I haven't been able to do any bird watching for a few days so it was nice to be able to come down to Reculver and see what I could see. The forecast was for light rain showers but I think the weather must have missed the word light as the showers, when they came, were torrential.
I got brief views of a Black Redstart near the towers which started the visit well. They are lovely birds and I always enjoy watching them.
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| Black Redstart |
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| Black Redstart |
I watched the immature male Eider that was off shore for quite a while. It was repeatedly diving and coming up with a crab after each dive. It then proceeded to remove the legs and claws one by one, by grabbing a leg in its bill and then throwing the crab away from it so that the leg was removed, or it thrashed its head from side to side while holding the crab. The Eider would then pick the crab up from where it had landed in the water and start all over again until just the body was left which it would then swallow whole, shell and all. It was very proficient at catching them and I did not see it have an unsuccessful dive.
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| Eider with Crab |
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| Eider with Crab |
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| Eider throwing Crab |
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| Eider eating crab body |
It appeared to depend on the size of the crab but after every one, or up to 3 dives, the Eider would rear up in the water and then twist up and throw its head back and push its bill up, always to the same side, presumably to help them go down, before settling down again into the water and resuming diving. It certainly had a voracious appetite. I felt very sorry for the crabs but it was fascinating to watch and certainly he is feeding well.
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| Eider rearing up |
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| Eider |
He finished off about every 3rd or 4th rearing up with wing flapping.
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| Eider |
As I carried on along the sea wall I could see 2 Short-eared Owls up in the distance, over the oyster farm. Once again, they appeared to be chasing each other and circled each other, climbing higher and higher while they did so, sometimes appearing to come into contact as they spiralled. Both went down after a little while, with one luckily starting to hunt and coming nearer to where I was. As always, it made my day to see them.
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| Short-eared Owl |
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| Short-eared Owl |
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| Short-eared Owl |
4 Oystercatcher were flying over the oyster farm and calling repeatedly and loudly. I was fascinated to see the almost perfect spacing between them. I couldn't tell if it was 2 pairs disputing territory or whether it was some sort of joint display.
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| Oystercatchers |
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| Oystercatchers |
A Reed Bunting did not seem too bothered by the rain that had started. It had a ring on its right leg but I could not make enough out in the photos to be able to read any of it.
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| Reed Bunting |
6 Shelduck were active over the oyster farm, with either 2, 4 or all 6 in the air at the same time.
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| Shelduck |
A Merlin flew low over the oyster farm and a Marsh Harrier passed along over the back edge. A Ringed Plover worked its way along the track parallel to the sea wall.
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| Ringed Plover |
The rain showers were becoming much more persistent and decidedly torrential at times. As I neared Coldharbour it eased briefly. A pair of Mute Swan flew past. Seeing the curl of the feather in the wing tip of this bird I wondered whether this was caused by air flow or the bird itself. How much fine control do they have of the actual feather tip?
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| Mute Swan |
As I approached Coldharbour I could see a pair of Oystercatchers roosting on some wooden posts. I was pleased to hear a Sedge Warbler (120) singing.
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| Oystercatchers |
Coldharbour itself was quite quiet with 3 Mute swan, 2 Little Egret, 2 Shelduck and 12 Redshank and 6 Black-headed Gulls. A White Wagtail was very flighty, resting on the shingle bank briefly and allowing only very distant photos. At this point rain really did stop play as it absolutely fell down then, just for fun, it turned into a torrential hail shower. I couldn't get a photo until it stopped so a fair amount has melted.
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| Hail |
It was a quiet, if soggy walk back. As I approached Reculver the sun appeared but unfortunately I had a meeting I had to get to so I couldn't stay. I might have got soaked and the photos have come out pretty badly, as the light was so poor, but they make good memory shots and I enjoyed my visit.
Birds seen this visit include: 15 House Sparrows, Starlings, 2 Blackbirds, 1 Black Redstart, immature male Eider, 2 Mute Swan, 1 Robin, Black-headed Gulls, Wood Pigeons, Herring Gulls, Cormorants, 2 Short-eared Owls, 2 Pied Wagtail, 6 Shelduck, 6 Mallards, 25 Meadow Pipits, 3 Little Egret, 1 |Snipe, 2 Stonechat, 15 Redshank, 4 Oystercatchers, 7 Reed Bunting, 1 Dunnock, 9 Ringed Plovers, 8 Turnstone, 1 Merlin, 1 Marsh Harrier, 28 Corn Bunting, 2 Linnet, Skylarks, 2 Coot, 3 Mute Swan, 1 Chiffchaff, 1 Sedge Warbler, 1 White Wagtail, 4 Goldfinches, 2 Magpie, 8 Carrion Crow, 2 Grey Heron,
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