21st February - Elmley NNR, Kent

A weekend away in Kent and the chance to visit Elmley once more.  After overnight rain it was clearer as we drove into Kent, a drop off in Snodland and then the drive onto Sheppey and down the entrance track.  There was a lot more water around the reserve than on my last visit in December and as a result there were a lot of geese, duck and waders out on the marsh.

Where there are high numbers of birds then there is likely to be predators and we could see Marsh Harriers distantly on the marsh and on ethe fence posts several Buzzards.

The sun was trying to come out and as we drove the last part of the track two Brown Hare crossed the track and raced into the field.  After a short spa they then jogged across the field.

We learnt that there are leverets about and these two were probably females.

A last look back at the car before disappearing into the longer grass.

From the car park we headed down past the Old School where there wasn't any sign of the Little Owl.  Walking to the reed bed there were three Marsh Harriers quartering the reeds, here a male and a female.

They continued to fly over the reed bed, but frustratingly at some distance.

We walked to the Swale and with the tide low there was a gathering of Black-tailed Godwits on the mud.

A little further along was a small group pf Avocet.

We walked the sea wall path and were able to hear Bearded Tit, but frustratingly we were not able to see them.

At the end of the path you get a good view of the fields and marsh that is distant from the entrance track.  Another Brown Hare sat on the top of the ridge.

Marsh Harriers came low over the field probably looking for any sign of the leverets.  Large flocks of Wigeon were moving over the marsh.

Walking back a Marsh Harrier appeared to be interested in a particular area of the reeds, it wasn't clear what was there though.

The tide was much higher and the godwits were pushed closer together.

On the open water amongst the reeds were three Pochard, a male and two females.

A Reed Bunting on the path leading back to the car park.

And passing the Old School the sun had brought the Little Owl out on the bricks.

After lunch we headed east towards the hides.  There were huge flocks of duck, mostly Wigeon flushed from the marsh and heading out on to the Swale.

Four Gadwall flew past quite close and out on the marsh there were lots of Curlew and Lapwing.

We walked towards the Southfleet hide where there was a large group of Brent Geese, as we came close they took to the air, surprisingly silently.

They had been scarce so far but along the track there were now several Stonechat, the males looking smart right now.

The walk back was into the wind and we were left with the image of the Brent Geese flocks against the windmills.

The flocks of geese and duck was impressive once again, but it was a quiet day once again, apparently there are eight Short-eared Owls in the area around the car park, but they are more nocturnal now.  Driving out of the reserve there were more Marsh Harriers and large flocks of Lapwing and Godwits.  At the gate the two Kestrels were on duty, but by then we had packed the camera gear away.

17th February - Black Point, Hayling Island, Hampshire

The Snow Bunting I had spent four hours searching and waiting for last Friday had once again been reported at Black Point on Hayling Island, probably as a result of a lot of half term disturbance at East Head.  I decided that despite the drive it was worth trying once again, so from Acres Down I drove along the M27 to Hayling.

I parked in the usual place close to the beach and then walked around Sandy Point.  On reaching the Lifeboat Station there was a group of birders gathered together having lunch,.  This didn't look good, but they told me the Snow Bunting had been about three quarters of an hour ago in the same spot I had spent time looking last Friday.  I walked up the causeway and as I approached some parked cars I found int on the side of the road.

Now the thing about Snow Buntings is that they are not a regular visitor to Hampshire, they are special looking birds and they have no fear of humans pointing cameras at them.  In fact you can crouch, sit or even lay down and they will come to you.  The result of this is that you take lots of photographs and that is exactly what I did.

An eye level shot as it walked to the top of the small dune and I was kneeling.

The trick is to get some scenery and not just the bird to create a photograph and not just a record.

It was constantly sieving through the sand and extracting seeds dropped from the various grasses and plants amongst the sand.

One of the cars started up and it flew along the beach out onto the shingle.

I tried for something a little more creative.  A close up portrait.

And hidden in the grass.

Some stretches and a scratch.

Getting down really low now to blur both the foreground and the background.

And then on the ridge with the sea in the background.

There are about sixty pairs of Snow Buntings that breed in Scotland around the Cairngorms.  They are an Arctic breeder and can be found around the coasts of the United Kingdom in autumn and winter.  One of the more bizarre places I have seen Snow Bunting was in the Azores one October.

There breeding plumage in spring is an all white head with black wings, in the winter they assume this browner version which acts as excellent camouflage amongst the shingle and sand.

I took the chance to take some video as it moved about the shingle, look out for the little trip!

Back to the stills, and it perched at the top of the shingle and I was able to position a dark background.

A ground level view with a blurred foreground and background once again.

I felt by now I had enough and I decided to walk around to the wader roost at the tip of Black Point.  The tide was falling and most of the waders were gone, but there were Ringed Plover and Sanderling.  These Ringed Plover on the sea weed.

The remaining flock of Sanderling and Ringed Plover then took off and flew out across the water.  I walked around the edge of the water and eventually found one Sanderling, but it turned out to be a special find.

It had somehow managed to extract the fleshy part of a cockle and was trying to swallow it.

Eventually managing to get it down, but you can still see the lump in the throat.

Here some video of the Sanderling wrestling with the shellfish.

And some more with it feeding on the shore.

Once again back to the stills and after the video there was some more feeding and some preening.

A good scratch.

And then some leg stretches.

Like the Snow Bunting the Sanderling seem to have no fear of man and will come close to you if you do not chase them.  This one kept coming and coming.

I love these little waders and just can't get enough of them.

I thought I was done with the Snow Bunting, but I got a call from a mate who wanted to see it, so I returned to the causeway and met up with him, and of course had to take some more shots.

Some more wing stretches, something Snow Bunting seem to do a lot of.

The shingle on the beach had been cleared and it was possible to drop down and follow the snow Bunting at eye level, once again allowing the blurred foreground and background.

Finally I decided I had enough, a scan of the water revealed a Great Northern Diver and a single Great Crested Grebe.  It had been a great day both here and in the New Forest, so I decided to make my way back to the car and walk off into a watery sunset.