Sandwich Bay's Owls.

I have paid a couple of visits to Sandwich Bay over the past two weeks, trying to coincide my visits with some decent weather which has proved a little difficult with the constant dull weather patterns of late. I did manage a few images of both Short-eared and Barn Owl but although I never got any worthwhile images, the highlight for me was connecting with the three visiting Serin's, on both of my visits, that were favouring an area just short of the new hide on the Restharrow scrape. There was mention of there being 4 Serin's present but I only saw 3 at any one given time. Chatted with a few visiting birders that I have not seen for a while whilst watching for the Serin's before joining the Owl fest a little way along the Ancient Highway by Dickson's corner. I have to say, there is one Short-eared Owl in particular that has a liking for the rough grassland around the cattle feeding trough by the entrance gate to the path up to Sandilands and puts on a super show for the gathered photographers that all seem to be filling their boots with Owl images. A more obliging Short-eared Owl I have yet to see. 

A Barn Owl appeared quartering the same grassy field that the Short-eared Owl was favouring and although the Barn Owl kept it's distance, the light had now improved and allowed for a few images albeit with a large crop.

A young Sparrowhawk landed on a fence post alongside the Sandilands track whilst I was waiting for the Owls to put in an appearance, a Sandwich Bay regular I gather.

A stroll around Godmersham Park

A few trips to Godmersham park over the past couple of weeks resulted in some good birds albeit a little difficult to pin down through the camera view finder. The reason for going was to try and get a few Hawfinch sightings, which I did but they on all occasions were high up in the tree tops and only present for a few seconds before moving on.  

There was a pair of Grey Wagtails seen on the church roof and the Little Owl was seen hidden away in a distant tree looking over the church wall boundary.

A walk up to the feeders along the track behind the estate was fairly successful, seeing at least 5 Red Kites, 20 plus Common Buzzards with 14 seen in one kettle, high above the A28 and at least 3 and probably a few more Tree Sparrows making use of the seed put out by the local farmer. There was a single female Brambling seen but I was not quick enough with the camera but at least half a dozen Yellowhammers were a lot more obliging. Another pair of Little Owls were heard calling to each other but unseen.

Red Kite

Yellowhammer

A great place to spend a few hours in the Kentish countryside.

Crest's at Stodmarsh

 A few Goldcrest's and a Firecrest all seen recently around the Alder wood area of the Stodmarsh NNR.

Goldcrest

Firecrest

An unexpected local Hoopoe

 Just before the Christmas break, a Hoopoe was reported by local residents, feeding around the various grass verges and gardens along Joy Lane in Seasalter, Whitstable. Not an ideal scenario being close to houses and wielding large camera lenses about, but I thought I would go and have a look to see the possibilities. To be quite honest it was quite easy really as it was possible once locating the bird, to park a little further down from where it was feeding and wait until it passed, and I was able to get most of my images from the comfort of my car and all within a time period of around 20 minutes. It was a little dull and overcast on my first visit (16/12/24) and after a brief walk around the estate and locating the bird, I returned to my car, drove to where it was and waited.

The morning of the 20th was a lot brighter so I returned to see if I could firstly relocate the bird, which i did, a little further west towards Seasalter and then try for a few more images. Using the same tactics, I came away after 10 minutes, job done. A most obliging bird and only a quick drive from home.

A brief walk along the sea wall by the Sportsman Pub revealed several Grey Plovers seeking high tide roosting spots, making good targets for the camera.

A Return for the Short-eared Owls

 I ventured back down to the Sandwich Bay estate again, firstly on Monday 25th November where although I was blessed with a bright but breezy afternoon, my first glimpse of a Short-eared Owl was not until 3.20 pm which leaves a very narrow window before the sun drops down below the horizon, making it a little difficult to get any decent images of the birds as they quarter the Royal Cinque Ports golf course in search of prey. All I managed on the Monday was a couple of shots of a bird resting in the rough grass.

Not to be deterred, I returned the next day (Tuesday 26th November) and this time I was a lot luckier. My first sighting was at 01.35 pm and the bird stayed up for at least an hour, hunting the fields and golf course around Dickson's corner. Taking advantage of some bales of hay placed on the perimeter of the golf course and using them as cover, I was able to get the Owl in full hunt mode as it continuously flew up and down the fence line in search of prey and completely oblivious to my presence.

There were plenty of Stonechat's to be seen and a Dartford Warbler was also seen (glimpses) but was too shy for the camera.

Winter Grey Geese.

 Always nice to get Winter Grey Geese at Stodmarsh and even better when they are close enough to get images. I made a quick stop before work to the Reed bed hide at the Stodmarsh end of the reserve, my first visit for a month and was greeted by 9 Pink-footed Geese in amongst a 100 plus flock of Greylags. The 9 kept together on the main and luckily they swam in fairly close to the hide.

My First SEO's of the Autumn

 A trip to Sandwich Bay for the newly arriving Short-eared Owls (22/11/24) proved difficult with the early failing light and stiff North Westerly winds. The light was rapidly diminishing when the first of two Owls appeared, quartering the field by Dickson's corner but never ventured close enough to my vantage point. I was a little luckier as I was walking back to my car as one of the Owls landed on the lip of a sand bunker on the Royal Cinque Ports golf course and sat still for long enough for me to get a few images.

Whilst waiting for the Owls to get up, I managed to catch a Curlew as it foraged for food in a field on the side of the Ancient Highway.