Turtle Dove, Displaying Common Terns and a Hercules - Shuart to Reculver 20/05/21

I arrived at Shuart on a beautifully sunny morning. A Little Owl flew up from the horse paddock as I arrived and the air was alive with bird song. Everywhere I looked the grass and vegetation were sparkling with dew and were a beautiful sight but one that I couldn't manage to do justice to with the camera.

As I made my way down the track I was pleased to hear a Turtle Dove purring away and it was a very welcome sound. It is always nice to hear my first one for the year. I was having a scan round when a Kestrel suddenly flew into the top of the tree above me giving a great view of its splayed tail as it tried to steady itself in a steadily strengthening wind.

Kestrel

A Common Tern flew south and my 5th Grey Heron of the morning called loudly as it came into land. Bird song continued to follow me as I wandered along and I enjoyed listening to the various songs as they separated and mingled as different birds dominated at any one time. As I neared the railway line 4 Tufted Duck were in one of the dykes, each pair at opposite ends.

pair of Tufted Duck

Both Cetti's Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat were singing with gusto at the stables. 10 Linnet were feeding in one of the paddocks and a male House Sparrow was keeping tight hold of a feather he had found.

male House Sparrow

The tide was in when I reached the sea wall with just a few Herring Gulls off shore. 5 Swallows flew west and a single Wheatear was on the shingle.

Wheatear

Five Mallard were on Plumpudding, 4 males and 1 female. 1 male appeared to be paired with the female,  the other 3 males keeping together. There was a nest at the edge of the bank but it appeared to contain a couple of pieces of whelk egg cases rather than eggs. 

male and female Mallard

male Mallards

3 Yellow Wagtail and 5 Goldfinch were feeding at the back. The Yellow Wagtail was a welcome splash of colour on what was becoming an increasingly overcast day with cloud rapidly building. As I neared the end of Plumpudding a Common Sandpiper flew in and landed on the back of one of the islands.

Yellow Wagtail

Both the male and female Marsh Harrier were up towards the embankment as I headed towards Coldharbour and the pair of Tufted Duck were in their usual dyke. 2 Common Tern flew inland allowing a couple of shots as one came past.

Common Tern

Common Tern

Another 2 Common Tern were on the shore and reacted by calling when the second of the above Common Tern flew over. After a while, with a deep sweep forward of its wings, one of the terns took off.

Common Terns

Common Terns

After a little while it came back into land, being met by its mate calling away, and then both began displaying which was a real pleasure to be able to watch. 

Common Tern

Common Terns

Common Terns

Common Terns

Common Terns

A couple of Great Black-backed Gulls flew east and 5 Tufted Duck flew west but otherwise out to sea remained quiet.

Tufted Duck

Tufted Duck

Coldharbour's only occupants were a Little Egret and a pair of Shelduck. On the other side of the sea wall a Salsify flower was ready to open and a Dunnock was tucked into one of the bushes. I am still failing miserably at being able to see or hear the Grasshopper Warbler, which is proving to be a bit of a bogey bird so far this year for me, but hopefully one of these days I may just be in luck. Here's hoping anyway.

Salsify

Dunnock

Swallows were still continuing to trickle through west and the odd House Martin were also heading west. A Cuckoo was calling away and just beyond Coldharbour a pair of Coot had five young with both parents tenderly feeding them.

pair of Coot with young

pair of Coot with young

The Cuckoo was still calling as I made my way towards the green wall. A Meadow Pipit landed on the sea wall and a loose feather was catching in the ever strengthening south south westerly wind.

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Another Common Tern flew west followed a short while later by a Great Black-backed Gull. A Little Egret flew over the oyster farm and a Lapwing, once again, was doing frequent display flights over the lagoons. A military transported plane came in low over the Roman Galley before putting its wheels up and heading out to sea. Having looked it up on the internet I think that it is a Lockheed Martin C-130J C4 Hercules. It was an impressive sight.

Lockheed Martin C-130J C4 Hercules

Lockheed Martin C-130J C4 Hercules

Lockheed Martin C-130J C4 Hercules

A Shelduck was on its usual lagoon in the oyster farm and took grave exception when a couple of Tufted Duck flew in and landed on the same lagoon. It immediately swam straight at the nearest, which was the female, and chased her until she flew, the male joining her moments later and both continued south. As I came past the towers a flock of 20 Starling were on the grass with one of the youngsters having a fair bit of yellow in its bill. Its feathering was beautifully fresh and though I well messed up the shot of it taking off it makes a nice memory shot for me.

young Starling

young Starling

young Starling

I finished with a Pied Wagtail on the rocks by the car park. It was nice to be able to get out of the wind but it had been an enjoyable visit.

