I went to Swalecliffe to see the 4 male eiders, the first for sometime, not easy to find now, odd when I think back twenty five or more years ago to the flock of c.50 plus that were always in the Swale often on the old wreck just below Harty Church. One August I remember a flock of over three hundred flew in and dropped down on Shellness briefly! Back to today, the long staying black-throated was on show albeit rather distant plus a nice slavonian grebe along with c.30 grt crested grebes, an unusually large count I think.
24th.
After yesterdays washout I made a visit to Seasalter finding a dozen mallard, c.8 teal and 4 coots on the main dyke by the pumping station. The plots were quiet just finding the usual dunnocks, robins, blackbirds, 4 goldfinches, 2 song thrushes, 1 distant buzzard, 1 cetti's and 2 snipe. In the football field behind Walden's a group of 19 pied wagtails together.
I then nipped over to Hampton finding the 4 purple sandpipers and c.25 redshanks on the rocks.
25th.
Another trip over to the shrike at Chilham, it didn't come close during my time there, the post in the field being the nearest.
Walked into the village mid morning to take a few shots of the church ( I've got to photograph other things)!
I thought you would like this
27th.
I went up to Wraik Hill to see how much more scrub had been removed by the KTNC heavy machinery. Another severe scalping, I am worried as to whether the nightingales will return, they were informed many times as to their tenuous hold on the site. I understand the plan is to make it grass so they can graze animals. Started to rain so abandoned the morning but went out in the afternoon down to see the high tide roost counting 16 sanderling and c.1500 dunlin etc.. Further on by the Sportsman there were 230 lapwings, 800 golden plovers and c.600 starlings in the field opposite.
28th./29th.
It was time I made use of my membership to SBBOT and went to the Restharrow hide etc., plenty of teal and a few gadwall.
A walk along the road revealed the two pairs of stonechats around the gorse but little else.
3 comments:
Some nice images there mike, I like old churches too :-)
I see scrub removal is a well loved hobby where you are too :-(
Great selection Mike, the Starling wins for me though. Lovely capture and detail.
Mike,
Unbelievable what the KTNC have done re. scrub clearance. You really do have to wonder sometimes what goes through some conservation bodies minds, especially with Nightingales threatened elsewhere in Kent.
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