As i began my walk,it was great to hear Willow Warbler,Chiffchaff and Blackcap now as part of the day's dawn chorus and as i passed by Foster's Wharf a gorgeous Barn Owl ghosted past me and over the Haven heading towards Barton,a nice start.
As i walked towards New Holland,it was apparent that there was quite a movement of Common Gulls heading west up the Estuary,this primarily involved 2nd calendar year birds and was a feature of today's visit,with 100+ individuals involved.
As i reached Fairfield Pit,i met up with Charlie,my usual company for my walks up to Goxhill and we both chatted about what we were going to find....hopefully a Wheatear or two.
After negotiating the Bulk Terminal,it wasn't too long before we were watching our hoped for target,as we watched a lovely male Wheatear along the bank top,this particular bird didn't want his photo taking and decided to promptly fly past us heading west.
Further on and near Goxhill Tilery,another two males were thankfully located and showed much better,allowing us both to gain some images at last.
These two latter birds also flew around us as the first bird had and seemed to head west towards New Holland also,so three birds was pretty good we thought as we carried on our journey.
The Wheatear sightings seemed to kick off a little period of further good sightings which included a Yellow Wagtail flying overhead and a singing male Lesser Whitethroat,'First's' for the year for both of us,the latter being seen in the scrub where the old tilery buildings used to be situated,it was turning out to be a good morning after all.
An interesting sighting was a couple of larval webs on Hawthorn bushes of Brown-tail Moth,a species which must be penetrating inland from the coast.
A light shower passed overhead as we reached Dawson City and we decided to have a quick food stop before beginning the return leg back towards Barrow Haven.
As we experienced a period of sun,the bank side came alive with insects as we walked back towards Goxhill Haven and i managed to find a single Small White in amongst some Green-veined Whites which were taking advantage of the profusion of Dandelions in flower along here,my 8th species so far this year.
A steady westerly passage of passerines in relatively small numbers had been taking place all morning and included Linnets,Goldfinches,half a dozen Swallows and singles of both Siskin and Sand Martin,which added a little diversity to sightings.
Another couple of male Wheatear were encountered at Goxhill Haven and as we neared the Old Boatyard the second of the days male Lesser Whitethroats was still singing away his rattling song and nearby a Sedge Warbler sang away in an adjacent dyke.
Little else was noted as we passed by New Holland Bulk Terminal and as we made our way towards Barrow Haven a singing male Willow Tit was heard singing in his usual place,great to hear.
Well what a great morning today,with 11.5 miles walked and some nice sightings to boot,with some great company,what else can you ask for.
 |
| Wheatear's Near To Goxhill Tilery. |
 |
| Brown Tail Moth Caterpillar's Near Goxhill Haven. |
 |
| Small White,Goxhill Haven. |
 |
| An Incredibly Tame Carrion Crow,Near Goxhill Tilery. |
No comments:
Post a Comment