A Taste of Spring

A great morning to be out early but little to report...birdwise. My highlight was a Green Woodpecker  on a telegraph pole!!

                                   Outside Riduna, the bungalow overlooking the Lagoon.

In late afternoon I took the 500mm for a 'walk' just to see if I could find some fodder for the blog.! Not a lot, but this is a record of what I saw...not very exciting I'm afraid!

 Mute Swan

Distant Flock of Brent Goose...they'll soon be gone to their breeding grounds.

Carrion Crow on the look out.

A splash caught my eye.....what was that?

It soon popped up... Great Crested Grebe in the main channel...against the light.

Curlew leaving the harbour.

Cormorant entering the harbour.

A pair of Wigeon coming into the harbour...far fewer of them about now.

...and that's it for another day.

There's nothing wrong with a photo of the familiar Black Headed Gull (albeit of the one legged variety)

...now in summer plumage.

Oh, I know Mediterranean Gulls are more exciting and here are a few of the 75+ on the Lagoon today...and they are now very noisy!

Sunday March 6:The Sanderlings are still on the beach

Three or four of these birds were mingling with the Turnstones in the early morning...constantly disturbed by the dog walkers but always returning to the same spot...so no real problem to them...more so to the photographer!

Always a delight to watch...always on the move on their 'clockwork' legs!

A local day out.

It was a bright sunny morning with a good forecast so, as I have not been to Pulborough Brooks for some time, this was my first stop. I arrived before the Centre opened so I had the place to myself.  A few Redwings and Fieldfares were calling and some were feeding in the lower field....

Redwing

As I entered the West Meads hide the vista was amazing....the South Downs were shrouded in early morning mist and the water supported dozens of ducks looking absolutely resplendent in Spring plumage!

Drake Shoveler

Pintail

Shoveler and Teal (asleep)

Shelduck

 In addition there were Pied Wagtails...

and Lapwings

...looking resplendent in their iridescent plumage

But the highlight were the seven Snipe feeding on the grass just in front of the hide....

Stunning birds!

Time for a wander in the woods...

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Nuthatches.

On to Waltham Brooks...

Chiffchaffs

A particularly pale individual...is this a 'Sibe' anyone?

Goldcrests galore but well nigh impossible to capture...such fast little movers. Dozens of blank photos and almost no 'keepers'...

The best of a disappointing lot!

Finally to Arundel WWT to improve on my previous Firecrest shots...not a sighting in two hours!!

A passing Red Kite ...

...with a bird in its talons

A Long Tailed Tit

and finally...........................

A Water Vole as I was leaving...in the entrance.

Is Spring on the way?

Well, certainly the Ringed Plovers think so....a male was displaying madly this morning on the beach, flying erratically hither and thither attempting to get the females attention.  Very difficult subjects to photograph when they are in this mood as they change direction rapidly at great speed. These photos don't really give an indication of speed but but best I can do in the circumstances!

...and then he settled on the tideline....peacefully. The female appeared to take no notice at all so it all seemed a bit of waste of effort! Maybe she's waiting for the weather to warm up...well it was cold first thing this morning!