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 

Wall Brown, Juvenile Med Gull and ringed Golden Plover - Reculver 21/07/19

I headed to Reculver after work and thought I would have a round trip via the path along the back of the oyster farm, as the sea wall was so busy, and return via the sea wall once it was quieter. It was sunny and warm with building cloud and a south south westerly breeze. 4 Pied Wagtail were around the tower area and as I came down to the bottom path I could see a Wall Brown butterfly. It had a duel with another Wall Brown before settling long enough to allow a photo. They are beautiful butterflies. I was also lucky enough to see the Hummingbird Hawkmoth again in the same area I had seen it last time. A Blackbird was enjoying some berries, but I am not sure what they are. Lots of Gatekeepers were on the wing.

Wall Brown Butterfly

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

Blackbird

I had a look out to sea but it was very quiet with just a few Black-headed Gulls and Herring Gulls on the water. 24 Swallow and 5 Sand Martin were swooping round. A female House Sparrow on the pumping station fence watched a fly as it flew above it and I thought it was going to try for it but it just watched it and then moved on.

House Sparrow watching fly

Some of the Swallows and Sand Martins were coming down to the water at the pumping station to drink. I did not manage to be quick enough or good enough to get much of a photo but I liked the reflection in this one even if the photo is pretty poor.

Swallow drinking

A Common Carpet Moth was sheltering amongst the grass stems and as I moved forward a Marbled White butterfly that had been doing the same thing flew up and after perching briefly moved on. I saw 3 Marbled White Butterflies as I walked along.

Common Carpet Moth

Marbled White Butterfly

3 Little Egrets were on one of the oyster farm lagoons and 15 Black-headed Gulls were roosting on the the roof of one of the buildings. A Redshank was working its way along a muddy margin. 2 Adult Mute Swan were swimming along the dyke but I could not see any cygnets. A Little Egret flew up from the lagoon and landed in one of the small trees giving good views.

Little Egret

A Mute Swan was at the beginning of the next dyke and had 2 cygnets with it. A Grey Heron  roosting in one of the fields attracted the attention of a couple of Carrion Crows but it managed to just ignore them and after a few desultory passes they moved on. A couple of mating Picture-winged Flies caught my eye.

Mute Swan and cygnet

Picture-winged Fly

The rest of the walk to the sea wall remained fairly quiet. A Kestrel was hunting over one of the fields and the odd Sedge and Reed Warbler were here and there. An Emperor Dragonfly was on the wing. 2 Little Ringed Plover flew over calling. Even though they were quite high and it is not the best of photos, the lack of a wingbar can be seen clearly.

Little Ringed Plovers

The Starling numbers appeared to have increased with c160 over the sea wall and feeding on the shore. Linnet numbers had also increased with 98 coming in to roost.

Starlings

A juvenile Mediterranean Gull was on the shore and gave some good views and was a beautifully marked bird..

juvenile Mediterranean Gull

juvenile Mediterranean Gull

A colour ringed Golden Plover in full summer plumage was on the shore and was a gorgeous bird. Chris Hindle had seen it earlier in the day but I hadn't expected it to still be present so it was a very nice surprise to be able to catch up with it. It actively looked for food for most of the time that I was watching it. What an absolutely gorgeous bird and a definite highlight of the visit.

colour ringed Golden Plover

colour ringed Golden Plover

colour ringed Golden Plover

colour ringed Golden Plover

I couldn't tell if one of the rings was dark blue or black, the others being yellow, red and white with the dark blue/black coming between the red and the white and appearing to be a little smaller.

close up of colour rings

A little further on a Green Sandpiper was on the oyster farm and 2 Kestrel were busily hunting.

Green Sandpiper

I could see 9 Mallard in the air over the fields at the back of the oyster farm. A couple of Redshank flew up and headed over to the sea and a pair of Oystercatchers were calling noisily as they flew over. A Whitethroat popped up and peeped at me giving some nice views and making a good end to the visit..

Whitethroat

Whitethroat

Birds seen this visit include: 4 Pied Wagtail, 2 Blackbird, Wood Pigeons, House Sparrows, 32 Swallow, 8 Sand Martin, Carrion Crows, 5 Sedge Warbler, 6 Little Egret, 4 Mute Swan and 2 cygnets, 2 Redshank, 98 Linnet, Grey Heron, 7 Reed Bunting, 3 Reed Warbler, 1 Kestrel, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Stonechat, 2 Pheasant, 2 Whitethroat, 1 Golden Plover, 1 Green Sandpiper, 5 Oystercatcher, 9 Meadow Pipit, 3 Mediterranean Gull, 9 Mallard, 1 Yellow Wagtail

A Double Visit - Reculver 26/04/19

I paid a couple of visits to the Reculver area today. In the morning I walked from Chambers Wall to Reculver and, after a break at home, in the afternoon I went from Reculver to Shuart via the sea wall. It is very unusual for me to have the opportunity for a full day's birding so I tried to make the most of it today. There was a very fresh to strong south south westerly wind throughout the day with sunny intervals and a couple of brief rain showers in the morning.

The morning visit to Chambers Wall started well with a Hobby (132) as I walked down to the car park which was a very welcome, if brief, sight. Skylarks were singing away and a male Marsh Harrier was hunting along a field edge. A couple of Garden Warbler (133) came as a nice surprise. I do not know if they were a pair or competing males. Photography was proving to be a challenge today as I struggled to keep my balance in the wind and to be able to get the camera on subject in time, before the bird moved on and I failed miserably with the Garden Warblers and only got very poor photos of the Hobby. Hopefully I might have more success another time.

