A Cuckoo and a Weevil - Marshside 07/05/19

I paid a visit to Marshside after work. There was a cool south easterly wind with a lot of cloud and some sunshine. The first bird I saw as I arrived was a Greylag Goose flying south. I did not manage much of a photo but it does at least make a memory shot.

Greylag Goose

A few Jackdaws and Rooks were in a ploughed field and Linnet, Goldfinch and Whitethroat were all singing away. I could hear a Cuckcoo calling in the distance but moving closer. A female Mallard was in dyke with 9 ducklings. I hope that they all manage to do well.

female Mallard and ducklings

The wind was keeping the temperature down and I did not come across any damselflies, butterflies or much in the insect line, apart from mosquitoes as I headed along. A Wren was carrying food, presumably back to a nest. I could also hear young birds calling from a hole in one of the trees but I did not see a parent come back to know what they were. A male Marsh Harrier flew past and I saw a male Sparrowhawk and a couple of Kestrel.

A Dunnock popped up in a bush and gave brief views before moving out of sight and bursting into song while a Yellowhammer provided a splash of colour as it sang away in the top of a tree.

Dunnock

Yellowhammer

I saw a Spotted Cranefly and tried for a photo but had to use a high ISO.

Spotted Cranefly

Unfortunately at that moment a Cuckoo suddenly flew into the tree above me and landed briefly before it spotted me and was off. I tried to grab a photo but with the camera still on macro and a high ISO it has not come out well but I am pleased that I was able to get anything. I have been very lucky with having had some close Cuckoo encounters this spring but I have failed miserably at being able to get a decent photo. Still, it made my afternoon to see it and it is not a view that I have had before as I was almost directly below it. Luckily it did not go far and I was able to enjoy watching it as it flew from tree to tree calling away frequently. I was not able to get an unobstructed view of it calling but I was pleased to be able to get a shot as it sang. At one point I could hear another male calling as well and a little while later I heard the unmistakable sound of a female calling. It was great to hear it and it is the first female that I have heard this spring.

male Cuckoo

male Cuckoo

male Cuckoo

As I carried on up the road I had a Greenfinch singing from the telegraph wires.

Greenfinch

I finished the visit with views of a beetle I have not seen before and which from some views looked a little like a very strange minature elephant, Fanciful, I know, but its rostrum really does look a lot like a trunk. I ended up seeing 3 of them, all on Cow Parsley. I did not know what it was, apart from probably being some kind of weevil but it was a fascinating looking insect. I looked it up when I got home and it appears to be a Liparus coronatus. It made a good end to the visit.

Liparus coronatus

Liparus coronatus

Liparus coronatus

Liparus coronatus

Liparus coronatus

Liparus coronatus

Liparus coronatus

Birds seen this visit include: 1 Greylag Goose, Jackdaws, Carrion Crows, Rooks, 6 Mallard including 1 female with 9 youngsters, 8 Linnets, 23 Goldfinches, 5 Whitethroat, 3 Cuckoo including 1 female calling, House Sparrows, 13 Chaffinch, 1 Long-tailed Tit, 21 Blackbird, 18 Blue Tits, 7 Great Tits, 6 Collared Dove, 4 Moorhen, 4 Wren, 4 Green Woodpecker, Wood Pigeons, 6 Chiffchaff, 7 Robin, 2 Magpie, 3 Dunnock, 5 Blackcap, 1 Pheasant, 1 Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrel, 15 Swallow, 2 Cormorant, 5 Song Thrush, 1 Swift, 1 Yellowhammer, 2 Greenfinch, 3 Mistle Thrush, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 2 Reed Warbler, Skylarks, 1 Mute Swan, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Sedge Warbler

Swift Flypast - Chambers Wall to Shuart 06/05/19

I came down to Chambers Wall after work and aimed to try for a walk through to Shuart as this would give the wind behind me, and hopefully some shelter from the wind by the bushes. The weather had turned very cloudy with a cool north westerly wind. A Common Buzzard was spiralling high above as I walked down the road and a passing jogger flushed 2 Red-legged Partridge from the side of the path. Skylarks were singing away and a passing Yellow Wagtail called as it flew over while 2 Reed Buntings were trying to out sing each other. A Sedge and a Reed Warbler singing gave a good chance to compare their song.

The area around the car park was quite quiet. A Blackbird was alarm calling repeatedly but I could not see what the cause for it was. Whatever it was must have then moved on as the Blackbird lost interest and went back to looking for food. A small flock of 8 Corn Buntings flew in to the bushes behind the hedge and I could hear a Cuckcoo calling in the distance. A large Drinker Moth caterpillar gave some nice views, tucked away in the vegetation.

