Darters, Wall Brown and Chaffinches On the Move - Shuart to Reculver 22/10/20

I started out from Shuart today on a sunny morning with building cloud and a cool south westerly wind. Two Ring-necked Parakeet were calling loudly near the start of the track. There were a lot fewer Goldcrests around today as I made my way along. A Water Rail calling was a welcome sound and 2 Siskin flew over followed by another 2 a short while later. Some Redwing were enjoying the berries and a single Blackcap worked its way through the hedge. A young Wood Pigeon appeared to have a deformed bill but I do not know if the skin under the bill expands as it almost looked as if it could be berries or something jammed in there if it was not an actual deformity. It has managed to get to the size it is so perhaps it does not interfere with feeding as much as it looks like it would do.

young Wood Pigeon with ? bill deformity

Good numbers of Redwing and Fieldfare were in the hedgerow.  I had not realised quite how many until they were flushed from the back of the hedgerow by somebody walking down that side. I had seen 7 Fieldfare, could hear others but 37 took to the air when flushed by the walker. Likewise with the Redwing, I had only seen a fraction of the 24 that took to the air when the Fieldfare flew up alarm calling. It just goes to show how many birds I miss. A couple of Migrant Hawkers were on the wing as I made my way along and 2 Stonechat were near the railway crossing as I came up onto the embankment. I decided to see if I could get as far as Chambers Wall and headed that way. A flock of 12 Swallow flew west and as I made my way along flocks of Chaffinch of various sizes were moving west. A Common Darter was on the wing and obligingly settled near to me. I saw several as I made my way along. I will miss seeing dragonflies and damselflies. It always seems a long time until they are on the wing again. I enjoyed watching both a Merlin and a Sparrowhawk over the fields.

Common Darter

Common Darter

Common Darter

A couple of Tufted Duck were on the river in the company of 3 Moorhen and a couple of Mute Swan. Two Redpoll flew west and a little later a single Crossbill also flew west. Chaffinch were continuing to move through and several small flocks of Starling also moved west with another 115 in one of the fields. A Ring Ouzel called but remained out of sight. As I neared the junction with Chambers Wall a flock of 15 Redpoll flew west. I had planned to walk up to Chambers Wall but I had tried to walk too far today and the need to sit down won out and I headed to the sea wall instead. A Cetti's Warbler greeted me loudly as I made my up with another a little further along. A Mute Swan on Coldharbour was on its own little island and apart from having a quick look round now and then it was busy preening. Its mate was nearby.

Mute Swan

Mute Swan

A couple of Redshank on Coldharbour were flying around noisily and apart from 2 Black-headed Gulls and a few Meadow Pipit it appeared quiet. I sat on the sea wall for a while and the tide was coming in quite fast. Out on the rapidly shrinking exposed mussel bed 30 Sanderling were along the edge and a single Curlew and Oystercatcher were busily feeding. 2 Brent Geese slowly drifted east. As the tide advanced a Little Egret moved from the mussel bed to the waters edge and made its way steadily along looking for prey.

Little Egret

Using a sit, walk, sit, walk approach I worked my way towards Reculver and with each sit on the sea wall I enjoyed just watching out to sea for a while. Though it remained fairly quiet, as the tide continued to rise Sandwich Terns began to appear and fished a fair way off shore.

Sandwich Tern

A flock of 22 Golden Plover took to the air and out to sea a couple of Grey Plover flew east. A Pied Wagtail on the shore was exploring the high tide line and was a pleasure to watch.

Pied Wagtail

Two Chinook Helicopters were circling and coming past quite low sending the Golden Plover back up as they came round. After a couple of circuits the helicopters headed off but I could still hear them for quite a while over at the back.

Boeing Chinook Helicopters

Boeing Chinook Helicopter

Small numbers of waders were on the move as the tide continued to rise. 43 Turnstone flew past and settled on the rocks and a flock of 25 Ringed Plover flew east and had a few Sanderling tucked in with them. The movement of Chaffinch overhead seemed to have tailed off with a total of 436 seen during the visit.

