Grove In All Its Glory

I have often thought that I am not a lucky person but in reality I am,  lucky that I have been blessed with the ability to enjoy the country side and all that occurs within it.  I had decided that a walk to the marsh hide would be a good idea today as there had been a juvenile Glossy Ibis showing well in the week so setting off along the track from grove I walked to the ramp where I made my first stop.  Blue, Great and Long Tailed Tits were fooled by the warm temperatures in to thinking it was spring along with a Wren and two Dunnock.  At the ramp there were lots of Reed Bunting and Chaffinch,  I scanned for a Brambling to no avail.  A Marsh Harrier scrambled the ramp locals and the raise in decibels was tremendous.  My next stop was the newly transformed feast hide,  I must thank all those who gave up their time in the week and help to bring the area back under control.. Here there were Teal and lapwing,  Little Egret and a few others.  Along the path to the marsh hide I saw a charm of Goldfinch and several Thrushes coming in of which there were a lot of Fieldfare. On reaching the marsh hide I was rewarded with distant views of the Glossy Ibis and the Grey Heron who seems to like his picture being taken. Six Ruff circled and a few snipe were also seen. This time of the year is stunning, don't miss it.

Warm Winds At Reculver

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 Meeting Steve Ashton at the fishermans car park just after 8 this morning  we were greeted with  a strong southerly wind albeit bright and sunny. I was going to go to Dungeness for the day as the Penduline tit seems to be showing but with the big game at lunch time and me being a man utd fan I wanted to be home to watch the local derby if you can call it that with the multi national teams these days  and boy what a waste of a sunny afternoon that was. .Any way back to the birding. We walked along the track from the car park noting a kestrel but not much else before crossing the railway  and turning left along the old embankment. We had a Green Woodpecker and fleeting views of various Thrushes as they skulked in the bushes keeping out of the wind,  a party of Finches flew over but photo opportunities were few and far between even though the light was kind.  Not being a bird lister I just enjoy what ever the walk turns up bird wise however I hope to see a few birds this time of the year that are new to me.  We had good views of Marsh Harrier looking spectacular on the wind they just seem to hang there.  We turned along the green wall heading towards the sea  where we saw two Bearded Tits and a flock of Golden Plover twisting and turning as they flew in the bright morning sunshine. A Peregrine was spotted towards the towers scattering all the birds in its path.  On reaching the sea wall the tide was in and we had good views of Brent Geese, Turnstone,  Two Wheatear and a pair of Meadow Pipits, here we had the bird of the day a Goosander flying towards the towers close in allowing a hurried record shot. We made  our way along the sea shore spotting a raft of Mallard  with a lone Wigeon, more Brent Geese,  Ring Plovers flying by and on the lagoons a  few Redshank calmly paddling in the clear water. Making our way back to the car park we located several Long Tailed Tits in the hedge row allowing a few shots,  they disappeared quickly bringing the mornings ramble to an end. Another enjoyable morning, you can forget all your troubles and everything else with this hobby.  Yesterday I  had an hour with the Bearded Tits at Grove,  they are thinning out now but still stunning to see when you find them. Lastly there is lots of work taking place around the feast hide lets hope we see the iconic Kingfisher back on its post soon.

Grove In The Sunshine

After a cold night I was greeted with a frozen car this morning,  the first of the autumn. I set off for Grove hoping the sun would soon burn off the mist and develop into a nice sunny day like the weather forecast had promised.  As I walked up the track towards the ramp the ghostly appearance of a Barn Owl passed me in the mist and flew towards the feast hide, it looked stunning as flew by reminding me of the great times I had with them back in the summer. I also saw Green Woodpecker, Stonechat, Reed Bunting and Cettis Warbler. Three Marsh Harriers were upsetting the ramp residents causing lots of commotion on a calm morning as I made my way to the track past the feast hide where I hoped to photograph Bearded Tits. Conditions were now perfect for my target bird and I soon found a few to grace the camera,  I clicked away happily for an hour. I met Alan Ashdown,  Steve Ashton,  Adam Faiers,  Martyn Wilson And Mark Chidwick just by the feast hide and we decided as it was so nice to walk to the marsh hide and a circuit via harrisons and middle drove. We saw Fieldfare,  Redwing Stonechat  andWater Rail before finding a small flock of Redpoll, these turned out to be the highlight of the ramble. The morning was most enjoyable with us putting the world to right in all departments as we strolled in the morning sun.

The Last Few Weeks.

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Its been a while since I updated my blog, ive been away in Menorca for a week and catching up on chores for another so it was  nice to get out on Sunday for a few hours. Whilst in Menorca near Cala Galdana I walked through a gorge and was delighted to add to my life list Egyptian Vulture and Booted Eagle, the Vultures breed here and were magnificent, if only I had my camera. I saw lots of Spotted Flycatcher Sardinian Warbler and even heard a Nightingale,  truly a place for me to visit again along with the  uncommercialised beaches and turquoise sea, wonderful.  On my return I had a few days working at Arundal a mile from the Pallid Harrier, naturally I had a look for this super bird but was not lucky however did see Red Kite,  Buzzard,  Kestrel and Raven Along with a calling Tawny Owl. Again a cracking location set in delightful  Sussex countryside . With the wife working Sunday I had a a bit more time so set off for Grove to try for a few Bearded Tit shots,  this time of the year there can be at least a 100 or more with the numbers I would imagine boosted from other areas. The light was fantastic when I arrived and I soon located the birds they were very vocal.  I meet a few of the locals and just as we started the camera action we received a call telling us of an Osprey at Reculver ( or was it Seasalter ). We decided to pay a visit as it seemed to be staying put in the oyster beds.  On arrival we could see it from a long way off,  it was huge and sat for some time before  rising and heading south,  wow what a sight well worth the trip.  With the sun now baking down on us I decided to head home.  Monday evening after work with the forecast saying that the weather was to break I paid Oare marshes a visit.  High tide is needed for the best views of the waders as they come in from the coast to roost and with the sun behind me a few shots were managed. I saw Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper , Golden Plover, Greenshank,  Ringed Plover,  Ruff,  Little Egret,  Green Plover,  Black Tailed Godwit to name but a few and as the sun went down a lone Spoonbill glidded in from the west. So there you are a brief note of whats been going on and a few pictures as follows 1 Bearded Tit..2 Osprey. 3 Osprey. 4 Golden Plover. 5 Black Tailed Godwit..6  Black tailed Godwit. 7 .Little Egret.....Finally a note to all you bloggers for some reason I cannot leave comments on your reports,  I am trying to sort out the problem.