The rest of the walk down to Coldharbour was fairly quiet, apart from the usual jobs. I hoped to catch up with a Grasshopper Warbler but did not have any success. Coldharbour was very quiet with only a couple of Redshank on it. A Whitethroat perched on the fence gave some nice views as it sang.

Whitethroat

The tide was almost in with only small areas of exposed mussel beds left. There were a few Oystercatchers and Herring Gull hanging on until the last moment as the tide came in. While I was sat watching a couple of Sandwich Tern passed by first west, then back east, then back west again but otherwise the sea was pretty quiet.

I headed back towards Reculver and came across a smart male Wheatear on the shore. I love watching them, they are beautiful birds.

Wheatear

I could see a Common Tern out on part of the exposed mussel bed, preening, after which it came in and landed on one of the cormorant poles. Another couple of Common Tern called as they flew past and landed on the ribbon of exposed mussel bed that was left. As the first flew to join them they called loudly as they displayed and seemed to give a clear message that three was a crowd and it moved off after stopping briefly.

Common Tern

Common Terns

 The highlight of the walk back was a single Little Ringed Plover (134) and a single House Martin west (135). I was well chuffed to see both. I also had 3 groups of Yellow Wagtail west of 4, 6 and 8. A pair of Stonechat were sheltering out of the wind before resuming catching insects from the track parallel to the sea wall.

Stonechats

I had a short walk at the back of the oyster farm and had another Little Egret, a couple of Redshank and a Kingfisher. A Green-veined White Butterfly was active, feeding on some blossom flowers between sheltering in the grass.

Green-veined White Butterfly

As I headed back towards the towers I saw my first dragonfly of the year resting briefly on the concrete running down from the sea wall. I could not manage much of a shot before it moved on, and it is heavily cropped, but I think that it is a male Hairy Dragonfly.

Hairy Dragonfly

On the walk round back to the car park I saw my first Wall Brown of the year. Again, I could not manage much of a photo but they make good memory shots.

Wall Brown

Wall Brown

 There was also a striking male Armed Melecta Bee.

Armed Melecta Bee

Armed Melecta Bee

I finished off the morning visit with another Wheatear on the rocks by the car park.

Wheatear

I headed back to Reculver late afternoon and headed along the sea wall. It was still very windy but with good amounts of sunshine. There were a couple of Common Tern on one of the Cormorant posts but they could have been the same pair I saw earlier so I have not counted them again. 7 Sandwich Terns were active off shore and it gave the opportunity to sit on the sea wall and enjoy watching them while trying for some flight photos as they came closer at times.

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern

I headed on towards Coldharbour and had a couple of Wheatear on the shore. They could have been the same two from earlier so I have not counted them again. A Ringed Plover was roosting on the shingle close to the sea wall and did not seem bothered by the people passing by.

Ringed Plover

I saw a total of 9 Mediterranean Gull west. It may have been because of the direction of the wind but I did not hear any calling today.

Mediterranean Gulls

Mediterranean Gulls

27 Sanderling flew into roost and 8 Turnstone were a little further along.

Sanderling

Coldharbour was still very quiet, the only addition from earlier being a Shelduck roosting on the shingle bank. Between Coldharbour and Plumpudding I had another 4 Wheatear bringing the total present to at least 6.

Wheatear

Wheatear

 A male Reed Bunting looked very handsome in the sunshine and I could hear a Ring-necked Parakeet calling from over towards the railway embankment. A pair of Shelduck flew past and I tried for a photo.

Reed Bunting

Shelduck

Plumpudding Island was also quiet but there was a pair of Gadwall at the back and a very smart male Whinchat (136).

Gadwall pair

male Whinchat

When I reached the stables there were 6 Pied Wagtails and 10 Yellow Wagtail in the horse paddocks including 1 what I thought at the time was a Blue-headed Wagtail. Since looking through the photos I am not sure if it is a Channel or Blue-headed Wagtail. It was a little too far for getting much in the photo line but at least it does make good memory shots and in time I may be able to work out which it is.

Blue-headed or Channel Wagtail

Blue-headed or Channel Wagtail

Blue-headed or Channel Wagtail

2 Lesser Whitethroat were singing away and as I crossed the railway line I could see 3 Marsh Harriers in the air at the same time. I kept my eyes open for a Barn Owl but did not have any luck. 2 Cetti's Warblers were singing away and the sky looked spectacular as the light began to fade. It made a good end to the visit.

Birds seen during this visit include: 14 Linnet, 18 Sedge Warbler, Skylarks, 12 Chaffinch, Blue Tit, 18 Goldfinch, 3 Song Thrush, 1 Hobby, 23 Whitethroat, 5 Wren, 3 Marsh Harrier, 5 Blackcap, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, 6 Cetti's Warbler, 6 Chiffchaff, 3 Reed Warbler, 2 Garden Warbler, 2 Long-tailed Tit, 3 Dunnock, 4 Mute Swan, 1 Moorhen, 22 Oystercatcher, Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, 3 Common Tern, 11 Sandwich Tern, 15 Turnstone, 8 Pied Wagtail, 6 Wheatear, 7 Reed Bunting, 16 Swallow, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 25 Yellow Wagtail including 10 west in groups of 4 and 6, 3 Little Egret, 1 Little Ringed Plover, 7 Stonechat, 5 Shelduck, 8 Ringed Plover, 18 Meadow Pipits, 5 Redshank, 1 Kingfisher, 10 Mallard, 1 Kestrel, House Sparrows, Starling, 9 Mediterranean Gull west, 23 Sanderling, 3 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Gadwall, 1 Cuckcoo, 2 Pheasant, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Stock Dove