On Guard.

A smart looking Kestrel guarding over the hole at Langdon on a recent visit. It's all I did see, very quiet. 

Juvenile Common Terns.

 Fresh from the Tern raft at Stodmarsh, juvenile Common Terns.

Smart looking birds in their juvenile plumage.

Great Crested Grebe with Stripey's.

A nice looking Great Crested Grebe at Grove Ferry recently. 

Currently resident on the pool in front of the Feast hide with two young "stripey's".

Grove Ferry 26/08/24

Popped into the Marsh hide halfway into a circuit of the Stodmarsh reserve and a bit of luck, the Scarlet Ibis was on the back edge of the pool in front of the hide, asleep, and waking to do a bit of preening. A lot closer than my last sighting on the 21st. 

Stodmarsh 21/08/24

A surprise in the shape of a Scarlet Ibis this morning, feeding in amongst 250+ Greylag Geese on the wet marsh to the left of the Marsh hide. Apparently, this bird was in Dorset last week and is making good use of its new found freedom.

 

Grove Ferry 23/06/2024

Cuckoo

Marsh Harrier (Juvenile)

Lanzarote (Playa Blanca) 11-14/06/24

Trumpeter Finch 

Berthelot's Pipit

Iberian Desert Grey Shrike (Koenigi)

Worth Marshes 27/05/24

Red Footed Falcon

Avocet

Kestrel

It's easier when the sun is out

 I returned to where I had the Cuckoo (see last post) on the 22nd of April and I think maybe the same bird was still present as it appeared and seemed to go through the same ritual as the bird on my previous visit. This time I was able to get images under a blue sky and with a bright early morning rising sun, which made for a lot easier task than on my previous attempt. Whilst partially concealed in a hedgerow, the Cuckoo landed in a nearby tree and sang for about 10 minutes before flying off, visiting various trees around me.

A Spring Favourite.

My first returning Cuckoo of the spring was seen near to Grove Ferry early morning on the 17th April. Although the normal drab and dreary conditions of late with a strong cold North Westerly blow made it difficult to get any decent images, a few passable shots were gained to record the occasion. Shame there was no blue sky on offer.