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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| male and female Mallard |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Common Tern |
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| 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.
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| Common Terns |
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| 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.
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| Common Tern |
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| Common Terns |
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| Common Terns |
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| Common Terns |
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| Common Terns |
A couple of Great Black-backed Gulls flew east and 5 Tufted Duck flew west but otherwise out to sea remained quiet.
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| Tufted Duck |
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| 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.
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| Salsify |
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| 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.
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| pair of Coot with young |
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| 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.
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| 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.
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| Lockheed Martin C-130J C4 Hercules |
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| Lockheed Martin C-130J C4 Hercules |
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| 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.
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| young Starling |
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| young Starling |
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| 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,
