An early wander in winter sunshine.

Just another day, cold and very frosty, windless! A great morning to be out and about around Pagham Harbour.
The light was just perfect for a little early morning photography so I set off in the hope of finding something unusual!
Alas, nothing rare or paticularly different to the normal run of things but there is always the opportunity of trying to improve on previous photos of  the more common birds...especially in good lighting. So whats wrong with Oystercatchers? If they were a rarity we would be madly twitching....just look at that long orange bill and what fabulous legs. Sometimes  referred to as the Pied Piper of the mud flats....

 Out on the shingle bar a Cormorant drying its wings...

Nearby a Little Egret...how striking is that!  Birders would be jumping up and down if it was 20 years ago!

Turnstone on a sand bank...all fluffed up!

Just another day? Another great day....enjoy!!!

Church Norton visit.

A quick visit 'to the otherside' to see what was about....

Redshanks are usually quite flighty but by approaching cautiously this particular bird didn't seem too concerned by my presence...a common wader but nevertheless very nice to be able to watch close up.

 

The leucistic Curlew...a long way out on the mudflats but easily picked out  in the bright sunlight.

Grey plovers searching the mud for worms.

Teal dabbling in the winter sunshine....  a

very pleasant hour or so.

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Happy Christmas to all my regular blog friends

Every morning just before sunrise hundreds of Brent Geese leave their roost in the harbour, fly over the bungalows and head east along the coast towards Clymping to what I presume is a popular feeding ground.
This morning was no exception .....

...over the beach bungalows

...in V-formation to their feeding grounds.

..... I don't expect they will be gorging themselves on Turkey and all the trimmings!!

A very Happy Christmas to you all.

After a very misty morning...

..the sun came out and yet  another visit to the North Wall.

I can't remember ever featuring a Dunnock on the blog before but there was little else about! Nevertheless a very under rated bird.

I met a very interesting photographer from Woking (whose Flicke site I have forgotten!) who was only too pleased to have the opportunity of photographing these ever present waders.
He was using a 500mm with 2x extender hand held on a 5D!

Black tailed Godwit

Teal and Snipe ...

LAdd caption

Lapwings.

 ...and the 'usual' Kingfisher resplendent in the late afternoon sunshine.

What a bird!

More of the usual.

A quick visit to the North Wall to check if there was 'anything about'.

 Nothing unusual but I suppose I almost get complacent about 'the usual' which is a real shame.

A few shots therefore of  some of ' the usual'!

A stalking Grey Heron

A humble Mallard

A brilliant Kingfisher

                                Still not the definitive 'fish in beak shot' that I'm after!

...and the now regular pair of Ruddy Shelduck feeding with the Shelduck way out in the middle of the harbour.

...and the Lapwings and Black Tailed Godwit

...and the ever present winter flocks of Brent Geese

                ... so there's always something interesting to see.  Not a bad, local patch! eh!

Diappointed hopes.

Monday dawned bright and sunny and having heard that Short Eared Owls and various Raptors were being seen at Burpham a visit was a must! As I approached the village a Red Kite soared over the car and I thought I was in for a good morning. Alas how wrong can one be!
As I wandered up towards Peppering Farm a covey of Grey Partridges crossed the road, paused momentarily before heading into the long grass and away. A few long distance cropped shots...

They've seen me!

A quick dash...

..into the long grass and they were gone!

Then it was up to the dew pond and down the hill where a small flock of Fieldfares were feeding on the Hawthorn

Very skittish birds...they didn't stop long.

Few other birds about except for a two chaffinches and this Song Thrush..

So it was onto Arundel and Swanbourne Lake to locate the reported Firecrests...but alas, not a chance!

Apart from the usual wildfowl and these Jackdaws...zilch!

Here's to a better trip next time!

 The gloomy conditions of the past week have not been conducive to bird photography so this afternoon after concluding my domesticities I wandered along to the North Wall with Big Bertha who was fed up with being  confined to barracks for so long!
On arrival at the Salt House I was pleasantly surprised to find  fellow photographer ...'Friends of the Fourth Groyne'  concentrating his efforts in attempting to obtain shots of a Kingfisher in a very difficult and dark location .
 Alongside much banter I attempted  to get a few record shots and now and again the bird did actually come out from its hiding place and briefly chose a perch in the late afternoon sunshine. Nothing to write home about but at least something for the blog!

In the shadows

Competition from local fisherman.

In the sun.

Back on his usual post.

On the alert.

Sunset over the harbour

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