Drinker Moth Caterpillar

I had hoped to catch up with the damselfly I saw the other day but the weather was so cool that there were very few insects around and I did not see any damselflies at all. I caught the sight of a metallic green sheen and saw, what I think is, a Cynomya mortuorum that belongs to the family of Calliphoridae - Blowflies. It was one of the few insects I saw on the way down to the railway crossing.

Cynomya mortuorum

Cynomya mortuorum

Whitethroat were in good voice on the walk down. A Little Egret flew down the river and settled briefly on top of a bush before moving on. As I started my way along the embankment I saw a micro moth. On looking it up it appears to belong to the Choreutidae family and may be a Nettle Tap Anthophila fabriciana.

Micro moth - ? Nettle Tap Anthophila fabriciana

Whitethroats continued to belt out their song, with Sedge Warblers giving them a run for their money. A Cetti's warbler exploded into song right next to me but I could not see it. I was very pleased to see my first Swift's of the spring with 2 moving west. A little further on I had another one west.

Swifts

It appeared that the pair of Mute Swan had not carried on with the nest I saw them building the other day so I wonder if they have found a better spot. It certainly looked no different to how it looked the other day. The patch of water in the field was empty today apart from a Lapwing at its edge. I was hoping to hear the Nightingale again but did not have any luck

On the walk down to Shuart I had a Cuckoo explode out of the reed bed beside the path as I walked past. It flew up, banked sharply and flew behind the hedge. It is the closest I have ever been to one and I would have loved a photo but would never have been quick enough. It was the definite highlight of the walk back.

As I left Shuart I had some very good views of a pair of Red-legged Partridge. They are very handsome birds.

Red-legged Partridge

Red-legged Partridge

Red-legged Partridge

There were also a couple of Hare's in a ploughed field. They were very distant but surprisingly noticeable.

Hare's

It had been good to have some time out after work and an enjoyable visit.

Birds seen this visit include: 1 Common Buzzard, Blue Tit, Skylarks, 5 Red-legged Partridge, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 3 Reed Bunting, 19 Sedge Warbler, 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Meadow Pipit, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 5 Blackbird, 6 Linnet, 1 Dunnock, 31 Whitethroat, Carrion Crow, 9 Chaffinch, 2 Cuckoo, 8 Corn Bunting, 5 Wren, 4 Chiffchaff, 6 Blackcap, 5 Cetti's Warbler, 8 Swallow, 2 House Martin, 6 Sand Martin, 1 Little Egret, 3 Great Tit, 8 Magpie, Goldfinch, 2 Grey Heron, 3 Swift west, 2 Long-tailed Tit, Cormorant, 1 Mute Swan, 1 Grey Partridge, 5 Mallard, 2 Lapwing, 1 Pheasant, 3 Lesser Whitethroat,

Short-eared Owl and Grey Partridge Bonus - Reculver 05/05/19

I had a walk after work, late afternoon, from Reculver to Coldharbour. The visit started very overcast with rain threatening and a north north easterly wind. I was lucky as the rain did not materialise and sunny intervals developed. The tide was beginning to go out. A Wood Pigeon had found a small puddle of rainwater in a hollow on one of the rocks by the car park and once it had a drink it posed nicely for me before moving on. The range of colours and shades in the grey's of its plumage are beautiful.

Wood Pigeon

A lot of scum had collected on the surface of the sea and was particularly noticeable in all the areas by the rocks. I do not know what causes it. A couple of Common Tern were off shore but otherwise the sea was quiet. The dark wedge on the Common Tern's upperwing was noticeable as it came past.

Commom Tern

3 Oystercatcher flew up from the oyster farm and flew around calling like mad before the lower one peeled off whereupon the upper two returned to the oyster farm.

Oystercatcher

I saw several pairs of Stonechat during my visit and, as always, I enjoyed watching them. I tried for a photo of one of the females taking off but only just managed to get her into the shot.

male Stonechat

female Stonechat

female Stonechat

A female Wheatear popped up onto the sea wall before flying further along and a Common Seal was having a look around out to sea. A male and female Yellow Wagtail were on the oyster farm as were a pair of Shelduck while another flew east out to sea. A Grey Heron flew past heading for the oyster farm.

