Sunshine and Local Birds - Reculver 29/04/19

I had a short walk at Reculver after work. It was a sunny afternoon with a somewhat cool north north easterly wind. I sat on the sea wall for a while and was treated to some good views of a Common Tern off shore. It appeared to be one of a pair with, presumably, its mate sat atop a marker pole. It appeared to be repeatedly displaying as it flew back and fore between its mate and another marker pole. As it flew away it would suddenly slow its wing beats and using stiff, slow, and deep, wing beats it would rise and fall. The effect was quite marked and it almost appeared to be flying in slow motion before reverting to normal flight in between and on the return flight to its mate. It was beautiful to watch and I hope that she was suitably impressed.

Common Tern

I carried on along the sea wall. The tide was coming in and I could see the immature male Eider preening on the last patch of exposed mussel bed together with a few Herring Gull and a couple of Oystercatcher. As the sea rose the other birds left but the Eider remained until the sea covered the exposed area completely. Behind me on the oyster farm I could see a Common Sandpiper (137) in the same area that I saw the Little Ringed Plover the other day.

Immature male Eider

A few Linnet were feeding nearby and allowed some photos.

Linnet

Linnet

Linnet

Sedge Warblers and Whitethroat were singing away with Dunnock, Wren and Corn Bunting joining in. A single Grey Plover was on the shore and a Shelduck gave another opportunity to try for a flight photo as it came past.

Grey Plover

Shelduck

A confiding Meadow Pipit showed off its long hind claw well as it perched.

Meadow Pipit

I finished off an afternoon of just mainly sitting, watching and enjoying the local birds with good views of the female Marsh Harrier, with the male coming in behind.

female Marsh Harrier

female Marsh Harrier

A Double Visit - Reculver 26/04/19

I paid a couple of visits to the Reculver area today. In the morning I walked from Chambers Wall to Reculver and, after a break at home, in the afternoon I went from Reculver to Shuart via the sea wall. It is very unusual for me to have the opportunity for a full day's birding so I tried to make the most of it today. There was a very fresh to strong south south westerly wind throughout the day with sunny intervals and a couple of brief rain showers in the morning.

The morning visit to Chambers Wall started well with a Hobby (132) as I walked down to the car park which was a very welcome, if brief, sight. Skylarks were singing away and a male Marsh Harrier was hunting along a field edge. A couple of Garden Warbler (133) came as a nice surprise. I do not know if they were a pair or competing males. Photography was proving to be a challenge today as I struggled to keep my balance in the wind and to be able to get the camera on subject in time, before the bird moved on and I failed miserably with the Garden Warblers and only got very poor photos of the Hobby. Hopefully I might have more success another time.

The rest of the walk down to Coldharbour was fairly quiet, apart from the usual jobs. I hoped to catch up with a Grasshopper Warbler but did not have any success. Coldharbour was very quiet with only a couple of Redshank on it. A Whitethroat perched on the fence gave some nice views as it sang.

Whitethroat

The tide was almost in with only small areas of exposed mussel beds left. There were a few Oystercatchers and Herring Gull hanging on until the last moment as the tide came in. While I was sat watching a couple of Sandwich Tern passed by first west, then back east, then back west again but otherwise the sea was pretty quiet.

I headed back towards Reculver and came across a smart male Wheatear on the shore. I love watching them, they are beautiful birds.

Wheatear

I could see a Common Tern out on part of the exposed mussel bed, preening, after which it came in and landed on one of the cormorant poles. Another couple of Common Tern called as they flew past and landed on the ribbon of exposed mussel bed that was left. As the first flew to join them they called loudly as they displayed and seemed to give a clear message that three was a crowd and it moved off after stopping briefly.

Common Tern

Common Terns

 The highlight of the walk back was a single Little Ringed Plover (134) and a single House Martin west (135). I was well chuffed to see both. I also had 3 groups of Yellow Wagtail west of 4, 6 and 8. A pair of Stonechat were sheltering out of the wind before resuming catching insects from the track parallel to the sea wall.

