Cuckoos, Greylag Geese and a Thirsty Chaffinch - Shuart to Reculver 12/05/21

Two Blackcap were in full song when I arrived at Shuart this morning with wall to wall sunshine but with an increasingly breezy wind. More Blackcap, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff song filled the air as I had a wander along the track. A Red Admiral butterfly was making the most of some shelter from the wind and early morning sunshine.

Red Admiral Butterfly

Two Goldfinches flew over and Blue and Great Tits were busy gathering bill fulls of food for youngsters back at the nest. A Wren was its usual power house of song and a Whitethroat kept a wary eye on me as I made my way along.

Whitethroat

The Marsh frogs were calling loudly from the dyke and a Common Buzzard drifted over above. More Blackcap were singing and I saw a couple of females in the hedgerow. The odd Herring Gull was flying over high above with the light shining through their flight feathers.

Herring Gull

A couple of Cetti's were singing at various points as I made my way along and I paused to enjoy the song of a Lesser Whitethroat. A Yellow Wagtail flew over and once again was a vivid splash of yellow against the blue sky. There was a repeated begging call from a Sedge Warbler tucked down in the reeds and a couple of Reed Warbler were singing away. I could hear a Cuckoo calling in the distance and at the same time had a second Cuckoo fly past. I only managed a couple of memory shots but was pleased to be able to get them.

Cuckoo

Cuckoo

Small numbers of Swift were flying west every now and then and as I came up onto the embankment 2 Greylag Geese flew past.

Greylag Geese

A male Marsh Harrier was hunting over towards the sea wall and 2 passing Swifts mated briefly in the air before continuing on west. A Painted Lady butterfly settled for a few moments before continuing on along the embankment.

Painted Lady Butterfly

A couple of Swallow flew west and another 15 were hawking for insects over the horse paddocks at the stables. 2 Pied Wagtails flew west and another couple were in the paddocks. A smart male Chaffinch dropped down for a drink from one of the puddles as I came up to the sea wall.

male Chaffinch

male Chaffinch

It was a quiet and decidedly breezy walk to Plumpudding with a steadily strengthening cool south south westerly wind. A single Redshank was on the shore and at various bushes along the way Whitethroat were working their way through various bushes looking for insects. A Cetti's Warbler was singing explosively as I came up to Plumpudding and a Meadow Pipit and a couple of Reed Bunting were flitting back and fore between the island vegetation and other side of the sea wall. A single Oystercatcher was throwing a ruffled reflection as it kept an eye on passers by on the sea wall.

Oystercatcher

Three Pied Wagtail, a couple of Meadow Pipit and 2 Yellow Wagtail were making the most of the insects on the sea wall and though repeatedly disturbed by people coming past they returned to the same patch of wall each time.

Yellow Wagtail

A pair of Tufted Duck were down their usual dyke and the male Marsh Harrier was up at the back. A Painted Lady Butterfly was making the most of the little bit of shelter from the wind afforded by a patch of flowers near the sea wall and busy drinking nectar.

Painted Lady Butterfly

Painted Lady Butterfly

It kept clouding over as I carried on to Coldharbour but with the strong wind they moved through quite quickly still giving some good sunny intervals in between. A Wheatear popped up at the back of a  shingle ridge as I neared Coldharbour and Sedge and Whitethroat song followed me along.

Wheatear

Coldharbour had its usual inhabitants of a couple of Shelduck and 2 Mallard. I had a sit on the sea wall for a while and a single Gannet flew east. A Lesser Black-backed Gull also flew east and a couple of Great Crested Grebe were off shore and busy fishing. One of them raised a spiky crest after each dive.

Great Crested Grebe

Great Crested Grebe

I carried on towards Reculver with the weather alternating between sunshine and the threat of showers but apart from a couple of drops the rain came to nothing. Out to sea a distant Fulmar flew east and 3 Common Tern were off shore. A Common Seal popped its head up briefly while overhead a couple of Common Tern flew inland.

Common Tern

Common Tern

I saw the usual mix of waders on the way to Reculver and a Wren and a Blackcap together with a Whitethroat were singing as I came up to the towers. I paused to enjoy their song and could also hear a Cuckoo calling from the oyster farm while overhead a Kestrel was carrying prey, bringing the visit to a close.

