Rock Pipits, Med Gull and My First Redwing of the Autumn - Reculver to Chambers Wall 04/10/19

I had the gift of a free day today and though it was proving to be a very problematic day for walking, it was great to be out, and with a slow wander the order of the day I set out from Reculver. There was a westerly wind with scattered cloud. The tide was on its way out. A couple of Pied Wagtail were up near the towers and Starlings wheeled round as they moved to feed amongst the grass. 3 Robins greeted me as I came down to the sea wall and 10 Brent Geese flew west out to sea. As I headed along Brent Geese continued to pass west at irregular intervals in small groups but otherwise out to sea remained quiet. 5 Blue Tit and a couple of Great Tit were in a bush near the pumping station. Good numbers of Meadow Pipit were along the shore and both Redshank and Greenshank called from the oyster farm. As the sun broke through I came across a very confiding Stonechat and it was a joy to watch as it moved from bush to sea wall in search of insects. What a little beauty.

Stonechat

Stonechat

Stonechat

Stonechat

A flock of 32 Goldfinch were busy amongst the Teasel heads and 12 Skylark flew west. A pair of Reed Bunting were on the shore fluffed up against the cooler morning temperature.

Reed Bunting

I saw a Rock Pipit fly along the shore and then came across another 5 feeding within a short distance of each other. It was great to be able to have an extended period of time watching them and one of them enabled me to get some good views as it worked its way closer.

Rock Pipit

Rock Pipit

Rock Pipit

Rock Pipit

I carried on and had 3 Shelduck fly west out to sea and a Dunlin west following the coast. 2 Sandwich Tern were off shore. A Grey Heron on the shore watched me warily as I passed by. I came across another 4 Stonechat and a single Whinchat gave some nice views.

Grey Heron

Whinchat

It had become very overcast again with rain threatening. The wind started to noticeably pick up and as it did so small numbers of House Martin started to pass west with a few Swallow as well. A Great Crested Grebe flew west before landing on the sea. 10 Mallards flew in and 13 Brent Geese flew west out to sea.

Brent Geese

Coldharbour was quiet apart from a Little Grebe, closer to the sea wall than normal, and a Redshank roosting and a few Black-headed Gulls on the water.

Little Grebe

I sat on the sea wall for a while. The tide was well out by now and a Little Egret feeding on the shore was spooked as a flock of Black-headed Gulls came into land.

Little Egret and Black-headed Gulls

The wind had continued to increase and the trickle of House Martins turned into a flood as they started to stream through. They were passing out to sea, along the sea wall and large numbers over the fields. Once again I had no idea how to count them. They were everywhere. Smaller numbers of Swallow were amongst them and as I made my way up to Chambers Wall both continued to stream past me. Suddenly a frantic number of alarm calls from the House Martins alerted me to the presence of a raptor and next second a Merlin came though trying to take advantage of the sudden glut of birds. As it shot past it tried unsuccessfully for a couple of birds with the alarm calls following it as it twisted and turned. A Coot looked round nervously as the alarm calls rang out and it started to head for cover. 4 more Coot were along the same stretch of river.

Coot

As I headed up to the railway crossing I came across a mixed flock moving through some of the sheltered bushes consisting of 5 Chiffchaff, 3 Goldcrests, 8 Long-tailed Tit,7 Blue Tit and 7 Great Tit. Once on the other side I had a single Redwing drinking from a puddle on the track. I could only get a very distant shot but it makes a nice memory shot of my first Redwing of the Autumn.

Redwing

I finished off with 3 Mute Swan on the river and a Painted Lady butterfly on some Ivy flowers while 7 Grey Partridge were along a field edge.

Mute Swans

Painted Lady Butterfly

I headed homewards and after an extended break there I went back down to Reculver for a bit of walk and sit birdwatching. It was still windy when I arrived but gradually the wind dropped right down and the sun came out and it turned into a really beautiful late afternoon. Matt Hindle had a Yellow-browed Warbler in the trees near the cafe in the morning so I had a wander round to see if I could catch up with it. I did not have any luck but I enjoyed watching a Goldcrest, which are lovely little birds, as it worked its way around deep within a bush and 3 Chiffchaff were nearby. 14 Collared Dove flew up from where they had been feeding in a field. I headed back to the sea wall and saw a 1st Winter Mediterranean Gull out to sea which luckily enough for me flew in at that point and came past me before moving back out to sea again and giving me some great views as it came past. Now that really was an obliging bird.