Grey Heron

Coldharbour itself was quiet with just a couple of Shelduck and a Little Egret on it. I caught up with the female Wheatear again and although distant I tried for a shot. A Meadow Pipit was more obliging and gave some nice close views as it perched on the fence.

female Wheatear

Meadow Pipit

A Whitethroat was singing away in a bush and a Reed Bunting popped up right by the path as I started to head back.

Whitethroat

Reed Bunting

A Grey Heron flew from the oyster farm and landed on one of the newly exposed mussel beds and was dive bombed by a Herring Gull for his troubles. It did not seem too concerned and the gull soon gave up. However once the Heron decided to move to another part of the mussel bed several Herring Gulls had a go with one particularly persistent one chasing it until it flew back to the oyster farm.

A Common Sandpiper was in his usual spot.

Common Sandpiper

I had kept my eyes open for a Short-eared Owl but without any success. I thought as the wind had died down by now that one may have flown but I hadn't seen one. As I was nearing the end of the oyster farm I did, however, see something perched on a post and I was so chuffed when I saw it was a Short-eared Owl. Now that really did make my evening. I felt very lucky to see it. It definitely makes my day when I see an owl.

Short-eared Owl

Short-eared Owl

I left the owl surveying the lay of the land and carried on towards Reculver. A pair of Mute Swan with almost perfect reflections were in one of the oyster farm dykes. I could hear a Cuckoo calling and it sounded like it was at the back of the oyster farm.

Mute Swan

Mute Swan

I finished the visit with another bonus when I saw 2 Grey Partridge feeding and working their way towards me. I stayed very still and was treated to good views until some people came along the sea wall and the partridge were off and flew into the old camping ground.

Grey Partridge

Grey Partridge

Grey Partridge

It had been good to be out for a while and had been an enjoyable visit and seeing the owl really had made my day.

Birds seen this visit include: Wood Pigeons, House Sparrows, 8 Blackbirds, 11 Linnet, 5 Little Egret, 4 Mute Swan, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Meadow Pipit, 2 Common Tern, 9 Stonechat, 3 Oystercatcher, 12 Sedge Warbler, 5 Reed Bunting, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 3 Great Black-backed Gull, 5 Shelduck, 13 Oystercatcher, 4 Pied Wagtail, 13 Mallard + 4 youngsters, 1 Blackcap, 7 Whitethroat, 2 Dunnock, 2 Pheasant, 2 Meadow Pipit, Skylarks, 11 Turnstone, 5 Ringed Plover, 1 female Wheatear, 5 Sanderling, 1 Reed Warbler, 1 Moorhen, 1 Coot, 2 Swallow, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Common Sandpiper, 18 Sand Martin, 1 Cuckoo, 1 Short-eared Owl, 2 Grey Partridge

Damselfly and Nightingale - Chambers Wall to Shuart 01/05/19

As I had a day off today I thought I would try a walk from Chambers Wall to Shuart via the embankment. The day was overcast with a light wind and sunny intervals and became increasingly warmer as the visit went on. I was greeted by a Wren singing beautifully and giving the singing Blackcap, Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler a run for their money. I tried for a photo and, though it is not great, I can hear the Wren singing when I look at it so it makes a good memory shot.The air was alive with bird song.

Wren

As I headed down the track a pair of Tufted Duck flew down the river and a Pied Shieldbug caught my eye, as did a Picture-winged Fly.

Pied Shieldbug

Picture-winged Fly

I could hear Corn Bunting calling and a small flock of 6 flew in with 2 giving some good views and one singing away out of sight.

Corn Bunting

I was pleased to see my first damselfly of the year. I could only get photo's from the one angle before it flew but I was pleased to get them. I could see from the presence of a Coenagrion spur that it was not a Common Blue so assumed Azure until I got home and looked at the photos. From what I could see in my books and then from looking on the internet it appeared to instead be a blue form female Variable Damselfly, which would be unusual for here but I could not manage to make it into anything else. When I sent Chris Hindle the list of birds I had seen I also attached a photo of the damselfly, marked as Variable but that I could be wrong, and he checked with Marc Heath for me who thinks that it is, instead, probably a maturing Azure, which does indeed make much more sense. I am very grateful to both of them for their help with identifying it correctly. It was time well spent looking at Azure and Variable on the internet, as even though I got it wrong, and feel a bit stupid about that, I now know more about both of them than I did before and hopefully that will help me in the future when trying to settle on an identification, even if I still struggle with this one. I still have a tremendous amount to learn on dragonflies and damselflies but that is all part of the fun.

