Red Alert at Reculver!

I had planned to stay in today but when news broke this morning of a Red breasted Flycatcher on the patch, I made plans to make a visit to Reculver to hopefully catch up with this rare Reculver species, the last one in the area being 20th October 1999 which I managed to see. On arrival there were a few birders who had seen the bird but it was generally elusive. Due to a local resident not wanting birders in the caravan park we had to view from the outside which made the task quite a challenge indeed. Eventually after a patient wait the Red breasted Flycatcher came into view for a few seconds before it moved off again into the bushes. Not the best view but a great species to see on the patch and its been a while since the last one. I stayed on for a bit longer and hoped the Flycatcher would appear in a small gap with some convenient bare branches. It appeared briefly a few more times before at last it flew into the open gap and landed on one of the branches. I had about 5 seconds of firing off a few shots before it flew off again out of sight, not the best efforts and a bit noisy but a record nonetheless of a great bird. It was nice to catch up with some other Kent birders for a chat and whilst there we also noted a few Swallow going through, 4 Redwing, 1 Brambling calling, 2 Chiffchaff, 20 Migrant Hawker, a few Common Darter and 1 Willow Emerald Damselfly. I certainly didn't wake up this morning with this cracker in mind today, the beauty of birding. 

Red breasted Flycatcher

Dragons and Warblers!

With Yellow browed Warblers falling out of the skies in the north of the country by the hundreds I was hopeful that I may be able to connect with one myself at Reculver. One had been seen yesterday so they are slowly making their way south. I started off the morning leaving home at 5.45am where I had a brief drive around in the dark until it got light. I managed to see or hear 4 Grey Partridge, 6 Red legged Partridge and 1 Little Owl. I then made a visit to the caravan park where I noted 1 Goldcrest, 2 Chiffchaff, 1 Whinchat, 1 Stonechat and a few Meadow Pipit passing over. With no Yellow browed Warbler success here I then called in at Bishopstone Glen where one had been heard earlier. Thankfully it wasn't too windy and a look and listen hear provided 4 Chiffchaff, 4 Siskin, 1 Redwing, 1 Sparrowhawk and 1 Yellow browed Warbler was heard calling 3 times but went unseen. I was joined by Julian and Alex Perry where we listened again and I managed to hear it call twice more but again it went unseen. Hopefully the next few weeks will provide a few more sightings of this species and maybe a photo opportunity. A quick look around the towers after produced 55 Oystercatcher, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker and 5 Skylark and I ended the session just south of Reculver where I spent some time photographing dragonflies. Nice to see they are still on the wing and I managed to note c10 Migrant Hawker with a few photos obtained as well as 5 Common Darter and 6 Common Blue Damselfly. I was surprised to see 1 Willow Emerald Damselfly on the wing and this provided a few more shots in the nice light. As I made my way to the car 1 Kingfisher was seen. A pleasant session with the target species noted and probably my best effort so farof a Migrant Hawker in flight. 

 Common Darter

 Migrant Hawker

Willow Emerald Damselfly

Butterflies of Kingsdown

I was surprised the other day whilst at Kingsdown watching the Long tailed Blues how many other butterflies were still on the wing. I had assumed that most would have gone over by now but it was nice to see c10 Adonis Blue, c4 Chalkhill Blue, c10 Common Blue, 2 Small Tortoiseshell, 3 Small Copper, 1 Brimstone, 3 Speckled Wood and a few Small and Large White just about flying about. As the sun was shining I took a few shots as ever with some pleasing results. 

 Adonis Blue

 Brimstone

Small Copper

I met Tony Morris on site who pointed out a couple of gardens which had hundreds, if not thousands of tiny Autumn Lady's - tresses, a member of the Orchid family. I have never seen these before and grabbed a couple of shots for the record.

Autumn Lady's tresses

More 'Tails' From Reculver

With a single Long tailed Blue seen earlier in the year at Shuart and the news that they have bred at Kingsdown, I met up with Julian Perry where we hatched a plan to have a look ourselves to see if any had bred at Shuart, near Reculver. It was a long shot but we hoped that maybe the single seen this year there may have not been the only one. We arrived along the embankment having seen 1 Small Heath and a few Speckled Wood and began walking west along the embankment checking the everlasting pea plants as we walked. There is still quite a bit of this in flower along the embankment so we hoped one such group would host a butterfly. As we walked we saw 1 tatty female Common Blue and we met up with Derek Smith who joined in the search. We checked each group of flower in turn when a small butterfly was seen flying past us and eventually come to rest near the pea plant. Surely not, but as I raised my binoculars there was a pristine male Long tailed Blue. We all got onto it and took a few shots through the foliage before it flew off and vanished. We carried on west until I picked out the butterfly again but this time it flew down to the pea plant only to be chased back up again by another Long tailed Blue. We saw it again a few times but unlike Kingsdown yesterday, photos were much harder to obtain but nevertheless I had seen a Long tailed Blue on the patch, magic. With the time moving on we said our good byes to Derek and Julian and I returned back along the embankment when as we nearly got to the crossing we had another fly past us, 3 Long tailed Blue at Reculver, great stuff and nice to know they successfully bred in the area. There were also a few Whites seen as well as 2 Red Admiral and 2 Comma. Its nice when a plan works out and I wonder how many others are out there in amongst the pea plants in Kent!