Birds seen this visit included: 9 Blackcap, Jackdaws, 2 Red-legged Partridge, 7 Blackbird, Wood Pigeons, 1 Robin, 4 Wren, 3 Willow Warbler, 3 Chiffchaff, Blue Tits, Great Tits, 1 Jay, 13 Chaffinch, 3 Pheasant, 11 Goldfinches, 25 Whitethroat, 1 Common Buzzard, Herring Gulls, 1 Moorhen, 22 Sedge Warbler, 3 Cetti's, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 9 Mallard, 1 Corn Bunting, 3 Cuckoo, 11 Reed Warbler, 20 Swift west, 1 Magpie, 5 Reed Bunting, 2 Greylag Geese, 1 Marsh Harrier, 19 Swallow,  11 Pied Wagtail, House Sparrows, 12 Linnet, 1 Redshank, 13 Meadow Pipit, 3 Kestrel, 3 Oystercatcher, 2 Tufted Duck, 2 Shelduck, 1 Wheatear, 2 Great Crested Grebe, 10 Turnstone, 15 Sanderling, 1 Gannet east, 3 Ringed Plover, 5 Common Tern, 1 Fulmar east, 

Wheatears, Common Sandpiper and Gadwall - Reculver 07/05/21

With the unexpected bonus of an early finish at work I paid a visit to Reculver on a pleasant afternoon with a mixture of sunshine and cloud. The tide was on the way out and as I made my way past the towers 4 Swift, 6 Swallow and 2 House Martins flew west. It was quiet out to sea apart from a few Herring Gulls and Black-headed Gulls. Over on the old caravan site I could see a couple of Wheatear, a single Pied Wagtail and a Yellow Wagtail.

Wheatear

Fifty-five Swallow were hawking for insects over the oyster farm and a Whimbrel flew west out to sea. A Herring Gull coming into land on the beach slowed to almost stalling point before dropping down onto the beach.

Herring Gull

Herring Gull

Sedge Warbler song was filling the air together with the scratchy song of Whitethroat. A Common Sandpiper was on the rocks and looked tiny against the Herring Gull who shared the rocks with it.

Common Sandpiper and Herring Gull

A couple of Mallard were roosting on the beach near the waters edge but keeping a wary, if sleepy, eye on passers by on the sea wall. A couple of Little Egret were on the oyster farm but overall it was remaining pretty quiet.

male and female Mallard

I carried on towards Coldharbour and a Wheatear was on the shingle and nearer Coldharbour another was on patch of broken concrete blocks at the side of the field.

Wheatear

Wheatear

I had a sit on the sea wall but out to sea remained very quiet apart from a pair of distant Gadwall. The rear black end of the male shows up well even at a distance on an almost mirror calm sea.

Gadwall

There were the usual couple of Shelduck and Mute Swan on Coldharbour but otherwise it was quiet. On the other side of the sea wall a Corn Bunting was singing away and Sedge Warblers and Whitethroat were both in full song. A Painted Lady Butterfly settled on the start of the path which leads off to Chambers wall. It appeared to be quite worn but was a welcome sight. They are beautiful butterflies.

Painted Lady Butterfly

Painted Lady Butterfly

I started to make my way back to Reculver and a Common Seal popped its head up briefly before dipping back down under the sea again. A Meadow Pipit showed well on the concrete slope having parachuted down from its song flighty display.

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Out to sea was still remaining quiet but there were at least a couple of distant Mediterranean Gulls flying west to liven things up a little.

Mediterranean Gulls

A line of dark cloud was leading to Reculver while over on the oyster farm a Lapwing was busy with its display flight. A few Ringed Plover and Oystercatcher were dotted along the shore and Turnstones were doing what they do best as they turned and tossed stones aside.

Lapwing

I couldn't see any sign of a Short-eared Owl today. A Kestrel was hunting at the back and a Shelduck took to the air before settling back down onto the oyster farm moments later.

Shelduck

A single Redshank called, unusually enough my only one for today and as I neared the towers 3 Swift flew west bringing the visit to a close.

