It was a very overcast morning when I arrived at Shuart but with next to no wind. A flock of mixed Tits were working their way through the trees, calling noisily and moving rapidly from tree to tree. A couple of Ring-necked Parakeet were vocal and provided a welcome flash of colour on a grey and dingy morning.
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| Ring-necked Parakeet |
Wandering down the track I could see 3 Little Egrets busily feeding at the edge of the vegetation cleared from one of the dykes as I came up to a break in the hedgerow. At the back of the same field 7 Greylag Geese were resting up in groups of 4 and 3. They instantly became very alert as a passing dog walker's dogs started barking.
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| Little Egrets |
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| Greylag Geese |
As I carried on down the track both a Water Rail and a Cetti's Warbler were vocal and I could hear Blackbirds alarm calling from the back of the hedgerow but I couldn't see at what. However all became clear when first a Blackbird, and then a Sparrowhawk in hot pursuit, exploded out from the hedgerow and disappeared through the opposite side. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew into the top of one of the trees and was promptly mobbed by a flock of 5 Meadow Pipits who flew up from the field edge to intercept it and were soon joined by another 4. The Great Spotted Woodpecker moved down and to the other side of the tree and peace reigned once again as the Meadow Pipits presumably decided that was far enough away. I was surprised at how quickly they responded to its presence, particularly as it is outside the breeding season.
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| Great Spotted Woodpecker |
Good numbers of Blackbird were making the most of the berries together with 1 Fieldfare and 6 Redwing. A single Goldcrest peeped out and a pair of Mistle Thrush looked very smart in the flat light. As I came up to the railway line 17 Red-legged Partridge were along a field edge while a Common Buzzard was up at the back following the edge of a distant field. It was fairly quiet as I came past the stables with just the usual jobs present. The manure heaps were proving to be good growing grounds for small groups of mushrooms.
Amongst the flock of House Sparrows there was a smart male with a much darker grey/brown crown than the other males and from some views I almost wondered if it could be a hybrid of sorts. Its cheeks were very white with a strong dusky patch. I can only think that it must be in a different stage of moult than the other males round it who still had very pale grey crowns and much less black on their breasts and not so much contrast on their cheeks.
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| darker crowned male House Sparrow |
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| darker crowned male House Sparrow |
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| paler crowned male House Sparrow |
On reaching the sea wall the tide was mostly in and 30 Redshank were strung along the shore.
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| Redshank |
Turnstone were also roosting and disputes were breaking out regularly between the birds on the groyne as new birds tried to join and were unceremonially pushed off by the sitting birds. A single Redshank amongst them was no more tolerant of arriving birds dropping in close to it than the Turnstones. The birds on the shore appeared to be much more settled.
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| Turnstones |
A few Oystercatchers were a little further along and one of them was having a very enthusiastic wash and brush up by ducking down as the waves came in and allowing them to wash right over it. Afterwards it was time for a quick rearranging of its feathers to ensure all was at it should be.
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Oystercatcher |
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| Oystercatcher |
As I approached Plumpudding I could see good numbers of Oystercatcher and Sanderling on the wader roost together with 20 Curlew and 8 Grey Plover. 320 Brent Geese flew over and landed on the sea. Plumpudding itself was quiet and a Mute Swan flying in to join its mate landed on the water which is an impressive sight and always shows superb control for such a large bird.
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| Mute Swan |
As I made my way along to Coldharbour the cloud formation shapes were interesting and even on such an overcast day the tones and hints of colour in the greys were beautiful.
Four Common Scoter were off shore and a single Bar-tailed Godwit flew west. A flock of 9 Red-throated Divers were my first divers of the day and came as a very nice surprise.
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| Red-throated Divers |
Coldharbour was quite with just a few Redshank and a Little Egret. The Little Egret gave some great reflections as it hunted, paddling the mud with its foot causing bubbles to rise to the surface.
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
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| Little Egret |
Another Water Rail was calling just past Coldharbour and as I neared the oyster farm a Short-eared Owl came up briefly at the back before landing in cover again. A single Brent Goose was on the rocks and was the second lone bird that I had seen today as there was also a lone bird in one of the fields.
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| Brent Goose |
A Kestrel hovering over the oyster farm was once again giving a masterclass in remaining stationary and the fully fanned tail was a lovely sight.
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| Kestrel |
Two Red-throated Divers flew east and another was off-shore as I neared the towers. I enjoyed watching a couple of Stonechat and they made a nice end to the visit.
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| Stonechat |
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| Stonechat |
Birds seen this visit included: 2 Ring-necked Parakeet, 3 Kestrel, 4 Wren, 9 Robin, 3 Dunnock, 5 Chaffinch, Wood Pigeons, 7 Stock Doves, 10 Magpie, 2 Green Woodpecker, 2 Common Buzzard, 10 Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tit, Great Tits, 45 Blackbird, 7 Little Egret, 7 Greylag Geese, 2 Water Rail, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 9 Meadow Pipit, 1 Jay, 1 Fieldfare, 2 Pheasant, 17 Red-legged Partridge, 1 Goldcrest, 6 Redwing, 19 Mute Swan, 2 Mistle Thrush, 1 Coot, 1 Grey Heron, 1 Curlew, 5 Stonechat, 2 Brent Geese, 4 Greenfinch, 3 Pied Wagtail, 7 Goldfinch, 6 Chaffinch, House Sparrows, 40 Redshank, 45 Turnstone, 96 Oystercatcher, 70 Sanderling, 20 Curlew, 8 Grey Plover, 8 Ringed Plover, 4 Common Scoter, 1 Bar-tailed Godwit, 12 Red-throated Diver, 7 Great Black-backed Gull,
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