Turnstone

As I made my way past the oyster farm 7 Redpoll flew west and a Grey Partridge was calling from over on the oyster farm. A couple of Common Darter flew up briefly. A single Common Gull flew west out to sea and a Brent Goose also flew west. Carrying on I saw a butterfly that appeared to have been caught in a gust of wind and was tumbling through the air. It crash landed on the shingle and rested there for a few moments before taking to the air again. I was surprised to see that it was a male Wall (Brown) Butterfly as I do not remember seeing one this late before. Presumably this is a 3rd brood male. It made a very nice end to the visit.

male Wall (Brown) Butterfly

Birds seen this visit included: 2 Ring-necked Parakeet, 22 Robin, 19 Blackbird, 5 Chiffchaff, 436 Chaffinch, 3 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Green Woodpecker, 8 Blue Tit, 7 Pied Wagtail, 7 Wren, 5 Goldfinch, Wood Pigeons, Skylarks, 4 Dunnock, 12 Goldcrest, 3 Great Tit, 5 Siskin, 5 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Water Rail, 1 Blackcap, 2 Common Buzzard, 33 Redwing, 3 Mistle Thrush, 8 Long-tailed Tit, 42 Fieldfare, 22 Meadow Pipit, 6 Stonechat, 38 Swallow, 24 Redpoll, 1 Crossbill, Starling 325, 3 Kestrel, 7 Magpie, 1 Merlin, 6 Mute Swan,  2 Tufted Duck, 3 Moorhen, 1 Sparrowhawk, 6 Great Black-backed Gull, 10 Mallard, 1 Ring Ouzel, 4 Reed Bunting, 35 Sanderling, 1 Oystercatcher, 1 Curlew, 5 Little Egret, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, 3 Brent Geese, 8 Sandwich Tern, 48 Turnstone, 2 Redshank, 22 Golden Plover, 2 Grey Plover, 25 Ringed Plover, 1 Rock Pipit, 1 Grey Partridge, 1 Common Gull 

Pied Flycatcher and a Fire Bug - Reculver to Chambers Wall 30/09/20

I headed to Reculver on an almost windless but overcast morning and out to sea there was barely a ruffle on the waters surface in the calm conditions. I passed a couple of Chiffchaff in the bushes up by the towers and as I came down onto the sea wall there were another 6 in the bushes and scrub area suggesting some new birds in. A Little Egret flew over the oyster farm showing clear signs of moult in its flight feathers.

Little Egret

Overall, it appeared very quiet as I headed along the sea wall. 10 Siskin flew west followed a short while later by 10 Skylark and 5 Meadow Pipit in the same direction. Small numbers of Swallow were moving through and a few House Martin. Ringed Plover and Turnstone were restless as several dog walkers were along various parts of the shore.

Turnstone and Ringed Plover

Turnstone and Ringed Plover

The odd Chiffchaff were in various bushes on the other side of sea wall and a male Blackcap popped up briefly and scolded a Stonechat. A Sparrowhawk overhead caused panic amongst the Golden Plover and they wheeled up in alarm. Flocks of Turnstone and Ringed Plover were still back and fore out to sea, appearing dark and light as they banked from showing upper to lower wings. Sadly they did not get much peace as disturbance from people along the shore was quite high today.

Turnstone and Ringed Plover

Turnstone and Ringed Plover

House Martins started to stream through both on the land side and out to sea. They would come through in pulses and were quite a sight and there were many more than I managed to count. 4 Dunlin dropped in with some Sanderling and a little further along Ringed Plover and Sanderling were joining some Turnstone on a rapidly diminishing tideline.

Turnstone and Ringed Plover

Sanderling, Ringed Plover and Turnstone

Ringed Plover

Coldharbour was quiet with just a few Redshank and Black-headed Gulls. I had a sit on the sea wall for a while and out to sea remained quiet although I did see three small flocks of 3, 3 and 4 Little Egrets flying west far out to sea.