Male Long tailed Blue

'Historic' Blues!

I was lucky to see the Long tailed Blue butterfly earlier in the year at Kingsdown Leas, near Dover which was a new butterfly for me and they were seen by a few observers egg laying on the everlasting Pea plant. It was hoped that a few weeks later that there would be an historic moment when for the first time I believe, Kent Long tailed Blues would emerge at the site. Thankfully the news come this week that a few had been seen so with the weather looking sunny and hardly any wind I made a visit today to hopefully see them again for myself in pristine condition and maybe get a few photos. A few other observers had the same idea and with a good few eyes scanning the areas concerned I was able to see 4 Long tailed Blue, 3 males and 1 female. Most were in pristine condition and as you can guess, I took a few shots of these stunners. Also seen were good numbers of Adonis Blue, Common Blue and a few Chalkhill Blue. These were supported by a cast of 3 Small Copper, 1 Clouded Yellow, 1 Brimstone, 1 Small Tortoiseshell and a few 'Whites'. What a fantastic end to the butterfly season this is and a great story to end with. I will no doubt post a few other shots in the next few days.

Male Long tailed Blue

 Female Long tailed Blue

 Female Long tailed Blue

 Female Long tailed Blue

 Male Long tailed Blue

 Female Long tailed Blue

 Female Long tailed Blue

 Female Long tailed Blue

 Male Long tailed Blue

Male Long tailed Blue

If You Like Your Dragonflies!

As many readers will know I have been very much into finding and photographing Dragonflies this year with some rewarding results. Recently I was asked if I would like to post to a Blog in France which is all about Dragonflies. This blog has grown increasingly of late with authors now publishing from France, United Kingdom, Holland and America. Its a great website that I thoroughly recommend looking at with some excellent photographs and write ups of dragonflies around the world. It can be viewed here:  http://odonatas69a.blogspot.co.uk/ 

A Few Birds Arriving!

With some decent weather forecast for today and light winds I was out of the house early this morning at 5.15am where I had a drive around the area in the dark looking and listening for any Owls and anything else that wanted to call in the dark. As the light picked up I heard 1 Grey and 1 Red legged Partridge calling and a few Skylark and Golden Plover could be heard in the distance. I then parked up at Chambers Wall where on getting out of the car there was obviously a good number of Chiffchaff around. Throughout the morning I managed to see and hear 48 Chiffchaff, no doubt a lot more as well that went unnoticed. I walked down to Coldharbour before walking east along to Plumpudding Stables where I checked all the bushes before returning back along the seawall. Despite not finding 'that' bird this morning I noted a few species including 4 Grey Partridge, 2 Kestrel, 9 Blackcap, 1 Turtle Dove still around surprisingly, 2 Reed Warbler, 2 Whitethroat, 1 Wigeon, 1 Snipe, 2 Stonechat and 3 Whinchat were together near Coldharbour allowing the first shots of the day.

Whinchat

There were 2 Grey Wagtail west, 2 Pied Wagtail, c10 Meadow Pipit, 7 Teal, 2 Sedge Warbler, c20 Reed Bunting, 1 Rock Pipit west, 2 Marsh Harrier, c80 Linnet, 1 Lesser Whitethroat eventually showed itself in a bush along the seawall where I managed to grab a few quick shots. 

Lesser Whitethroat

Moving on I noted 4 Curlew, 2 Wheatear, 1 Shoveler, 5 Oystercatcher, 9 Swallow, 1 House Martin, 5 Sand Martin, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great spotted Woodpecker, 7 Ringed Plover, 3 Little Egret, 9 Turnstone, 3 Redshank and 1 Kingfisher. A few Yellow browed Warblers are in the north of the country at the moment, hopefully the next week or so will see one or two on the patch!

