I paid a short visit to Reculver after work this afternoon. It was beautifully sunny with next to no wind. The weather is due to change from tomorrow so I thought I would make the most of it while I could.
On the rocks, from the car park, a female Pied Wagtail was preening. She appeared to be missing the feathers on the back of her neck and on part of her head. I don't know if that would be part of her moult or whether there is another reason for it. Her other feathers all appeared fine.
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| Pied Wagtail |
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| Pied Wagtail showing missing neck feathers |
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| Pied Wagtail showing missing head and neck feathers |
The sea appeared very quiet and I could only see a Great Crested Grebe on the water. The water was almost mirror calm and gave some great reflections as some Brent Geese and then a Cormorant flew low over the sea.
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| Brent Geese and reflections |
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| Cormorant and reflection |
A passing Carrion Crow looked stunning with the light shining through its flight feathers.
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| Carrion Crow with backlit flight feathers |
A single Dunlin was feeding along the shoreline and was joined briefly by a Ringed Plover whereupon they both flew towards the wader roosting point, giving some nice views as they did.
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| Dunlin |
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| Dunlin and Ringed Plover in flight |
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| Ringed Plover and Dunlin in flight |
I did not have enough time to walk very far up the sea wall as I had an appointment that I needed to get back for. It meant I was a bit far away when 2 Short-eared Owls came up over the oyster farm, as they were more towards the green bank end rather than where I was, but I thoroughly enjoyed watching them. I could not tell if they were fighting or amorous when they were near each other. Certainly each time they became close to each other they appeared to clash. I was a little too distant to see quite what was going on. When hunting it is amazing how quickly they can change direction, suddenly banking and then diving as they see prey. It was just beautiful to be able to watch them in the sunshine. The photos are not great but they make good memory shots and I felt very lucky to be able to get them.
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| Short-eared Owls |
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| Short-eared Owls |
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| Short-eared Owl - sudden dive having spotted prey |
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| Short-eared Owl on patrol |
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| Short-eared Owl on patrol |
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| Short-eared Owl - sudden bank having spotted something |
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| Short-eared Owl on patrol |
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| Short-eared Owl hovering |
I could have stayed watching them all afternoon but I needed to start heading back so I made my back towards Reculver. There were a couple of Magpies that appeared to be flying in unison at times. I am not sure if they were displaying or showing solidarity in defence of their territory as it started when 3 other Magpies appeared. Whatever the reason, they were a joy to watch. They almost appeared to be doing a choreographed dance at times.
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| Dancing Magpies |
Two Little Grebes were on one of the oyster farm lagoons.They are gorgeous little birds. One of them was quite shy but the other posed nicely.
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| Little Grebe |
I finished off the visit with some good views of an adult Herring Gull. They are handsome birds. The legs appeared very pale with a yellowish tinge in the field and when it flew it appeared to have reduced white in the wing tip.
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| Herring Gull |
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| Herring Gull underwing |
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| Herring Gull upperwing |
It may only have been a short visit but it was great to be out in the sunshine with next to no wind. There was no doubt that to be able to watch the Short-eared Owls was just the icing on the cake.
Birds seen this visit include: 1 Blackbird, 5 House Sparrow, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, 3 Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Common Gull, 3 Pied Wagtail, 15 Brent Geese, Cormorants, 7 Carrion Crow, 1 Dunlin, 5 Ringed Plover, 5 Turnstone, 3 Stonechat, 2 Short-eared Owl, 5 Magpie, 2 Pheasant, 1 Grey Partridge calling, 2 Little Grebe, 8 Mute Swan, 12 Linnet, 7 Meadow Pipit, 2 Wren, 1 Robin, 2 Dunnock, 10 Mallard, 1 Shelduck, 1 Shoveler
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