? maturing Azure or Variable Damselfly

I could hear a Cuckoo calling as I approached the railway crossing but I did not see it today. There were a lot of mating St Mark's Flies and I felt sorry for one pair as they bounced off my head having flown straight into me but they seemed non too perturbed as they rested briefly on the grass before flying off again.

mating St Mark's Flies

A Whitethroat paused from searching for insects on an umbellifer before moving on further and bursting into song. I had a single House Martin west and small numbers of Swallow and Sand Martin in both directions.

Whitethroat

I had a wader flying fairly high directly overhead and I grabbed a few shots as it went over. Against the light I could only see a silhouette and it appeared to be a plover. On lightening and cropping the photo it appears to be a summer plumaged Golden Plover which came as a nice surprise as I was expecting it to be a Grey Plover.

Golden Plover

I could see the male and female Marsh Harrier on one side of the embankment and another female/immature on the other side of the embankment at the same time, all flying away from me and heading towards Reculver direction. As I carried on towards Shuart I came across a group of 3 female/immature Marsh Harriers in the air at the same time and I think these are different birds to the ones I had already seen. As I watched these I also had 2 Red Kites spiralling higher overhead and moving west.

Marsh Harriers

Red Kite

Red Kite

It was nice to see another Mallard with youngsters down one of the dykes and this female had 6 in tow. A little further on I could see 3 Lapwing in one of the fields and a Mute Swan and Ringed Plover on the large patch of water in the next field. It made my day when I then heard the unmistakable sound of a Nightingale singing. I saw it very briefly a couple of times as it moved nearer the edge of the bush and at one point it perched briefly in the open before disappearing into cover again. I stood listening to it for a long time and it was as stunning as I remembered. I felt very privileged to hear it. it definitely made my day. The Nightingale is presumably the same one that Chris Hindle had earlier in the day. I always carry a dictaphone when birdwatching as I use it for verbally recording what I see and also for recording any songs or calls that I hear that are out of the ordinary. I could not manage a photo of the Nightingale so I used the dictaphone to record it singing. As I can not upload an audio file to the blog I have used video on the camera to video the dictaphone as it played back the recording and the camera seems to have done a good job of picking up the sound. Not an ideal solution perhaps but I thought that it was worth giving it a go to see how it worked. The video's are black as I only wanted the sound from the dictaphone so I kept the lens cap on the camera when it was recording from the dictaphone, enabling sound without a picture, and in other words giving the equivalent of an audio file.

I was sorry to have to tear myself away from the Nightingale but time was getting on so I carried on to the sea wall so that I could sit down for a bit. A female Wheatear was on the rocks and a Ringed Plover was very close to the sea wall and calling frequently.

Ringed Plover

The walk back through Shuart was relatively quiet. I could hear another Cuckoo calling and 2 Cetti's Warbler were singing away. A Sparrowhawk completed a good range of raptors that I had seen today. It had turned very warm in the sheltered areas and I thought that I might see a Hairy Dragonfly but I did not manage to come across one. Butterflies were out in force and I got good views of Red Admiral. A couple of Orange Tip males were active and Peacock butterflies abounded, with the one below missing quite a chunk out of its wings. Green-veined White's were dotted around and a couple of Holly Blue were active and decidedly reluctant to settle long enough for a photo. I really hoped to see a Brimstone Butterfly but did not have any luck.

Peacock Butterfly

Red Admiral Butterfly

I finished the visit with 1 Red-legged Partridge and a yaffling Green Woodpecker while a Speckled Wood Butterfly flew past.

Birds seen this visit include: Blue Tits, 6 Goldfinch, 13 Reed Buntings, 39 Whitethroat, 20 Sedge Warbler, 3 Reed Warbler, 7 Wren, 6 Yellow Wagtail, 13 Blackcap, 13 Chaffinch, 5 Blackbird, Woodpiegeons, 5 Chiffchaff, 15 Sand Martin, 17 Swallow, 6 Corn Bunting, 6 Magpie, 2 Cuckoo, 28 Linnet, 2 Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Skylarks, 6 Marsh Harrier, 2 Red Kite, 1 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Golden Plover, 12 Swallow, 5 Mallard + 6 youngsters, 3 Lapwing, 2 Grey Partridge, 1 Nightingale, 3 Mute Swan, 2 Ringed Plover, 3 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Great Tit, 3 Common Buzzard, 1 House Martin, 3 Pied Wagtail, 25 House Sparrow, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Collared Dove, 1 Wheatear, Song Thrush, 2 Kestrel, Grey Heron, 1 Sparrowhawk, 5 Robin, 3 Dunnock, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Red-legged Partridge