Sunday 17 May 2015

Seasalter, Groppers, Hobby, Sanderling.

Sun. 17th May

Back to the old patch where this morning I exceeded all my past counts with 48 in one section, not counting birds on the seaward side of the road. I made a fairly early by my standards and straight away house martins, swifts and swallows were making their west. Just before eight I heard a chaffinch making a row on the top of a bush then noticed below it on a fence post sat a hobby not seemingly concerned about my presence.  I had my little camera with me and hoped it would stay allowing me a couple of shots, which it did thankfully. 

Hobby

Moving on, sedge and reed warblers plus common and lesser whitethroats then a grasshopper warbler and the walk back I met Keith Dugmore. Back at the cars Geoff Burton was on the scene and I walked back out with him again picking up stonechat, buzzard, marsh harrier, mipit, another gropper and just one sand martin but no red kites, we kept looking.

Back to the beach where seawatching only produced 5 common terns and 1 shelduck (31 were present earlier when the tide was out) and a couple of great black backed gulls. However, best of all was a flight of waders that settled on the 'island' and revealed themselves to consist of 3 dunlin and 18 sanderling most in summer plumage.  

Small White

1 comment:

Marc Heath said...

Cracking Hobby shot Mike.