Seasalter Redpolls

9th January

Another visit to push the Seasalter list a little further forward, the weather was as usual low, grey cloud but no wind.  First stop SS Lane but didn't add anything here, quad bike on the levels plus someone with a chain saw on the corner of the Applegarth mobile home park had sent any birds that might have been around into cover, although it was encouraging for my ears to hear a cetti's and a blue tit somewhere.

Along the seafront the tide was halfway in/out and off the outfall were 8 shelduck, c.200 brents, 90 lapwing (resting on the 'hard') plus loads of dunlin, curlew, turnstones, redshanks, plus black-tailed godwits right out in the mid channel.

On the plots it seemed quiet so I walked up to the railway line finding  6 coots, green woodpecker, pheasant, magpie and on the way back, what a surprise to see 7 redpolls, especially when there was hardly any other birds on show.

Another look at the gulls from the outfall, I spotted one of the large, dark backed Scandinavian herring gull Larus argentatus argentatus, it certainly looked good for one.

Fortunately, I had got some pictures before I was engulfed in dogs, a lady with ten dogs was walking them out on the 'hard' areas at low tide. Somewhat of a record for me at Seasalter, I've seen fours and the other week six, I don't know whether the Long Rock Dog Park can beat that!

Ten dogs for walkies

Stormy Seas at Hampton and the Seasalter List

4th
Stormy sea at Hampton, this shot was taken two hours after high tide!

6th January 2018

My second visit to SS hoping to add adding some more species to the poor effort on the first of January when rain stopped play after an hour and a half (for me that is).  It was a grey day with low cloud as I made my first stop along SS Lane and in one of the horse paddocks there were five stock doves to add to the list, otherwise very quiet.   Onto the seafront and the plots where I added 2 meadow pipits, 1 gadwall, 1 cetti's and 2 goldcrests to the list and from the beach c.2000 knot, c.750 black-tailed godwits and nine shelducks all new for the year.  Moving up to the LNR I messed about with the camera plus converter for a while in the dim light but there were very few birds posing and a complete waste of time.  Back to the car and I drove to the 'rise' leading down to the chalets where I sat and had my coffee, all quiet but for another goldcrest in a bush across the road.

PM

A short visit to Hampton to continue with my camera and converter tests finding a couple of sanderlings and one purple sandpiper.

January 1st 2018

1st. January 2018

The usual tour of Seasalter looking for a good haul of species but I didn't start very early which has been the norm lately so I only managed just over an hour in real terms.  I started along SS lane picking up marsh harrier, stock dove and song thrush plus a few commoner species. Then I moved down to the seafront beach roost area picking up most of the waders except the godwits and knot, the tide was already nearly up to the beach........should have got up earlier. Mind you a red-throated diver was a big surprise as it flew in from the east plus a couple of g c grebes were the only other birds on the sea!  I then walked over the plots which were fairly quiet but found snipe, stonechat, heron, chaffinch, goldfinch but no mipits.  As I was leaving it started to rain so I got to the car and drove up to the Sportsman and added pied wagtail, lapwing and pheasant seen from the car.....it was pelting down now and just didn't stop so I aborted at 11.45 seeing just 43 species missing loads.

Sandwich Bird Obs 24th December 2017

24th

Its been a few months since I have made a visit so with thoughts of seeing the Dartford warbler I made my way to 'the' gorse bush meeting a couple of other birders.  It was not long before it came up on the bush, I got a couple of distant pictures but it was facing the wrong way and only appeared for a few seconds and I didn't see it again even after waiting an hour!  However I did see a couple of stonechats then it was time to go home for Christmas!

Seasalter and Hampton Photography

19th

More photography from Seasalter and Hampton.

Hampton

18th

Just photos from Hampton of redshank and sanderling.

 Sanderling with some sort of shellfish?

Dog Rant

17th December

A morning out with the camera mainly hoping to get a better shot of the black redstart at Seasalter but my attempts were dashed as a women came from behind me with six collie type dogs, off lead. Of course that's the last the black redstart was seen as it zoomed off west. I intimated to her to stay back as I was clearly taking photos and she was off the path and her her dogs were scaring away the birds as they scoured the grassy areas. She took no notice of course, just walked past. She has a white van covered with dog paws, clearly dogs are her life which is fine but buy your own field, don't use our nature reserve.  I wish the public would understand that it is a nature reserve that members purchased to give wildlife a home and that its not a place to exercise dogs. Dogs on leads on the footpath is of course fine, most are responsible owners, except some owners who toss the black bags of .... on the reserve.  

 The best I got!

Seasalter Black Redstart.

16th December

At SS it was a cold frosty morning, 2 degs but lots of sun and a blue sky. The beach roost was already busy as high tide was around 10.00 am which enabled me to count some of the waders there; 29 grey plovers, 35 redshanks, 82 ringed plovers, 3 sanderling, a few turnstones and c.400 dunlin plus a few curlews and oystercatchers.

On the polts it was quiet with; 1 marsh harrier, 2 stonechats, 7 coots, 6 moorhens, 1 kestrel, 1 green wpker, starlings, blue tit, wood pigeons, magpies and sparrows.

Onto the LNR and by the beach huts a black redstart, 8 goldfinches, 1 mipit, several grey plovers, dunlin, redshanks and turnstones along the beach plus c.500 brents on the back pasture, along the beach.