Mediterranean Gull

Mediterranean Gull

Mediterranean Gull

Mediterranean Gull

Mediterranean Gull

A single Brent Goose flew west but otherwise out to sea still appeared to be pretty quiet. A Wheatear was on the shore but very flighty as people passed by on the sea wall.

Wheatear

Wheatear

While watching the sea again a juvenile Gannet flew west. I wonder if it is the same youngster I saw the other day. I also saw a distant adult Mediterranean Gull fly east and 4 distant Wigeon west.

juvenile Gannet

7 Sanderling flew west as did a single Curlew. I saw a moth that appeared to come in off the sea before settling on the other side of sea wall. I am not sure what the moth is at the moment and will update when I can find out.

7 Ringed Plover flew in with a couple of Turnstone. The Whinchat gave some good views. Though it seemed to be associating with a couple of Stonechat neither seemed to tolearate each other all that well with frequent disputes breaking out.

Whinchat

Whinchat

Whinchat

Whinchat

The same type of moth that I had seen earlier flew over to where I was sitting on the sea wall and upon landing started to make its way to the edge and disappeared down into a crevice. Out to sea another 3 Curlew flew west.

Curlew

Another 20 Ringed Plover flew past, together with a couple of Dunlin. A long way out 85 Oystercatcher flew west. 7 Little Egret were in their usual tree.

Little Egrets

As the sun started to set it gave a stunning effect as a beam of light broke through a gap in the clouds. Once the sun had dropped below the horizon those same clouds now were filled with colour.

Birds seen this visit included: 2 Pied Wagtail, Starlings, 54 Brent Geese west, 5 Robin, House Sparrows, 5 Blackbird, Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, 6 Rock Pipit, 65 Meadow Pipit, 12 Blue Tit, 7 Great Tit, 17 Linnet, 14 Skylark west and 7 resident, 2 Redshank, 1 Greenshank, 34 Goldfinch, 5 Stonechat, 7 Little Egret, 1 Dunnock, Swallows west, 87 Oystercatcher, 8 Reed Bunting, 3 Shelduck west, 4 Sandwich Tern, 2 Kestrel, 3 Magpie, 2 Dunlin, 3 Grey Heron, 3 Turnstone, 1 Whinchat, 71 Mallard, 1 Great Crested Grebe, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 17 Chiffchaff, large numbers of House Martin west, 5 Coot, Carrion Crows, 5 Goldcrest, 8 Long-tailed Tit, 1 Redwing, 2 Cetti's Warbler, 9 Chaffinch, 3 Mute Swan, 1 Common Buzzard, 7 Grey Partridge, 14 Collared Dove, 2 Mediterranean Gull, 1 Wheatear, 4 Wigeon west, 7 Sanderling, 27 Ringed Plover, 4 Curlew

A Siskin and an Unsuccessful Butterfly Hunt - Shuart to Embankment 03/10/19

I headed to Shuart for a short visit this morning. All seemed quite quiet when I arrived. It was a dull and overcast morning and decidedly cooler than of late but sunny intervals were forecast and there was next to no wind. I had seen on Chris Hindle's blog that Derek Smith had seen a Long-tailed Blue Butterfly on the embankment and I rather hoped that I might be lucky enough to catch up with one as it is a butterfly I would really like to see. As I headed along the track a Wren peeped out at me as it worked its way through the undergrowth. They are lovely little birds and it never fails to amaze me as to how loud their song is for such a small bird.

Wren

Wren

As I wandered along a couple of Jay were calling loudly and appeared to be in dispute with a couple of Magpie. A mixed flock of Tits were working their way through consisting of Blue, Great and 10 Long-tailed Tits, all busily feeding. A couple of Goldcrest were also in with them as were a couple of Chiffchaff. A small area of bushes had attracted 3 Blackcap, 4 Chiffchaff and a Lesser Whitethroat. A Curlew flew over calling heading south west. Good numbers of Chiffchaff were present and I saw 17 on the way down to the railway embankment. A Mute Swan was having an enthusiastic preen and ending up surrounded by feathers.

