I headed to Shuart for a short visit this morning. All seemed quite quiet when I arrived. It was a dull and overcast morning and decidedly cooler than of late but sunny intervals were forecast and there was next to no wind. I had seen on Chris Hindle's blog that Derek Smith had seen a Long-tailed Blue Butterfly on the embankment and I rather hoped that I might be lucky enough to catch up with one as it is a butterfly I would really like to see. As I headed along the track a Wren peeped out at me as it worked its way through the undergrowth. They are lovely little birds and it never fails to amaze me as to how loud their song is for such a small bird.
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| Wren |
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| Wren |
As I wandered along a couple of Jay were calling loudly and appeared to be in dispute with a couple of Magpie. A mixed flock of Tits were working their way through consisting of Blue, Great and 10 Long-tailed Tits, all busily feeding. A couple of Goldcrest were also in with them as were a couple of Chiffchaff. A small area of bushes had attracted 3 Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaff and a Lesser Whitethroat. A Curlew flew over calling heading south west. Good numbers of Chiffchaff were present and I saw 17 on the way down to the railway embankment. A Mute Swan was having an enthusiastic preen and ending up surrounded by feathers.
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| Mute Swan |
I headed for the sea wall so that I could have a seat as walking was proving to be challenge today. An immature Grey Heron was down one of the dykes I am always amazed by the wing span of Grey Heron's and how it all tucks away to give a streamlined bird until once again those wings unfold.
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| immature Grey Heron |
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| immature Grey Heron |
A Little Grebe was also down the same dyke. House Sparrows were tucking into the blackberries with gusto and stained bills were the order of the day. A Sparrowhawk shot through scattering Linnet and House Sparrows in all directions.
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| Little Grebe |
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| House Sparrow |
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| House Sparrow |
The tide was well out when I reached the sea wall. 10 Oystercatcher were scattered along the shore and Black-headed and Herring Gulls were making the most of the low tide. 11 Meadow Pipit and a couple of Rock Pipit were feeding amongst the debris left by the tide. A Wheatear flew past towards the rocks. The peace was shattered by a motorised hang glider and 3 motorised parachutes pilots flying low over the beach. I thought at first they must be in trouble and coming down but instead they were just purposefully flying low and as a result scattering birds in all directions in panic, startling a group of fossil hunters and causing everyone on the sea wall to stop and look as they passed. Either they were unaware of the panic amongst the wildlife they were causing or they did not care.
With peace reigning once more, once they had flown past, I headed back to the embankment and had a short walk along. The hoped for sunny intervals had not materialised and it remained cool with an increasing wind which did not bode well for butterflies. As I passed back by the stables 24 House Martin were hawking for insects and 9 Blackbirds were routing around in muddy manure in one of the paddocks. I had a single Siskin (153) flying west, calling as it went past, and it was a welcome sight. 3 male Blackcap were in one of the bushes and a Magpie was repeatedly alarm calling but I could not see at what. Several Chiffchaff were along the embankment bringing the total seen to 29 and small numbers of Skylark continued to fly west. A Speckled Wood butterfly flew from cover as I passed and settled a short distance away.
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| Speckled Wood |
2 Goldcrests were busy looking for insects amongst a small mixed flock of Blue Tits, Great Tits and a couple of Long-tailed Tit. I saw several more Chiffchaff and a small family of 2 adult and 2 immature Mute Swan were down one of the dykes. I came across a cocoon but I do not know of what.
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| Cocoon |
3 Small White Butterflies and a Large White were on the wing and a couple of Peacock butterflies were in a sheltered area. I did not have any luck finding a Long-tailed Blue but I enjoyed looking. A Migrant Hawker was resting up out of the wind. A Common Buzzard flew overhead.
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| Small White Butterfly |
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| Large White Butterfly |
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| Peacock |
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| Migrant Hawker |
I made my way back to Shuart and had a Wren calling away to a couple of young who were sitting tucked down and mostly obscured. Lets hope they have time to feed up before it gets too cold. A flock of 14 Skylarks flew east whereas all the others during the visit had been flying west. As I passed a gap I could see 20 Red-legged Partridge were in one of the fields. I finished the visit with a couple of Goldcrest feeding away with one of them appearing briefly in a gap before continuing on its way.
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| Goldcrest |
Birds seen this visit include: 4 Green Woodpecker, Wood Pigeons, 19 Blackbird, 5 Jackdaw, 10 Wren, 29 Chiffchaff, Blue Tits, Great Tits, 12 Long-tailed Tits, 6 Goldcrest, 2 Jay, 5 Magpie, 7 Blackcap, 9 Robin, Carrion Crow, 20 Chaffinch, 29 Skylark, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 2 Common Buzzard,
4 Grey Heron, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Moorhen, 3 Mallard, 4 Lapwing, 2 Goldfinch, 4 Dunnock, 4 Collared Dove, 1 Curlew, 1 Pheasant, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler, 7 Mute Swan, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 6 Reed Bunting, 5 Linnet, 2 Kestrel, Little Grebe, 23 Mallard, 65 House Sparrows, 1 Sparrowhawk, Starlings, 13 Meadow Pipit, 10 Oystercatcher, 1 Wheatear, 2 Rock Pipit, 1 Little Egret, 24 House Martin, 2 Pied Wagtail, 1 Coot, 20 Red-legged Partridge
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