Did you Know

3rd Dec.

Not many people know this but if you wake up one morning or all of a sudden you lose your hearing in one ear, you must go to A&E straight away to get emergency steroid treatment, its appears its your only hope to get some hearing back.  It happened to me at the beginning of June and after  two months of 'lets see if its better in a fortnight' then try this spray and then take these antibiotics I finally got to an ENT consultant where of course it was much too late, my inner ear was shot to pieces. (Cause, unknown). The odds are one in ten thousand which does not sound a lot but that could be six to seven  thousand a year across the UK, yet nobody seems to be aware of it.  If you lose you sight in one eye its clear and you get attention straight away but ears don't appear to be important. 

However, today I finally got two hearing aids this morning which are helping but not much to my bad ear.

That's the health warning over.

4th Dec.

A visit to Swalecliffe on a cold gloomy morning finding the 13 snow buntings plus a chiffchaff and a male blackcap.

Snow Bunting

5th Dec.
Seasalter;

The weather was still cold and gloomy, I stopped by the pumping station to look at the high tide roost finding; 130 ringed plovers, c.1000 dunlin and 9 sanderling plus a few turnstones, redshank and 30 brents etc.. In the dyke, 20 teal, 3 coots, 2 mallard and a kingfisher which seems to be quite a regular sighting now.  I received a call from Geoff who surprisingly was at Castle Coote where on walking back had seen two whooper swans on the arable. I shot up there just in time to see them fly off west (par for the course)!

 Grey Plover

Stonechat

The reedbed was quiet as usual apart from a couple of stonechats and a few waders roosting on the breakwaters.

Sat. 6th Dec.

A beautiful day after a heavy frost and light winds, I had a look at Hampton Pier where just  one purple sandpiper was on show then back to Swalecliffe finding 4 snow buntings and 5 sanderling.

Purple Sandpiper at Hampton

Snow Bunting 

I then went back to Seasalter to catch the high tide wader roost and a chance for some photos as it was a lovely day.

Ringed Plover and Dunlin 

Turnstone

Arriving back at home another high ISO 4000 test for the camera, through the patio doors.

Collared dove at ISO 4000

PM. had a wasted trip to Elmley, saw and watched two SEOs but they were flushed by togs who had permission to walk out into the field!

Sun. 7th

A bit rainy, finally ended up at Hampton seeing the four purps and a walk west to the Coastguard Cottages produced a Med gull on the breakwater.

8th

Went to Stodmarsh, nothing from the Reedbed Hide except a marsh harrier etc. and in the aldercarr lots of goldfinches plus a few redpolls etc..

Marsh Harrier

Tues. 9th

Another heavy frost and a trip to Seasalter produced the usual teal, coots, etc. in the pumping station plus the kingfisher again. By the road here two stonechats were busy feeding plus a couple of pied wagtails. Further on in the field opposite the Sportsman; c.300 golden plovers plus a mix of 70 lapwings, several redshank starlings and curlew. Out on the mud, c.1200 knot and dunlin etc and on the sea 31 wigeon.

Curlew

10th

Oh dear, another year has passed.  Try something different so I went to Bossenden finding 2 nuthatches, 3 coal tits, and 2 treecreepers plus as I was leaving, a red admiral flew past settling briefly on a fence post.

Nuthatch

I then went over to Chilham where the GG shrike was out on show but always too distant for a decent shot together with a pair of buzzards circling over the wood behind.

Back to Seasalter and the high tide roost, 19 sanderling this time plus the dunlin etc.

19 Sanderling today