Mute Swan

I headed for the sea wall so that I could have a seat as walking was proving to be challenge today. An immature Grey Heron was down one of the dykes I am always amazed by the wing span of Grey Heron's and how it all tucks away to give a streamlined bird until once again those wings unfold.

immature Grey Heron

immature Grey Heron

A Little Grebe was also down the same dyke. House Sparrows were tucking into the blackberries with gusto and stained bills were the order of the day. A Sparrowhawk shot through scattering Linnet and House Sparrows in all directions.

Little Grebe

House Sparrow

House Sparrow

The tide was well out when I reached the sea wall. 10 Oystercatcher were scattered along the shore and Black-headed and Herring Gulls were making the most of the low tide. 11 Meadow Pipit and a couple of Rock Pipit were feeding amongst the debris left by the tide. A Wheatear flew past towards the rocks. The peace was shattered by a motorised hang glider and 3 motorised parachutes pilots flying low over the beach. I thought at first they must be in trouble and coming down but instead they were just purposefully flying low and as a result scattering birds in all directions in panic, startling a group of fossil hunters and causing everyone on the sea wall to stop and look as they passed. Either they were unaware of the panic amongst the wildlife they were causing or they did not care.

With peace reigning once more, once they had flown past, I headed back to the embankment and had a short walk along. The hoped for sunny intervals had not materialised and it remained cool with an increasing wind which did not bode well for butterflies. As I passed back by the stables 24 House Martin were hawking for insects and 9 Blackbirds were routing around in muddy manure in one of the paddocks. I had a single Siskin (153) flying west, calling as it went past, and it was a welcome sight. 3 male Blackcap were in one of the bushes and a Magpie was repeatedly alarm calling but I could not see at what. Several Chiffchaff were along the embankment bringing the total seen to 29 and small numbers of Skylark continued to fly west. A Speckled Wood butterfly flew from cover as I passed and settled a short distance away.

Speckled Wood

2 Goldcrests were busy looking for insects amongst a small mixed flock of Blue Tits, Great Tits and a couple of Long-tailed Tit. I saw several more Chiffchaff and a small family of 2 adult and 2 immature Mute Swan were down one of the dykes. I came across a cocoon but I do not know of what.

Cocoon

3 Small White Butterflies and a Large White were on the wing and a couple of Peacock butterflies were in a sheltered area. I did not have any luck finding a Long-tailed Blue but I enjoyed looking. A Migrant Hawker was resting up out of the wind. A Common Buzzard flew overhead.

Small White Butterfly

Large White Butterfly

Peacock

Migrant Hawker

I made my way back to Shuart and had a Wren calling away to a couple of young who were sitting tucked down and mostly obscured. Lets hope they have time to feed up before it gets too cold. A flock of 14 Skylarks flew east whereas all the others during the visit had been flying west. As I passed a gap I could see 20 Red-legged Partridge were in one of the fields. I finished the visit with a couple of Goldcrest feeding away with one of them appearing briefly in a gap before continuing on its way.

Goldcrest

Birds seen this visit include: 4 Green Woodpecker, Wood Pigeons, 19 Blackbird, 5 Jackdaw, 10 Wren, 29 Chiffchaff, Blue Tits, Great Tits, 12 Long-tailed Tits, 6 Goldcrest, 2 Jay, 5 Magpie, 7 Blackcap,    9 Robin, Carrion Crow, 20 Chaffinch, 29 Skylark, 1 Ring-necked Parakeet, 2 Common Buzzard,     
4 Grey Heron, 2 Great Spotted Woodpecker, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Moorhen, 3 Mallard, 4 Lapwing, 2 Goldfinch, 4 Dunnock, 4 Collared Dove, 1 Curlew, 1 Pheasant, 1 Cetti's Warbler, 1 Reed Warbler,  7 Mute Swan, Herring Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, 6 Reed Bunting, 5 Linnet, 2 Kestrel, Little Grebe, 23 Mallard, 65 House Sparrows, 1 Sparrowhawk, Starlings, 13 Meadow Pipit, 10 Oystercatcher, 1 Wheatear, 2 Rock Pipit, 1 Little Egret, 24 House Martin, 2 Pied Wagtail, 1 Coot, 20 Red-legged Partridge