Little Egrets

I had a wander along to Chambers Wall which turned out to be surprisingly quiet. A few Chiffchaff were calling but there did not appear to be any new birds in but they might just have been in super skulky mode. The hedgerow alongside the road was, however alive with birds with several Chiffchaff and a lovely Pied Flycatcher.

Pied Flycatcher

Pied Flycatcher

As I neared the pick up point the visit held one last surprise for me. I caught sight of a flash of red on the road and could see an insect scurrying across. I could hear a tractor coming up the road behind me and I wonder if the insect could feel the vibration because it was certainly in a hurry. It did not look right for a Corizus hyoscyami, a bug I have seen before, so I grabbed a few photos before it disappeared into cover and looked it up when I got home. I was really surprised to see that it was a Fire Bug Pyrrhocoris apterus. Not something I would have expected to see here at all as it is nationally very localised and not, as far as I could see, usually in this part of the country. Having checked as much information as I could in books and online I think that I have identified it correctly and wonder how it came to be here and whether it could have been blown in with any of the strong winds we've had recently. It certainly made a very interesting end to the visit and was a little beauty.

Fire Bug Pyrrhocoris apterus

Fire Bug Pyrrhocoris apterus

Fire Bug Pyrrhocoris apterus

Birds seen this visit included: 28 Chiffchaff, 63 Swallow, 6 Pied Wagtail, Starlings, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, 5 Mute Swan, 2 Dunnock, 4 Wren, 10 Mallard, 4 Grey Heron, 2 Oystercatcher, 9 Redshank, 3 Little Egret, 18 Linnet, 10 Siskin west, 12 Meadow Pipit, 13 Skylark, 1 Pheasant, 7 Stonechat, House, 3 Great Black-backed Gull, House Sparrows, 13 Reed Bunting, 11 Goldfinch, 1 Kestrel, 5 Magpie, 35 Golden Plover, 138 Ringed Plover, 87 Turnstone, 835 House Martin, 3 Blackcap, 1 Sparrowhawk, 78 Sanderling, 4 Dunlin, 3 Robin, 1 Pied Flycatcher

A Strangely Calling Golden Plover and Moving Siskin - Reculver to Chambers Wall via Stables 11/09/20

The sun was rising and doing its best Jupiter impersonation, with its bands of cloud across, as I arrived at Reculver early morning. A Robin was on the rocks as usual but this time just a single Chiffchaff was in the bushes by the towers.

Sunrise

Small flocks of Oystercatcher were flying east and looked as if they came into shore at Coldharbour. Black-headed Gulls were roosting along the shoreline but quickly moved off as a dog walker and several racing cyclists came through. A little further along a single Black-headed Gull was surrounded by roosting Sanderling, Ringed Plover, a few Turnstone and 4 Dunlin.

Black-headed Gull and Sanderling

12 Mallard flew over and also headed in Coldharbour's direction. 7 Teal flew towards the sea before turning and heading back inland.

Teal

A Common Buzzard was up at the back of the oyster farm and disturbed 2 Little Egret from one of the dykes as it worked its way along. Several Reed Buntings were in the bushes by the junction with the green bank and Starlings chattered away. I found Coldharbour quiet on reaching it but one of the Redshank present was throwing a near perfect reflection into the water. A Cetti's Warbler called from from the other side of the sea wall and 3 Chiffchaff were in the bushes.

Redshank

I carried on along the sea wall and had a seat on the sea wall on the other side of Coldharbour. 2 Wheatear were on the shingle,blending almost perfectly in with it, one of which paused for a photo even if it was a little distant. Above me a flock of 32 Siskin flew west calling as they did so.

Wheatear

I decided to carry on along the sea wall and as I did I heard a wader give calls I did not recognise. It was coming closer but quite high above, flying fast west. I tried to record the calls on the voice recorder I carry to keep note of the birds I see and also tried to grab a few photos before it flew past me. I have tried transferring it to the camera so it can be downloaded as a video file. 

