent Geese chattering away nearby on the sea, just beyond the rocks from the car park. Despite being very close the mist meant anything further back could not be seen. I tried for some photos as it is the closest I have seen them. The initial image was pretty misty but I was able to improve it on the computer, as it turned out, so I was pleased that I tried them. Some of them were eating the seaweed from the rocks.

Misty Brent Geese

Brent Geese

Brent Goose

 A pair of Pied Wagtail were feedind up near the towers. They are very attractive birds. The female seemed very adept at finding insects amongst the grass.

Male Pied Wagtail

Female Pied Wagtail

A small group of 7 Meadow Pipits were feeding the other side of the towers and they gave some good views as they perched briefly on the fence, the long hind claw being visible in both photos. This bird looked very cleanly plummaged.

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

I was hopeful when the sun started to break through as I headed along the sea wall. I could not see out to sea very far, but it had improved. Apart from a few Herring Gulls it appeared very quiet. For a little while the light was beautiful and it certainly seemed to cheer some of the birds up as I could hear Wren, Cetti's Warbler, Skylarks, Dunnock, Song Thrush, Blackbird and Robin all singing away. A Ringed Plover looked gorgeous against the blue sea.

Ringed Plover

Unfortunately that was only bit of sunshine I saw as the fog came back down and then for the rest of the visit there were varying degrees of visibility. In the times when the fog thinned I would sit and watch the sea for a little while until it thickened again, at which point I would carry on along the sea wall. Out to sea I had an immature male Shoveler west and a Common Scoter east. 5 Great Black-backed Gulls were offshore and 3 Common Gulls flew east in a small group. 5 Great Crested Grebe were in a group and I saw a total of 9 throughout my visit. Otherwise it remained quiet out there. Groups of Brent Geese flew west and I came along them further on as they had congregated in one of the fields with over 350 present. They were much more spread out on the field today with two groups over much of the field and seemingly totally unconcerned about the gas gun.

Brent Geese

There was a very flighty male White Wagtail along the sea wall. I could see it moving ahead and then lost it from sight when a group of cyclists passed. There was a large group of roosting waders partially hidden by one of the shingle ridges. I could see at least 44 Dunlin, 35 Sanderling, 42 Grey Plover, and 7 Curlew. I am sure there were actually a lot more there than I could see. A couple of the Dunlin were feeding along the top of the ridge and one gave me the opportunity to try for some photos. I think that today is the most Grey Plover I have seen at one time here.

Dunlin

Plumpudding Island had 28 Redshank roosting and/or feeding. A couple of the Redshank flew now and then and, as I was trying burst mode for the first time today to see if it helped me to get some better photos of flying birds, I tried for some photos of the Redshank. I clearly have an awful lot to learn on how best to use it but I was quite pleased with this shot. It gives hope that in time I might be able to manage flying birds better.

Redshank coming in to land

There was a single Turnstone who was not only turning stones but also thowing them up to a couple of feet away or so for the smaller ones. Even with quite large stones he was managing to shift them a fair few inches away. I tried for some photos but it was hard to capture the effect but does make a good memory shot.

Turnstone throwing stones

A single Mallard was also roosting and a Little Egret was on the hunt for food. I liked its reflection in the water.

Little Egret

I carried on a little way, as initially I had arranged with a friend to pick me up from Shuart but, with the fog getting ever thicker, I did not want them to have to risk travelling any distance so I turned back towards Reculver. It was very cold in the wind by this time and I was beginning to really wish I had brought some gloves. I was pleased that I had turned back, as a little while later there was a brief clearer spell and I could see a male and female Shoveler off shore with a group of 8 Mallard.

Shoveler pair and Mallard pair

I tried burst mode on some Turnstone coming past and some of the photos did not come out too badly. I find it very hard to keep the bird in the view finder when using burst mode but hopefully that will get better with practice.

Turnstones

I had a nice surprise when I reached Coldharbour. I could see something tucked into the bank and it turned out to be a male Pochard (106). It seemed to be on its own as I could not see any others tucked in anywhere.

male Pochard

The fog was getting progressively worse, reducing visibility even further.

Looking from Coldharbour 

Luckily enough I was still able to see reasonably close so was able to enjoy some good views of Stonechat on the way back. I tried for some flight photos but I am obviously going to need to get a lot better at those. Still, using burst mode definitely does have potential and makes a lovely memory shot. There was not really enough light for a fast enough shutter speed.

Stonechat taking off

I came across the 2 Snow Buntings and enjoyed watching them for a while.

Ringed Snow Bunting

Snow Bunting

I was pleased when I managed to catch up again with the White Wagtail and I tried for some photos. It was a very smart bird. Once again it was disturbed by a cyclist but I was lucky that I had the chance to see it when I did.

White Wagtail

White Wagtail taking off

I caught a very brief view of a Short-eared Owl. The biggest surprise came when I suddenly saw a Great White Egret fly up in the fog from the oyster farm before rapidly going back down again. Now that I had not expected. I didn't stand a chance of getting a photo but I felt very lucky to have seen it.

I finished off with a nice view of a male Reed Bunting tucked into the reeds.

Reed Bunting

With visibility getting worse by the minute I was pleased to reach the towers. It might not have been the easiest of afternoons for birdwatching but it had turned out to be productive and enjoyable all the same.

Reculver Towers in the fog

Birds seen this visit include: c350 Brent Geese, 4 Pied Wagtail, 4 Blackbird, 2 House Sparrows, 26 Meadow Pipit, 32 Redshank, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 3 Common Gull, 6 Great Black-backed Gull, 4 Robin, 2 Dunnock, Skylarks, 15 Reed Bunting, 2 Pheasant, 2 Magpie, 24 Mallard, 4 Mute Swan, 15 Turnstone, 7 Ringed Plover, 3 Shoveler, 44 Dunlin, 35 Sanderling, 42 Grey Plover, 7 Curlew, 8 Stonechat, 9 Great Crested Grebe, 6 Corn Bunting, 2 Wren, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Grey Partridge calling, 2 Little Egret, 1 Great White Egret, 2 Snow Bunting, 75 Starling, 15 Common Crow, 1 White Wagtail, 1 Common Scoter east.