Thursday 23 November 2017

The Knot Arrive.

14th November

It was a grey morning at Seasalter LNR and the tide was just about to leave the beach just in time for some wader photography. It wasn't long before birds started streaming in to feed on the freshly exposed mud followed by a huge flock of c.2000 knot, the first big number I have seen this autumn and in amongst them were c.150 bar-tailed godwits.  There was a small passage of meadow pipits, starlings and chaffinches and a pair of stonechat were feeding just behind the huts.  A look across the back fields produced c.100 lapwings but no raptors........what will be there if its covered with solar panels?  Back by the pumping station outfall the kingfisher was dashing about keeping the coots company and out on the the flats c500 dunlin but hardly any curlew for some reason. 




15th Nov.

A day out to Broadstairs revealed 3 purple sandpipers on the harbour outfall/jetty. Late pm at Seasalter I saw the barn owl circling around Cleve Hill.

16th Nov.

Another look at Seasalter doing a bit of a count; ringed plover 122, egrets 3, redshank 70, curlew 58, shelduck 8, kingfisher 1, coots 5, swan family of 8, grt b b gulls 22, rook 1, Goosander 1 close in, linnets 8,  fieldfare 2,  robins 4, goldfinch 2, blue tit 4, cetti's 2, heron 1, skylark 2, reed bunting 2, wren 1, lapwing c.50,  common gull 2, stonechat 1, chaffinches 12, mipits 6.

 Goosander

Dunlin
pm.

A trip out to Penny Pot Lane, Denge Wood looking for the hawfinches........managed to see two with the help of others. I took a couple of distant shots of one bird high up in one of the conifers, rather poor but a reasonable record shot.




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