I had a clear day today so decided to try for a walk through from Reculver to Shuart. The weather forecast was not great for the day with rain forecast so I had the option of coming off for Chambers Wall instead if it got too wet. When I arrived it was grey and overcast with a light south westerly wind. During the visit there were some short light rain showers and the wind steadily became stronger, until very breezy, as the morning went on but otherwise it wasn't as bad as forecast. The tide was out when I arrived but coming in. A couple of Pied Wagtail were amongst the rocks and c120 Starling were around the base of the towers. 4 Swift were hawking for insects around the towers together with a couple of Swallow. A young Pied Wagtail was repeatedly chased off by an adult male and c40 House Sparrows were chirping away round the tower area.
It was quiet out to sea. A juvenile Herring Gull was resting up on one of the oyster farm buildings and a little further along a Little Owl was sitting with its feathers fluffed up and on the look out for prey. They are gorgeous birds and it always makes my day to see an owl.
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| Little Owl |
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| Little Owl |
There were a couple of Little Egret over the oyster farm and a Grey Heron flew up. 5 Redshank were busy feeding along the shoreline. As I sat on the sea wall for a while a Meadow Pipit landed and started calling and then singing away. A Herring Gull dropped a crab that promptly tried to get away but it did not stand much chance against the gull who just retrieved it and carried on where it left off.
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| Meadow Pipit |
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| Herring Gull and crab |
A large flock of Starlings were moving from the sea wall to the shingle to feed. I do not know if these may have been the same birds that I saw at the towers although it looked nearer 95 here but were hard to count as they moved back and fore. I haven't counted them in the numbers below in case they were the same birds I had seen earlier.
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| Starlings |
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| Starlings |
A Curlew was feeding out on the exposed mussel bed and Oystercatchers were calling noisily away. 3 Ringed Plovers were feeding together with another a little further along. A pair of Stonechat were feeding alongside the sea wall and the female gave some good views.
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| female Stonechat |
A Grey Heron was feeding at the waters edge and as it lifted off it showed its impressive wing span. It gave good views coming past and I could see that it was moulting some of its primary feathers.
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| Grey Heron |
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| Grey Heron |
3 Sanderling were feeding on the shore and as I approached Coldharbour a couple of Mediterranean Gull flew west. Just before Coldharbour I could see 7 Mediterranean Gull on the shore with some Black-headed Gulls. The gulls were a bit far for a photo but make a good memory shot. I could see a Greenshank further up the shoreline. A Whimbrel flew past going west.
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| Mediterranean Gull |
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| Mediterranean Gull |
Coldharbour was quiet with just a few Black-headed Gulls. A couple of Pied Wagtail, a couple of Reed Bunting, 3 Meadow Pipit and 4 Goldfinches were at the back on the mud and amongst the seed heads. The Sea Lavender looked very pretty and lit up the grey's of the day.
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| Sea Lavender |
I sat and watched out to sea for a while but apart from a Great Crested Grebe sitting off shore and a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls it was very quiet. I carried on up towards Plumpudding. A juvenile Wheatear was on the shingle but never came particularly close.
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| juvenile Wheatear |
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| juvenile Wheatear |
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| juvenile Wheatear |
A male Marsh Harrier was hunting over the fields and a Common Sandpiper was on the shore as I approached Plumpudding. A Pied Wagtail appeared to have Plumpudding island to itself. I sat and watched the sea for a while and the immature male Eider was fishing a fair way out. It successfully caught several crabs as it swam west.
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| immature male Eider |
I carried on towards Shuart and had another 2 Mediterranean Gulls fly west. Between the sea wall and the stable area there were 57 House Sparrows present in three groups. A Kestrel was being mugged by a couple of Magpie. I had a short walk along the embankment. A Chiffchaff was calling away and Gatekeepers, Skippers, Peacocks and a single Painted Lady Butterfly were sheltering out of the wind as was a Common Darter and a couple of Small Red-eyed and Blue-tailed Damselflies.
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| Gatekeeper Butterfly |
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| Common Darter |
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| Small red-eyed Damselfly |
While watching these I heard a plane approaching and was treated to a fly past by a Spitfire. I looked up the registration when I got home and it is a 1943 Spitfire and is based at Biggin Hill.
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| 1943 Spitfire |
I made my way back towards the crossing and in a brief patch of sunshine a Common Blue Butterfly took to the wing before settling to feed. Another Chiffchaff called and a female Mallard flew over.
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| female Common Blue Butterfly |
A couple of Reed Bunting were singing as I crossed the railway and started towards Shuart. A few Red Admirals were resting, at various points, out of the wind. I saw my first Migrant Hawker of the year but before I could get a photo dog walkers came through and it zoomed up and off to the other side of the hedge. A patch of bramble flowers had attracted a couple of impressive Hornet Hoverflies
Volucella zonaria and a Red Admiral Butterlfy above me looked gorgeous as the light shone through its wings. I heard a Grey Wagtail (144) calling and saw it briefly as it flew above me.
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| Hornet Hoverfly Volucella zonaria |
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| Red Admiral Butterfly |
I finished off with a resting Comma Butterfly and a Green Woodpecker calling away. It had been an enjoyable walk through and I had been lucky that the weather had been better than expected.
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| Comma |
Birds seen this visit include: Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 10 Pied Wagtail, c120 Starling, 82 House Sparrow, 34 Linnet, 11 Goldfinch, 6 Swallow, 8 Swift, Wood Pigeons, Skylarks, 31 Meadow Pipit, 7 Little Egret, 3 Wren, 1 Song Thrush, 4 Blackbird, Cormorants, 5 Redshank, 4 Grey Heron, 1 Curlew, 13 Oystercatcher, 9 Reed Bunting, 4 Ringed Plover, 2 Stonechat, 9 Sedge Warbler, 3 Pheasant, 1 Whimbrel, 2 Reed Warbler, 3 Sanderling, 11 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Greenshank, 1 Whimbrel, 5 Sand Martin, 1 Coot, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 2 Great Black-backed Gull, 1 Wheatear, 1 Marsh Harrier, 1 Common Sandpiper, 1 Eider, 1 Kestrel, 2 Magpie, 2 Whitethroat, 1 Mallard, 3 Chiffchaff, 1 Grey Wagtail, 2 Chaffinch, 1 Green Woodpecker,
