Med Gull, Wheatears and Hawkers - Reculver to Shuart 07/08/19

I headed to Reculver with the aim of a slow wander to either Chambers Wall or Shuart depending on how the walking went. There was a south westerly wind with building cloud and it was forecast to be a warm day. The tide was just starting to go out. It seemed fairly quiet when I arrived. A few Sand Martin were zipping around and House Sparrows and Starling were busy feeding up by the towers. Apart from some Herring and Black-headed Gulls out to sea was very quiet. There was a juvenile Mediterranean Gull in amongst 110 Black-headed Gulls roosting on the beach. An approaching dog walker sent them all up so I tried for a photo and luckily I managed to get the juvenile Mediterranean Gull in amongst them.

juvenile Mediterranean Gull in amongst Black-headed Gulls

A couple of Redshank were noisily debating on the oyster farm and a Grey Heron and a Little Egret were in the tree that often appears popular with them.  A Green Sandpiper was also on the oyster farm. A few Turnstone were on the move as the tide fell with 12 flying in. 8 Ringed Plover were roosting on the shore. A couple of Carrion Crow were working their way along the shore line and the light catching their feathers looked lovely.

Carrion Crow

A few Whitethroat were in various bushes while a male Stonechat had a begging youngster in tow and a little further along I also saw a female Stonechat. A couple of Wheatear were on the grassy area of the beach.

Wheatear

Good numbers of Meadow Pipit were either along the shore or the sea wall area. A couple of Stock Dove were at a fields edge. I could see 8 Coot down the dyke near Coldharbour which included at least 4 youngsters. Coldharbour itself was pretty quiet with just a couple of Common Sandpipers and a few Black-headed Gulls.  A pair of Pied Wagtail were on the shore with the male posing nicely for a photo.

Pied Wagtail

I sat and watched out to sea for a while. Sandwich Terns were passing west in small numbers with a mix of adults and youngsters amongst them. Common Terns were also heading west starting with a group of 15 adults and youngsters and then passing west in 2’s and 3’s. A Herring Gull flew up holding something and dropped it onto the shingle before flying down to see if it had successfully managed to open it.

Common Tern

Sandwich Tern

Herring Gull dropping shell

I carried on along the sea wall and found Plumpudding island to be very quiet with only a couple of juvenile Yellow Wagtail and a few Linnet on there. As I passed the stables there were 3 sizeable flocks of House Sparrows adding up to approximately 160 birds. A female Marsh Harrier flew across the back. Honeysuckle was out in flower and looked lovely.

Honeysuckle

A family of Blue Tits were working their way through the bushes. A male Marsh Harrier was quartering over a far field. As I came up to the hedgerow I could see some hawkers on the wing. As it clouded over they landed and in amongst them I could see a Southern Hawker. It appeared to be a different individual to the one I saw last time as this one was a male. It was a beautiful dragonfly and I was well chuffed to see it.

male Southern Hawker

male Southern Hawker

male Southern Hawker

A little further along I was very pleased to see the male Southern Migrant Hawker as it was good to know that it was still around. I managed to get a shot quickly of it as it was resting up before a fast approaching tractor came up the track and unfortunately drove both the Southern and Southern Migrant Hawker ahead of it. They flew up the track strongly and I lost them from sight. A little while later Marc Heath had a male Southern Migrant Hawker much further up the track and it is hard to know if it was the same one or a possible second one. Time will tell I guess. It would be lovely if a female is found raising the possibility of them breeding.

male Southern Migrant Hawker

A family of Blue and Great Tits were working their way through the hedge together with 5 Long-tailed Tits. Swifts were hawking for insects above. I came across a Small Red-eyed Damselfly and a Willow Emerald Damselfly who were both enjoying the sunshine.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

Willow Emerald Damselfly

As I carried on down the track I had an eye to eye encounter with a Common Darter and then a little further on I enjoyed watching one as the sun shone through its wings.

Common Darter

Common Darter

Common Darter

I finished off an enjoyable visit with good views of a couple of Migrant Hawker.

