Early morning at Reculver

After a long week at work I was determined to make the most of my day off, so I made it to Reculver by 5:30am this morning. There was quite a stiff northerly breeze and it was decidedly chilly so on went the coat and hat, and I slung my telescope over the shoulder in the hope of a few seabirds moving through.

About an hour into my walk towards Cold Harbour I was caught up by Marc Heath, and by this time we had seen very little. We added a few nice birds on the way to Chambers Wall, and then we headed back the same way.

There were a couple of Common and a Green Sandpiper near Cold Harbour, and a family of 2 adult and 8 young Shelduck flew out the lagoon. On the beach we found a single Whimbrel and about 14 Redshank and small numbers of Ringed Plover and Oystercatchers. There were also a couple of juv Stonechats by the Green Wall, and 5 or 6 Little Egrets on the oyster farm.

As Marc left for Grove, I went down to Shuart for a short stroll out the wind. There quite a few Gatekeepers, a Red Admiral and a few Speckled Woods.

A few Migrant Hawkers were flying quite high over the trees, and a Black-tailed Skimmer posed for a long time in the sunshine enjoyin the warmth.