As it was such a stunningly beautiful afternoon, weather wise, I headed down to Reculver after work. Lots of sunshine and light winds meant that, though it was still chilly, it was very pleasant to be out in. On arrival I found the sea wall to be absolutely heaving with people enjoying the sunshine so I headed for the path behind the oyster farm instead. There were the usual couple of Lapwing in the old caravan site and a couple more in the fields behind the oyster farm. I could also hear some Fieldfare calling. A few Mute Swan were at the back but otherwise it seemed pretty quiet.
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| Lapwing |
I waited for a dog walker to come down and then started up the path. I wasn't expecting to find much as I thought things may have been flushed by the dog walker. I had not gone far when I saw a Short-eared Owl coming towards me, flying low alongside the bank. I couldn't believe my luck. The only problem was that the owl was either mainly obscured by vegetation or the camera struggled to focus. But it was the most stunning view and I felt so lucky to have seen it. It suddenly saw me and headed up and over the path.
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| Short-eared Owl head on |
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| Short-eared Owl |
I carried on and hoped that I might catch up with the owl again. A Kingfisher (83) was perched on a post, which was a welcome sight, it has taken me a while to catch up with one since the new year started. It looked stunning in the sunshine but I did not manage to get a shot before it dropped out of sight. A very handsome fox paused briefly as it made its way through the oyster farm but it was too obscured by vegetation to get much of a photo. A Marsh Harrier was having a very rough time from some Carrion Crows in the distance. As I scanned for the owl I could see 3 Reed Bunting and heard a couple of Meadow Pipit call. I could see a Short-eared Owl perched on a distant post, presumably the same one I had seen earlier. I met a wildlife photographer, who had come to try for some Short-eared Owl shots. He gave me his card and I had a look at his website when I got home. He takes stunning photos and they can seen at http://www.gadgetgazphoto.com.
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| Short-eared Owl on post |
On reaching the green bank I made my way down to ground level and could see a Short-eared Owl hunting along the far field edge. I watched it until it disappeared towards the embankment. I hoped that it might decide to come my way and was so pleased when it actually did. They are beautiful birds and to, twice in one day, have some super head on and close views was just incredible. I did not do very well with the photos but I am so pleased to have been able to get them at all. I absolutely love watching owls and this was turning out to be an amazing day.
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| Short-eared Owl fly past |
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| Short-eared Owl fly past |
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| Short-eared Owl fly past |
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| Short-eared Owl fly past |
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| Short-eared Owl fly past |
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| Short-eared Owl fly past |
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| Short-eared Owl fly past |
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| Short-eared Owl fly past |
Well chuffed, I carried on towards the sea wall. I keep hoping to catch up with a Bearded Tit at Reculver but so far no luck. Hopefully one day. I had a flock of 28 Corn Bunting fly over calling away. A flock of Cormorant came in off the sea and I liked the shapes they made in the air as the formation rose and fell.
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| Cormorants |
I heard a Carrion Crow calling and on looking up I could see that it was mobbing a Short-eared Owl. The Crow was extremely persistent even though the owl circled higher and higher. This went on for several minutes before the Crow got bored and flew off. The owl began to rapidly lose height, as it passed high overhead, and came down beyond the field edge.
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| Carrion Crow and Short-eared Owl |
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| Short-eared Owl above |
On reaching the sea wall I could see that the tide was going out so I headed towards Coldharbour in the hopes of catching up with the Hooded Crow. It hadn't been seen for several days but you never know your luck. I did not manage to see any sign of it but I did pick up a good selection of waders and a Curlew flew west.
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| Curlew in flight |
As it was getting late, I did not get as far as Coldharbour but instead turned round and headed back towards Reculver. The water at the Wansum outflow was flowing strongly. It is the first time I have seen it flowing since they did the work here and I hadn't realised how fast it ran.
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| Wansum outflow |
Somebody walked out onto the mussel bed and disturbed all the waders. An Oystercatcher flew in towards me and gave a stunning view of its underwings as it came into land.
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Oystercatcher coming into land |
I carried on along the sea wall and was very pleased to see the 2 Snow Buntings. They are always a joy to watch. The light was very poor by now but I tried for some photos at a high ISO and they have not come out too badly considering. At least they are certainly good enough to provide some nice memory shots.
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| Snow Bunting |
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| Snow Bunting pair |
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| Snow Bunting |
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| Snow Bunting pair |
By the time I reached the green bank again it was dusk. A Grey Heron flew up from the oyster farm and a couple of Mute Swans flew in. The flock of Linnet were in their usual spot and I could not resist trying for a photo, even though the light was so bad.
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| Linnets |
The rest of the walk back was in rapidly fading light. I had hoped to catch up with a Snipe or Jack Snipe but did not see any sign of either. A Song Thrush was using some of the stones on the path to smash a snail shell. I could hear a Grey Partridge calling from behind the oyster farm and watched 2 foxes, spaced apart, making their way though the middle of the oyster farm. The second fox was giving a barking call frequently. The security light was on by the pumping station and illuminating the water.
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| Pumping Station |
I was really pleased that I had come down, despite feeling very rough, as otherwise I would have missed the stonking views of the Short-eared Owl. It had been a thoroughly enjoyable visit.
Birds seen this visit include: Blackbird, House Sparrow, Starling, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, 4 Lapwing, at least 2 Short-eared Owl, 1 Kingfisher, 1 Marsh Harrier, 5 Reed Bunting, 5 Meadow Pipit, Carrion Crow, 5 Grey Plover, 23 Oystercatcher, 2 Dunlin, 15 Redshank, 6 Ringed Plover, 4 Turnstone, 1 Curlew west, 2 Snow Bunting, 2 Grey Heron, 1 Song Thrush, 25 Linnet, 1 Stonechat, 1 Grey Partridge.
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