Migrant Hawker

Migrant Hawker

Birds seen this visit include: 22 Sand Martin, 1 Reed Bunting, 7 Pied Wagtail, Cormorants, House Sparrows, Wood Pigeons, 65 Linnet, 6 Redshank, 31Turnstone, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, 1 Mediterranean Gull, 3 Little Egret, 3 Grey Heron, 17 Little Ringed Plover, 4 Great Black-backed Gull, 4 Carrion Crow, 28 Meadow Pipit, Skylarks, 1 Green Sandpiper, 7 Whitethroat, 5 Sedge Warbler, 3 Stonechat, 1 Reed Warbler, 2 Wheatear, 2 Stock Dove, 11 Oystercatcher, 24 Sandwich Tern, 6 Common Sandpiper, 7 Swallow, 8 Coot, 17 Common Tern, 4 Blackbird, 2 Goldfinch, 2 Marsh Harrier, Blue Tits, 3 Mute Swan, 1 Magpie, 1 Collared Dove, 10 Swift, 2 Wren, 1 Dunnock, 1 Jay, 5 Long-tailed Tit, Great Tits,

Brown Hawkers, Whimbrel and Marbled Whites - Chambers Wall to Coldharbour 12/07/19

I made my way to Chambers Wall today. It was a sunny with building cloud and a north westerly breeze. As I walked up the road a Sparrowhawk shot through causing alarm amongst the Skylarks and Swallows. Lots of Gatekeepers, and good numbers of Meadow Brown, Large and Small White butterflies were on the wing and a couple of worn Painted Ladies soaked up the sunshine as they settled on the road. Overall it seemed very quiet. A Whitethroat gave a brief burst of song as did a Reed Bunting and a couple of Reed Warblers were moving through the reeds carrying food. As I approached the hedge a Chaffinch was singing away and a couple of Linnet and a Yellow Wagtail called as they flew over. The car park area was very quiet for birds. I could see a Brown Hawker and an Emperor Dragonfly hunting over the river. At the waters edge small fish were in the shallows but I do not know which they are. Good numbers of Small Red-eyed Damselflies were resting on the pond weed or chasing each other. A Black-tailed Skimmer zoomed past but did not stop.

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

A male Common Darter flew up from the vegetation but then disappeared from view. A little further along I came across another Common Darter who was more obliging and allowed some photos. The yellow line on the black legs showed well. Several more Small Red-eyed Damselflies were resting up nearby.

Common Darter

I wandered along for a little way to see if I could catch up with the Brown Hawker. A Willow Emerald flew up from the vegetation and settled briefly before moving off.

Willow Emerald

Bush Crickets were plentiful today and I came across several striking Roesel's Bush Crickets. They tended to be fairly camera shy, disappearing into cover at the first sign of movement but a male was a little more obliging, pausing briefly before it moved off.

male Roesel's Bush Cricket

Gatekeeper Butterfly

The clouds had built a lot by now and with the sun covered for a while I hoped I might be lucky enough to catch up with a Brown Hawker settled but I did not have any luck. The sun soon came out again and I could see 4 Brown Hawkers in flight at the same time, 2 up river and 2 down river. I tried again for some flight shots but though the one I was trying for regularly flew along the far bank of vegetation it was so fast that I found it difficult to keep in the view finder. I didn't end up with any decent photos but enjoyed trying for them and was pleased to get these as at least they make good memory shots even if somewhat blurry.

Brown Hawker

Brown Hawker

I saw a couple of female Emperor Dragonflies ovipositing and a smart male flew down the river.

female Emperor Dragonfly ovipositing

It was still very quiet for birds. A Blue and a Great Tit family were busy feeding and Reed Warblers were kept busy carrying food. A Whitethroat was back and fore with food and as it reappeared multiple begging calls could be heard from within the bush. A Grey Heron fishing in the river gave the chance to try for a photo. There seemed to be plenty of fish. In any of the shallows there were large schools of little fish and in the deeper water there were some sizeable fish near the surface.

Grey Heron

There were multiple pairs of mating Blue-tailed Damselflies and good numbers of females ovipositing. Small Red-eyed Damselflies were resting up. They are attractive damselflies. In the shaded areas several female Scorpion Flies were feeding well on small insects that they had caught.

mating Blue-tailed Damselflies

Small Red-eyed Damselfly

female Scorpion Fly

As I approached the railway crossing a Peacock butterfly looked stunning as it waited for the sun to come back out and a micro moth also caught my eye, as did another Common Darter. I will need to try and identify the micro moth as I do not know which it is.