Stonechats

I had a short walk at the back of the oyster farm and had another Little Egret, a couple of Redshank and a Kingfisher. A Green-veined White Butterfly was active, feeding on some blossom flowers between sheltering in the grass.

Green-veined White Butterfly

As I headed back towards the towers I saw my first dragonfly of the year resting briefly on the concrete running down from the sea wall. I could not manage much of a shot before it moved on, and it is heavily cropped, but I think that it is a male Hairy Dragonfly.

Hairy Dragonfly

On the walk round back to the car park I saw my first Wall Brown of the year. Again, I could not manage much of a photo but they make good memory shots.

Wall Brown

Wall Brown

 There was also a striking male Armed Melecta Bee.

Armed Melecta Bee

Armed Melecta Bee

I finished off the morning visit with another Wheatear on the rocks by the car park.

Wheatear

I headed back to Reculver late afternoon and headed along the sea wall. It was still very windy but with good amounts of sunshine. There were a couple of Common Tern on one of the Cormorant posts but they could have been the same pair I saw earlier so I have not counted them again. 7 Sandwich Terns were active off shore and it gave the opportunity to sit on the sea wall and enjoy watching them while trying for some flight photos as they came closer at times.

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern

I headed on towards Coldharbour and had a couple of Wheatear on the shore. They could have been the same two from earlier so I have not counted them again. A Ringed Plover was roosting on the shingle close to the sea wall and did not seem bothered by the people passing by.

Ringed Plover

I saw a total of 9 Mediterranean Gull west. It may have been because of the direction of the wind but I did not hear any calling today.

Mediterranean Gulls

Mediterranean Gulls

27 Sanderling flew into roost and 8 Turnstone were a little further along.

Sanderling

Coldharbour was still very quiet, the only addition from earlier being a Shelduck roosting on the shingle bank. Between Coldharbour and Plumpudding I had another 4 Wheatear bringing the total present to at least 6.

Wheatear

Wheatear

 A male Reed Bunting looked very handsome in the sunshine and I could hear a Ring-necked Parakeet calling from over towards the railway embankment. A pair of Shelduck flew past and I tried for a photo.

Reed Bunting

Shelduck

Plumpudding Island was also quiet but there was a pair of Gadwall at the back and a very smart male Whinchat (136).

Gadwall pair

male Whinchat

When I reached the stables there were 6 Pied Wagtails and 10 Yellow Wagtail in the horse paddocks including 1 what I thought at the time was a Blue-headed Wagtail. Since looking through the photos I am not sure if it is a Channel or Blue-headed Wagtail. It was a little too far for getting much in the photo line but at least it does make good memory shots and in time I may be able to work out which it is.

Blue-headed or Channel Wagtail

Blue-headed or Channel Wagtail

Blue-headed or Channel Wagtail

2 Lesser Whitethroat were singing away and as I crossed the railway line I could see 3 Marsh Harriers in the air at the same time. I kept my eyes open for a Barn Owl but did not have any luck. 2 Cetti's Warblers were singing away and the sky looked spectacular as the light began to fade. It made a good end to the visit.

Birds seen during this visit include: 14 Linnet, 18 Sedge Warbler, Skylarks, 12 Chaffinch, Blue Tit, 18 Goldfinch, 3 Song Thrush, 1 Hobby, 23 Whitethroat, 5 Wren, 3 Marsh Harrier, 5 Blackcap, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, 6 Cetti's Warbler, 6 Chiffchaff, 3 Reed Warbler, 2 Garden Warbler, 2 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Dunnock, 4 Mute Swan, 1 Moorhen, 22 Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, 3 Common Tern, 11 Sandwich Tern, 15 Turnstone, 8 Pied Wagtail, 6 Wheatear, 7 Reed Bunting, 16 Swallow, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 25 Yellow Wagtail including 10 west in groups of 4 and 6, 3 Little Egret, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 7 Stonechat, 5 Shelduck, 8 Ringed Plover, 18 Meadow Pipits, 5 Redshank, 1 Kingfisher, 10 Mallard, 1 Kestrel, House Sparrows, Starling, 9 Mediterranean Gull west, 23 Sanderling, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Gadwall, 1 Cuckcoo, 2 Pheasant, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Stock Dove

An Obliging Peregrine - Shuart to Chambers Wall 24/04/19

I had a day off today and decided to try for a walk from Shuart to Chambers Wall via the embankment. 3 Blackcap were in good voice when I arrived at Shuart, joined by all the regulars in song. I saw 2 Red-legged Partridge from the top path and another two in the sheep field. They are handsome birds.