Swift

Birds seen this visit included: 11 Swift, 86 Swallow, 2 House Martin, House Sparrows, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, House Sparrows, 4 Wheatear, 1 Pied Wagtail, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 4 Meadow Pipit, 8 Whitethroat, 4 Linnet, 11 Sand Martin, 1 Whimbrel, 13 Oystercatcher, 2 Little Egret, 1 Stonechat, 15 Sedge Warbler, 1 Lapwing, 5 Shelduck, 1 Reed Bunting, 4 Mallard, 1 Corn Bunting, 2 Mute Swan, 1 Reed Warbler, 11 Ringed Plover, 8 Turnstone, 2 Mediterranean Gull, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Redshank,

Wheatears, Common Sandpipers and a Quiet Wander - Reculver to Chambers Wall 03/05/21

I visited Reculver this morning with a fairly cool south westerly breeze keeping temperatures down. A couple of Common Sandpiper flew west calling away and made a nice start to the visit. As I made my way towards the towers a very smart male Pied Wagtail was on the rocks and was collecting nesting material and spiders webs. 

Pied Wagtail

Five Sand Martin flew west as I rounded the towers and a Grey Heron flew over to the oyster farm. Coming down onto the sea wall I was greeted by a Wheatear on a fence post but I was only able to grab a very quick shot as I could hear dog walkers coming up behind me. Next minute the Wheatear flew to the concrete apron and another flew up from the rocks and followed it. They paused briefly on the concrete apron before flying on past the towers.

Wheatear

Wheatears

The tail less Kestrel appears to be starting to regrow its tail but it is still very stunted. It doesn't seem to affect its ability to hunt and it flew past carrying prey.

Kestrel and prey

There was another Wheatear on the cut grass towards the water pumping station, a smart male this time. It also was flushed by a dog walker, moving briefly to the fence before landing in the old caravan site. Hopefully it was going to get a little more peace there.

male Wheatear

male Wheatear

A Little Egret was in the channel below the pumping station with a plume of feathers catching in the wind on one side. It did not appear to be particularly successful at catching any prey items.

Little Egret

It was very quiet out to sea as I made my along the sea wall. An immature Mute Swan flew past and I always enjoy seeing the mix of juvenile and white feathering.

immature Mute Swan

Another Kestrel was hunting over the lower track and this bird also appeared to re-growing its tail feathers but was not the same bird as I had seen earlier. This bird's tail re-growth was a fair bit further on than the other bird I saw earlier. He made a couple of unsuccessful drops onto prey before successfully making a catch.

Kestrel

Kestrel

A Whimbrel flew west out to sea while on the other side of the sea wall a Marsh Harrier was hunting over one of the dykes before being mobbed by a Carrion Crow.

Whimbrel

Whimbrel

A Black-headed Gull took an exception to a passing Herring Gull and flew up to mob it. It was persistent in its pursuit but remained at approximately the same distance from the Herring Gull as it chased it. Otherwise it remained very quiet out to sea.

Herring Gull and Black-headed Gull

Herring Gull and Black-headed Gull

Herring Gull and Black-headed Gull

A Rock Pipit was singing when I arrived at Coldharbour and defending its territory vigorously. It would 'parachute' down, singing away, continuing its song briefly from whatever perch it had selected, before stopping to check round. Both a passing Meadow Pipit and a Reed Bunting were challenged and chased from its territory.

Rock Pipit

Rock Pipit

A couple of Mute Swan and a pair of Shelduck were on Coldharbour and it was aptly named today as the wind was making it feel decidedly chilly. I had a wander up to Chambers Wall and had another 4 singing Cetti's Warblers on the way through. Despite the coolness of the wind some hoverflies were making the most of any shelter and taking advantage of the reflected heat from some leaves while resting up.

Helophilus pendulus

It had proved to be a pretty quiet wander through but a bonus to have a Bank Holiday off and to be able to do some bird watching on it.

Birds seen this visit included: 2 Common Sandpiper west, 15 Sand Martin west, 10 Blackbird, 2 Pied Wagtail, House Sparrows, Wood Pigeons, 5 Magpie, 1 Grey Heron, 12 Whitethroat, 3 Wheatear, 29 Swallow west, 2 Kestrel, 7 Linnet west, 3 Little Egret, 2 Mute Swan, 7 Reed Bunting, 6 Oystercatcher, 14 Sedge Warbler, 5 Shelduck, 7 Turnstone, 1 Whimbrel west, 2 Mallard, 6 Meadow Pipit, 3 Ringed Plover, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Rock Pipit, 2 Tufted Duck, Skylarks, 1 Lapwing, 6 Cetti's Warbler, 3 Reed Warbler, 2 Chaffinch, 1 Green Woodpecker, Blue Tits, Great Tits, 2 Blackcap, 5 Goldfinch,