Peacock Butterfly

Common Darter

Originally I had planned to carry on to Shuart via the embankment but as walking wasn't playing ball today I decided to have a slow wander to Coldharbour instead. A couple of Skylark were on the path and a small group of Sand Martin were hunting for insects over one of the fields. The odd Reed and Sedge Warbler were carrying bill fulls of food but otherwise it was very quiet. I could see another 3 Emperor Dragonflies along the river. As I came up to Coldharbour a Herring Gull was just escaping having been mugged for the Starfish it was carrying. It had managed to hold on to it despite being chased for several minutes by another Herring Gull.

Herring Gull and Starfish

Coldharbour was very quiet and I could only see a single Black-headed Gull on it. As it was so quiet I had a short walk along the bottom path to see what I could find. I saw an insect that I have not seen before and have not, at the moment, been able to find out what it is. I will update when I do. Both Large and Small White Butterflies as well as Peacock Butterflies were enjoying the Red Clover.

A female Roesel's Bush Cricket gave some good views as it moved about amongst the vegetation. There were certainly plenty of these around today.

female Roesel's Bush Cricket

female Roesel's Bush Cricket

A couple of Oystercatcher flew over calling and a Sedge Warbler popped up nearby allowing some close photos. A Speckled Bush Cricket remained mainly obscured by vegetation but was nice to see. Several Marbled White Butterflies were active and I was pleased to catch up with my first ones of the year.

Sedge Warbler

Marbled White

A Five-spot Burnet Moth caught my eye and though I could not get a clear shot through the grass it was nice to be able to see both upper and inner wing. I saw a Robberfly that I have not seen before, a Slender-striped. A Shaded Broad Bar Moth flew up and a Lattice Heath Moth was also present.

Five-spot Burnet Moth

Slender-striped Robberfly Leptogaster cylindrica

I headed back up to Coldharbour and a Little Egret was giving almost perfect reflections as it looked for food but otherwise Coldharbour remained quiet.

Little Egret

I sat on the sea wall for a while and could see the family of Shelduck off shore and I enjoyed watching them as they drifted by. The parents have done really well to keep all ten youngsters. 4 Whimbrel were on the shore and, unfortunately, were soon disturbed by dog walkers. They flew past me before settling back down on a patch of exposed mussel bed. 3 Mediterranean Gulls flew west as did 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull while 3 Little Egret flew east. Both Common and Sandwich Terns were out to sea and a Great Crested Grebe was on the sea.

Whimbrel

Shelduck family

Whimbrel

I headed for home and as I walked back up to Chambers Wall a Common Tern flew down the river. A Black-tailed Skimmer was resting briefly on the ground. A Yellow Shell Moth flew up but when it settled back it was obscured by vegetation.

Common Tern

Black-tailed Skimmer

I came across a very hairy hoverfly which on looking it up is a Cheilosia illustrata. Mating Common Red Soldier Beetles seemed to be everywhere. I was pleased to hear the purring song of a Turtle Dove. As I walked back up the approach road I could hear a couple of Corn Bunting and a male Marsh Harrier flew over. A Yellow Wagtail was catching insects from the road and I ended the visit with Skylarks, Reed Bunting and Reed Warbler singing away.

Cheilosia illustrata

mating Common Red Soldier Beetles

Yellow Wagtail

Birds seen this visit included: 1 Sparrowhawk, 8 House Sparrow, 11 Whitethroat, Wood Pigeons, 21 Swallow, Skylarks, 12 Reed Warblers, 7 Reed Bunting, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 6 Chaffinch, 33 Linnet, 1 Wren, 2 Blackbird, Carrion Crow, 4 Grey Heron, Cormorant, 4 Magpie, Goldfinches, Great Tits, Blue Tits, 9 Sedge Warbler, 8 Sand Martin, 10 Meadow Pipit, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 5 Oystercatcher, 1 Pied Wagtail, 7 Little Egret, 12 Shelduck, 4 Whimbrel, 3 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull, 3 Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Greenshank, 1 Curlew, 5 Turnstone, 3 Ringed Plover, 7 Sandwich Tern, 5 Common Tern, 2 Pheasant, Starlings, 1 Moorhen, 3 Wren, 1 Turtle Dove, 1 Marsh Harrier, 2 Corn Bunting, 2 Dunnock