Danube Cruise Day 3

12th October

Moored up at Bratislava overnight ready for our city tour this morning, starting with a 'Noddy train' ride around the city and up to the castle and parliament building.

 Woke, moored at Bratislava early am. The distant bridge has a restaurant on top of the left hand structure.

The Parliament Building

 Views from the castle next to the Parliament building

 Walking tour around the city followed

Here we are.......a flock of sheep!

 A drunk 

 Umbrella shop

 A 'man hole cover', quite a tourist attraction

 The Opera House

Yours truly back on board waiting for lunch and the afternoon cruise towards Durnstein.  During the afternoon there was a talk on Durnstein and Melk that was to be visited tomorrow and later an introduction to the Hapsburgs Dynasty of Austria.

Followed by afternoon tea and cakes, yes!

 Cruising up river

 Quite a flow seen here on this buoy

For miles and miles fisherman's huts every 3-4 hundred yards..seems the the men folk get away for the weekend.

 Entering the first lock

 Looking back down river

 Ahead we edged up next to this other boat

 Alongside

 You can see at the top another boat in the other lock heading downstream, quite a few metres drop.

 'Second in command' controlling the ship at his small console using the side thrusters 

 Almost up level with the river ahead

 Off we go and to bed.

Danube Cruise Days 1 and 2

11th October

Something totally different now, a photo diary of my recent river cruise. Booked with Riviera Travel for a week starting at Budapest and cruising along the Danube up stream as far as Linz, Austria. We arrived in Buda and boarded our ship 'Emily Bronte' late afternoon, shown to our cabin and plenty of time to get acquainted with the ship. The ship was commissioned this year, so brand new.....137 metres long and 11.5 metres wide with marble interiors and designated five star. Catered for 169 people with 49 crew, 

Corridor to Cabins

Next morning we had arrived at Esztergom, Hungary where after breakfast we boarded a 'Noddy Train' which took us up to the old cathedral, said to hold 8000 people. Esztergom was the main residence of the rulers of Hungary a 1000 years ago and still remains the principal archdiocese of the country.

Esztergom Catherdral

 Our ship 

Going ashore for cathedral tour

Managed to see a black redstart here

View down to the Danube and our ship

Back to the ship at midday for lunch and then an afternoon cruise up river to Bratislava, Slovakia arriving late evening, on route saw a heron, mallards, crows and black-headed gulls, very little birding. Afternoon tea, wow, cakes and gateaux galore then at 7.00 pm a four course dinner.........seating was where you can, so we met lots of people.

End Of The Month

26th Sept

An evening walk produced 2 partridges behind the Sportsman on the track out to the road, they were distant and flying away so no proper ID..

28th

On the 28th at SS I counted 518 brents in front of the pumping station, the plots seemed empty apart 1 stonechat, 1 ketrel, 1 cetti's, 1 pheasant and 2 coots plus 2 chiffs which were actually in the pumping station compound.

29th

A trip to Oare for photography, mornings are a waste of time, light in the wrong place but I still had a go at the avocets.

Kingfishers at Grove

24th Sept

I spent a couple of days visiting Grove trying to get some kingfisher shots, patience is what's needed. However, success was achieved eventually with two of them flying about together sometimes. A couple of great white egrets also put in an appearance plus two green sandpipers.

Sunny Seasalter

21st Sept.

I first had a look around the plots finding a pair of stonechats, 1 little grebe (not seen for sometime), very little else except the usual magpies, crows, starlings plus 6 coots, very quiet for small birds. Butterflies were only represented by 1 small white and 1 small heath. Odonata included a couple of migrant hawkers and several common darters.

Along the seafront, stacks of gulls moving west and on the mudflats 4 Sandwich terns were sitting quietly along with oystercatchers, 1 egret fishing in the tidal pools, curlew, 1 bar-tailed godwit and a couple of grey plovers. In front of the YC the c.100 plus flock of golden plover were still in residence before the incoming tide made them move to off to dryer areas. On the 'barge' and scattered over the sea were c.125 cormorants.

On the LNR,  c.90 linnets and a few goldfinches and later on a flock of c.30 house martins and 2 swallows were flying west. Returning home a quick stop by the Ski Club revealed c.40 ringed plovers and 11 turnstones.

22nd

Just out for a short evening walk I was rewarded seeing a black redstart on the seawall close to the Sportsman.

23rd.

Another trip to SS but no sign of the black redstart however, amidst the mixed flock of c.150 linnets and goldfinches was a single wheatear.  Meadow pipits seemed to have swelled their numbers with at least 12 by the chalets plus a few swallows and reed buntings. Further on the brent flock had increased to 124 with no juveniles.

Reed Bunting

Osprey at Last

20th Sept

Another visit to Oare and maybe see the osprey that's been hanging about for nearly four weeks. As I approached the reserve by the two sharp bends a merlin took off from the ploughed/raked field, at first I thought it was a mistle thrush.

From the layby I saw 4 curlew sandpipers, dunlin, golden plovers blackwits etc. Then my first view of the osprey, some distance to the south west where there are some fish ponds I was told. It appeared again later in the same area then disappeared again before coming into view again this time flying over the eastern scrape then off down the creek.

 

I saw the osprey again as I drove home, stopping by Oare church seeing the bird circling low overhead then it disappeared west again towards the fish pond maybe.