Birds seen this visit included: 3 Pheasant, 17 Blackbird, 1 Robin, 1 Little Owl, 6 Chaffinch, Wood Pigeons, 2 Stock Dove, 5 Blackcap, Blue Tits, Great Tits, 2 Chiffchaff, 3 Dunnock, 7 Wren, 1 Turtle Dove, 1 Jay, 1 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 12 Whitethroat, 3 Cetti's Warbler, 12 Goldfinch, 5 Grey Heron, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Moorhen, Carrion Crows, 2 Little Egret, 7 Common Tern, 1 Kestrel, 22 Sedge Warbler, 12 Mallard, 3 Reed Warbler, 16 Reed Bunting, 4 Mute Swan, 13 Tufted Duck, 3 Great Black-backed Gull, 33 Linnet, 26 Swallow west, 14 Meadow Pipit, 6 Oystercatcher, 12 Ringed Plover, 3 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Common Sandpiper, 10 Turnstone, 1 Cuckoo, 6 House Martin west, 2 Coot with 5 young, 2 Pied Wagtail, 2 Magpie, 4 Shelduck, 1 Little Egret, Starlings, 

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,

Summer Plumaged Bar-tailed Godwits - Shuart to Reculver 28/04/21

On a chilly and windy day at Shuart the local Jackdaws were noisy as I arrived, with the commotion coming from the paddock, and when I looked they were impatiently taking it in turns to land on the horse's back were and taking beakfulls of hair from its back for their nests. The horse seemed remarkably unconcerned on the whole only appearing to react a couple of times. 

Jackdaw gathering nesting material from Horse's back

I had a wander up to the top of the bridleway and above a Common Buzzard was calling away as it was repeatedly mobbed by a couple of Carrion Crows. A couple of Ring-necked Parakeet were very vocal as I headed down to the main track. I could hear a Cuckoo calling but it sounded a fair distance away. Blackcap and Chiffchaff were in good voice and a Sparrowhawk circled lazily over to the side before a Carrion Crow spotted it and drove it on. I paused to enjoy a Dunnock singing away. He may not be the most musical but he certainly makes up for it with enthusiasm.

Dunnock

Dunnock

I enjoyed listening to Sedge Warbler song on my way to the stables and from the embankment I could see a male Tufted Duck tucked into the side of one of the dykes. Even at that distance its yellow eye shone brightly.

Tufted Duck

It continued to be quiet as I passed the stables apart from a vocal Lesser Whitethroat. The tide was rapidly coming in when I reached the sea wall with only a little sandy shore still exposed. A Whimbrel, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits and 4 Sanderling were making the most of the last bit of sandy shore uncovered. The Bar-tailed Godwits are beautiful birds in summer plumage, the male particularly striking but the female was also very attractive. I couldn't manage much in the way of photos but it was lovely to be able to watch them for a while, even if I was freezing cold and continuously buffeted by the wind. They mainly fed just beyond the water's edge, their heads partially under water as they probed the sand below the water. 

Bar-tailed Godwits

Bar-tailed Godwits

Bar-tailed Godwits

The incoming tide brought them gradually closer but light levels remained very poor. The Sanderling helpfully moved closer to them and looked tiny against the size of the Godwits. 

Bar-tailed Godwits and Sanderling

Bar-tailed Godwits

Bar-tailed Godwits

I haven't seen a summer plumaged Bar-tailed Godwit for years so it was a real pleasure to be able to watch these two birds today. The Whimbrel that was a little further along headed for roost and the Godwits and Sanderling moved off too. 

Plumpudding was very quiet when I reached it with just a couple of Mallard while on the either side of the sea wall a Cetti's Warbler was positively belting out its song. Coldharbour was equally quiet with another pair of Mallard, a Little Egret and the usual Black-headed Gulls. The female Mallard appeared quite pale in colour but with beautifully crisp plumage and the male kept his eye on her when he wasn't by her side.

female Mallard

male Mallard

A few Linnets were on the shore as I made my way towards Reculver the bright colours of the males breeding plumage shining out amongst the shingle even in the dull light. A male Marsh Harrier was hunting over towards the embankment while off shore a Great Crested Grebe moved closer in to fish as the tide continued to rise.

Great Crested Grebe

As I passed the oyster farm a couple of Grey Heron were moving from lagoon to lagoon and on nearing Reculver a couple of Sandwich Tern flew east giving some nice views as they did so.

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern

I arrived at Reculver windswept and frozen but I had thoroughly enjoyed watching the Bar-tailed Godwits and though otherwise it had remained pretty quiet it had been good to be out.

Birds seen this visit included: Jackdaws, 1 Common Buzzard, 2 Ring-necked Parakeet, Wood Pigeons, 2 Robin, 1 Pheasant, 2 Wren, 14 Blackbird, 1 Dunnock, 4 Blackcap, 3 Chaffinch, 1 Cuckoo, 2 Dunnock, Blue Tits, Great Tits, 1 Moorhen, 2 Stock Dove, 1 Sparrowhawk, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Sedge Warbler, 4 Lapwing, 4 Cetti's Warbler, 3 Whitethroat, 1 Song Thrush, Goldfinches, 2 Magpie, 1 Tufted Duck, 5 Pied Wagtail, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, Starlings, Linnets, 2 Bar-tailed Godwits, 1 Whimbrel, 4 Sanderling, 4 Mallard, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Great Crested Grebe, Ringed Plovers, Turnstones, 2 Grey Heron