Red-legged Partridge

I could hear a Cuckoo calling very nearby as I walked down the track and hoped to be able to catch up with it but a large tractor coming down the track put paid to that as, once the tractor had gone, I could hear the Cuckoo still calling but this time from much further away. Still, it was lovely to hear it. As I had just come up to a gap in the hedge I had a look down and a female Pheasant had popped her head up to check what all the noise was about, as the tractor moved through, before she continued down the furrow in the field.

female Pheasant

The tractor turned off and as it crossed over a dyke into the next field it flushed a Green Sandpiper. 2 Yellow Wagtails called as they flew over. I could hear a Mediterranean Gull calling and had a single bird flying west. Within a short space of time this was followed by another 2, and a group of 4 all moving west.

Mediterranean Gull

There had been rain threatening at times and a light shower passed over as I reached the embankment. Luckily it did not last long and had the advantage of leaving the gift of a partial rainbow as it cleared. However hard things might be at any particular time seeing a rainbow always lifts my spirits.

Rainbow

I took a short detour to the stables, and enjoyed listening to the 2 singing Lesser Whitethroat before retracing my steps and heading along the embankment. Whitethroat were singing away and there was a pair of Shoveller on the large patch of water in the field together with a Mute Swan. A Peregrine came down to the water for a drink which made the Shoveller disappear in double quick time. I hoped when it flew it might come my way but unfortunately it flew towards Shuart. I was still lucky, though, as I was able to get some photos, even if they are quite distant.

Peregrine

Peregrine

Peregrine

I saw a pair of Mute Swan that were busy nest building. The regular male and female Marsh Harrier were busy hunting with the male regularly displaying in between.

male Marsh Harrier

A smart Tortoiseshell butterfly poised very nicely. Unfortunately while I had the camera in macro to take that a Cuckoo chose that moment to fly past and I did not manage to focus properly on it. Still, it makes a good memory shot.

Tortoiseshell Butterfly

Cuckoo

An Orange Tip Butterfly was very active despite the wind having picked up a lot by now. It did pause briefly on some blossom flowers enabling me to grab a shot. The underwings are beautifully marked. There was also a Squash Bug which I think is a Dock Bug. They are striking insects.

Orange Tip Butterfly

Squash Bug - Dock Bug

As I neared the railway crossing for Chambers Wall I had a Common Carpet Moth.

Common Carpet Moth

I could hear a Cuckoo calling as I approached the railway crossing and could see one perched on top of a bush on the other side, presumably the same one that had flown past me. It made a nice end to the visit.

Cuckoo

Birds seen this visit include: 7 Blackcap, 3 Common Buzzard, 7 Wren, 3 Robin, 5 Dunnock, Wood Pigeons, 2 Song Thrush, 3 Green Woodpecker, 4 Red Legged Partridge, 2 Sparrowhawk, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Chaffinches, Jackdaws, Carrion Crows, 15 Whitethroat, Stock Dove, 3 Chiffchaff, 8 Blackbird, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Cuckoo, 1 Grey Heron, 9 Sedge Warbler, 1 Jay, Herring Gulls, 4 Cetti's Warbler, Skylarks, 6 Mute Swan, 1 Green Sandpiper, 6 Yellow Wagtail, 7 Mediterranean Gull west, 7 Reed Bunting, 1 Pheasant, 2 Mallard, 2 Magpie, 11 Goldfinches, 16 Linnet, 4 Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Pied Wagtail, 7 Swallow, House Sparrows, Starlings, 2 Collared Dove, 2 Shoveller, 2 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Peregrine