It was a beautifully fine morning and with an unexpectantly free day ahead of me I headed to Chambers Wall. With a walk, stop, walk, stop, approach and trying out some new walking aids I aimed to reach Reculver and it was great to be out and to hear the Skylarks belting out their song as I approached the car park. A pair of Stonechats were insect catching at the fields edge and Blue and Great Tits were calling as they made their way through the hedgerow. I could see 45 Mute Swan that were spread along in one of the fields and they seemed unperturbed by the gas gun, barely lifting their heads when it went off.
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| Mute Swans |
Overall it seemed quite quiet as I made my way down the track. Groups of Cormorants were making their way to Stodmarsh, above me, with smaller numbers going in the opposite direction and heading out to sea. Breeding patches were obvious on many of the birds. I love the shapes they make as lines of them weave their way across the sky.
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| Cormorants |
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| Cormorants |
A Common Buzzard was resting at the top of one of the distant bushes much to the ire of a couple of Carrion Crows who attempted to harass it a few times but the Buzzard just ignored them and a few minutes later it was joined by a second. A flurry of alarm calls from a couple of Magpie alerted me to a Sparrowhawk flying low alongside the hedge. A Goldfinch, part of a small group, peeped out at me, the light just glinting in its eye. After a brief song it gave a large yawn and then moved quickly to cover as two Kestrels, calling to each other, passed over above.
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| Goldfinch |
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| Goldfinch |
A small party of Long-tailed Tits were feeding busily alongside Blue and Great Tits as I moved down from the crossing onto the path to Coldharbour. A Cetti's Warbler exploded into song from the reedbed but apart from seeing some of the stems moving the bird itself remained firmly out of sight. A flock of 48 Corn Bunting flew over calling away and headed towards the oyster farm. As I came up to Coldharbour I could see 16 Mallard wheeling up having been disturbed by a dog walker, together with a Little Egret. The water was quite calm allowing for some nice reflections of both a Redshank on the bank and a Black-headed Gull coming into land.
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| Redshank |
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| Black-headed Gull |
I sat and watched out to sea for a while. 2 Great Crested Grebe were off shore and a Red-throated Diver flew east. I could see 3 Curlew and 4 Shelduck roosting on the beach together with 48 Oystercatcher. A Great Black-backed Gull flew west and another couple bobbed around offshore. A handsome male Reed Bunting gave some great views as he sat looking round.
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| Reed Bunting |
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| Reed Bunting |
c350 Brent Geese were strung out along the shoreline with some resting up, some having a preen and wash and brush up and others feeding away.
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| Brent Geese |
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| Brent Geese |
As I headed towards the junction with the green bank 5 Mute Swan gave a flypast out to sea and as the Brent Geese started to fly in and settle on one of the fields they formed an almost perfect ellipse.
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| Mute Swan |
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| Brent Geese |
I sat at the junction with the green bank for a while and enjoyed watching 3 Tree Sparrows and a couple of Yellowhammer. The weather had started to deteriorate but apart from a few spots the threatening rain held off. The low light levels did not make for great photos but I was pleased to be able to get any and they make good memory shots.
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| Tree Sparrow |
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| Tree Sparrow |
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| Yellowhammer and House Sparrow |
As I continued on my way to Reculver a Short-eared Owl lifted up briefly from the oyster farm but instantly dropped back down again. While scanning for it a Stonechat popped up onto the bramble bush next to me and gave some lovely views as it looked round.
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| Stonechat |
I hadn't gone on very far when the owl came back up again and settled briefly on a post before heading off to hunt. It gave some nice views as it flew along the back of the oyster farm.
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| Short-eared Owl |
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| Short-eared Owl |
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| Short-eared Owl |
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| Short-eared Owl |
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| Short-eared Owl |
Seeing the owl made the perfect end to the visit. As I neared Reculver a male Marsh Harrier flew along at the back of the oyster farm and sent 14 Lapwing into the air. A couple of Sanderling were along the shoreline and a Common Gull appeared to be very successful as it probed the wet sand, catching several small prey items in quick succession.
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| Common Gull |
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| Common Gull |
I was pleased to reach Reculver but had thoroughly enjoyed my visit.
Birds seen this visit included: Skylarks, 5 Stonechat, Blue Tits, Great Tits, 70 Mute Swan, 7 Magpie, 1 Sparrowhawk, 4 Goldfinch, 4 Robin, 7 Blackbird, 2 Common Buzzard, Cormorants, 2 Kestrel, 7 Meadow Pipit, 3 Chaffinch, Wood Pigeon's, 9 Goldfinch, Carrion Crows, 5 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 48 Corn Bunting, 16 Mallard, 7 Redshank, 2 Little Egret, 1 Robin, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Red-throated Diver, 32 Reed Bunting, 4 Curlew, 4 Shelduck, 3 Great Black-backed Gull, 13 Turnstone, 3 Ringed Plover, 1 Dunnock, House Sparrows, 3 Tree Sparrow, 2 Yellowhammer, c350 Brent Geese, 1 Short-eared Owl, 1 Marsh Harrier, 14 Lapwing, 4 Wren, 2 Sanderling
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