I was expecting the wader to be something different but was surprised when I looked at the photos to see what appears to be a Golden Plover. I have not heard one make these calls before and could not find a matching call on any sound files of Golden Plover calls I could find on the internet. It may just be that I have not got enough experience of Golden Plover calls but I have never heard one with a double followed by a triple element call before. It made the calls consistently as it went over with both the double element (first call on the recording) and triple element (second call on the recording) calls repeated many times as it continued west. I did not hear it make any other call.

Golden Plover

Golden Plover

I think it likely that it was disturbed from the wader roost as a little further along I saw a cyclist pushing their bike along the shingle ridge nearest the beach. A little further on a Golden Plover flew in, landing briefly on a shingle ridge, before moving off and appearing to come down onto the wader roost behind Plumpudding. I do not know if this is the same Golden Plover or not, the other had appeared to carry on west but may well have circled round.

Golden Plover

Golden Plover

Golden Plover

Plumpudding Island appeared deserted apart from a couple of Wood Pigeons and 3 Pied Wagtail. A few Linnet and Meadow Pipit were at the back. The tide was starting to go out as I neared the stables and a Robin was on the rocks and a few Sanderling and Oystercatcher on the shore. 5 Teal flew west.

Teal

At the stables a large number of Starling were singing and chattering away in the bushes but suddenly fell completely silent, as quickly as if a switch had been flicked off, when 2 Sparrowhawk shot through the bushes scattering Linnet and Goldfinches in alarm. As one, the Starlings took off in a whirr of wings and quickly began to loosely group before starting to wheel round in an ever tighter flock. 

Starlings

Starlings

I had a wander along the embankment and was greeted by another very vocal Cetti's Warbler. Chiffchaff were calling here and there. Above there was a large movement of Siskin flying west with flocks of various sizes every few minutes, or so, overhead. I tried to see if I could get some photos but it proved difficult as the space from when I heard them coming to them being past me was very short. Still, it was fun to try. By the time I reached the turnoff for Chambers Wall I had seen a total of 844 Siskin west. Wow.

Siskin

Siskin

A Marsh Harrier was over the fields and a little further along so were a couple of Common Buzzard. A Hobby was on the ground, in one of the fields, eating its prey. A Tree Pipit called flying west. As I walked up to Chambers Wall a Willow Warbler was singing and a Lesser Whitethroat was making its way through the bushes. Good numbers of Chiffchaff were calling and a few Reed Warbler and a single Sedge Warbler were in the bushes together with a couple of Blackcap and a Whitethroat. Another loud Cetti's Warbler finished the visit nicely.

Birds seen this visit included: 6 Robin, 29 Chiffchaff, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 14 Pied Wagtail, 3 Blackbird, 4 Little Egret, 3 Common Buzzard, 2 Sandwich Tern E , 9 Redshank, 62 Ringed Plover, 7 Stonechat, 76 Goldfinch, 18 Reed Bunting, 3 Kestrel, 11 Meadow Pipit, 104 Oystercatcher, 36 Mallard, 2 Grey Heron, Carrion Crows, 49 Linnet, 6 Mute Swan, 1 Wren, 52 Sanderling, 4 Dunlin, 8 Turnstone, 2 Hobby, 5 Yellow Wagtail, 44 Golden Plover, 12 Teal, 2 Coot, 4 Cetti's Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 4 Magpie, 876 Siskin west, 2 Wheatear, 1 Rock Pipit, House Sparrows, 350 Starling, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Sparrowhawk, 42 Swallow, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Tree Pipit, Blue Tits, Great Tits, 2 Corn Bunting, 2 Blackcap, 5 Reed Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Chaffinch, 1 Whitethroat, 1 Sedge Warber, 

A Siskin and an Unsuccessful Butterfly Hunt - Shuart to Embankment 03/10/19

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.

Wren

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.

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.

immature Grey Heron

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.

Little Grebe

House Sparrow

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.

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.

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.

Small White Butterfly

Large White Butterfly

Peacock

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.

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