The weather was pretty foul today with constant rain and a sharp north easterly wind. I had hoped to get to Reculver as I had a day off work but I did not fancy getting soaked. Instead, in the afternoon, I paid a visit to Stodmarsh. The rain seemed to have eased off a little by the time I arrived so I decided to walk the longer way round to the Reedbed hide. There has been a lot of reed clearance and other work done since my last visit and it has opened up some good looking habitat.There were Blue and Great Tits in the wooded area with some Chaffinch and a single Chiffchaff calling.
As it started to absolutely tip down I made my way to the hide. There were 140 Teal on the water with a few Mallard. Some of the Teal were very close to the hide, giving some very nice views. I couldn't see any other duck and as the weather worsened I settled down to enjoy some lovely views of the Teal. The poor light meant I had to use high ISO's to enable me to take photos, and the pictures are noisy as a result, but I enjoyed being able to take them.
A male and female gave some good views, as did a small group of sleeping Teal.
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| Teal pair |
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| Sleeping Teal |
The females plumage is very attractive and the green speculum changed from green to blue depending on the angle I was seeing it at. A sleeping male had obviously been asleep for a while, without moving, as it was covered in water droplets. It showed just how good their water proofing is.
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| Female Teal |
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| Male Teal and water droplets |
A nearby male and female allowed the opportunity to see just how handsome the male's plumage is close up, while a male ruffling his wings gave a glimpse of the white underwing feathers.
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| Teal pair |
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| Teal wing stretch |
From sideways on the pale cheek and dark cap showed well on this female as she came past the hide. The front white border to the speculum showed well as 3 birds flew round before settling down again.
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| Female Teal |
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| Teal in flight |
Some of the birds appeared to be standing on ice, with just a thin layer of water on top. As the rain briefly eased, for a moment, it allowed for some very nice reflections. The underlying ice, though, did make it difficult for them when walking around. There was quite a lot of slipping and sliding. A sideways flypast showed the wing pattern well, even in the poor light.
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| Teal on ice |
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| Teal in flight |
I managed to get a shot of a group of Teal in flight, as several regularly had a fly around, and it shows the wing markings well, of both upper and lower wing. At one point something spooked the Teal and they suddenly took off vertically then flew off with very fast wing beats, as they twisted and turned away. I couldn't see what caused them to fly but I think a raptor must have passed over the top of the hide as shortly afterwards I could hear Greylag Geese (81) calling in alarm. They sounded nearby but must have been on the other side of the reeds.
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| Teal in flight |
A Marsh Harrier was sat in the top of a tree, the whole time that I was in the hide, and apart from looking around at times it did not move. A single Teal was left looking around after the other flew off in a panic and I wonder if it is wondering what the fuss was all about.
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| Marsh Harrier |
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| Male Teal |
I had enjoyed watching the Teal and having the time to really appreciate their plumage close up. It was, however, time to go so I headed back to the car park. It had been a beautiful way to spend a rainy afternoon.
On the way home I had a surprise, as we approached Broomfield, when I saw a Green Sandpiper (82) on some water at the edge of one of the fields. It seemed totally unfazed by the cars whizzing by only a few feet away.
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| Green Sandpiper |
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| Green Sandpiper |
Birds I saw this visit included: Blue Tit, Great Tit, 1 Robin, Blackbird, 2 Dunnock, 8 Chaffinch, 2 Wren, House Sparrow, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Cormorant, 140 Teal, Greylag Geese (heard), Carrion Crow, 1 Marsh Harrier, 10 Mallard, 1 Common Buzzard, 2 Moorhen, 1 Green Sandpiper.
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