Lesser Whitethroat

Looking Back (Sept 2009)

With the birding a bit quiet at the moment I was looking through some old photos when I come across a file named 'Dotterel- Sandwich Bay, 1st September 2009'. I remember the day well when I made a visit to see a Dotterel on the beach which was showing quite well. I spent an hour or so taking photos as the Dotterel was only a metre or so away and at times walking in amongst the birders who were there. A fantastic experience and nice to see the photos again. 

Dotterel

Spotted Crake at Oare Marshes

With a Spotted Crake showing at Oare Marshes, near Faversham for the past few days and a species I have not seen on this reserve I thought I would make a visit this afternoon to see if I could not only see it but maybe get a few photos. There were a good assortment of waders on the East flood on arrival including hundreds of Black tailed Godwit, a few Bar tailed Godwit, 1 Little Stint, 3 Curlew Sandpiper, a few Ruff, c40 Golden Plover and a few Snipe. I headed straight round to the East hide where the Crake has been seen and after a brief wait with Adrian Dowling the Spotted Crake showed up and spent some time showing very well at times allowing for a number of photos to be taken. There was unfortunately always a reed in the way but a few pleasing efforts were obtained. Despite seeing a few over the years in the Stour Valley this is probably one of the best encounters I have had with this species and all made better with the good views and a few photos taken. The reserve looks fantastic tomorrow and I'm sure another visit is on the cards very soon indeed.

Spotted Crake

September Seawatches

September often means Sea watching at Reculver and gives the chance to get some seabirds on the year list and see the migration as hirundines leave and Geese and waders, Auks fly by on their journeys. The last few days has seen a strong north westerly wind at Reculver and I have managed to fit in a few sessions along with a good few other birders at the towers. Seawatching can be the most boring of events as often it can be very quiet and the conditions predicted do not turn up the goods but sometimes you get a good passage of birds flying past with some passing by hopefully close enough for a few shots. Birds I have managed to see in the past few days have included c50 Great Skua, c30 Arctic Skua, 3 Pomarine Skua, 1 juvenile Sabines Gull flew west close inshore yesterday, 7 Knot, 4 Sooty Shearwater, 2+ Arctic Tern, c20 Common Tern, 1 Brent Goose, c30 Wigeon, c20 Dunlin, 4 Sandwich Tern, 1 Snipe, 1 Hobby and c20 Common Scoter. A great variety and well worth the hours of staring out to sea. Hopefully a few more sea watches as the month continues with Auks, Petrels and Shearwaters all good possibilities.

Arctic Skua

More from the Willows

I made another brief visit after work to Reculver to see if I could photograph the Willow Emerald Damselflies, ideally a shot with the wings open. I have found this shot a bit of a challenge as often the head is in focus and the tail is not or the other way around, a bit frustrating. I ended up using the 300mm lens today and found myself standing well back to try to get the whole body in focus. I kind of succeeded but still not quite there yet, much more room for improvement I think and I will have to think of another plan of attack. I ended up seeing 31 Willow Emerald Damselfly in the area, a great number to see and also seen were a good number of Migrant Hawker as well as Common Blue Damselfly with a few Common Darter noted.  

Willow Emerald Damselfly

Migrant Hawker

Willow Emerald Damselflies at Reculver

Whilst out yesterday I called in at Reculver to have a look for Willow Emerald Damselflies of which a few were seen here last year. It was very pleasing in the warm sunshine to find 10 Willow Emerald Damselflies and it looks like they have colonised this area now and hopefully they will go from strength to strength. The camera was able to grab a few pleasing images of these beauties and also here were a few Migrant Hawkers and Common Blue Damselflies. I really need to get a decent image of the Willow Emerald from above, a shot I have not quite cracked yet but I shall hopefully get it soon if I keep trying. 

Willow Emerald Damselfly

A Sad Day Indeed!

The last day of the holidays today saw me visit a few places and one of these was Lydden Downs near Dover where I hoped to catch up with the Adonis Blue butterfly. I arrived early afternoon in lovely sunshine but quite a breeze. The slopes were alive with butterflies with hundreds of Meadow Brown seen and also seen were good numbers of Adonis Blue which provided me with a few photo opportunities. The colours on these are fantastic and the photos really do not show how brilliant the blue is on these butterflies. I also saw a few Chalkhill Blue, lots of Brown Argus and Common Blue, 3 Clouded Yellow, 2 Silver spotted Skipper and 3 Small Heath. Later in the day I made a visit to Reculver where I managed to find 10 Willow Emerald Damselfly which provided yet more action for the camera. As I'm back to work tomorrow and how bad I feel about it, I will post some of these shots throughout the week as I will probably not get out due to the horrible work thing.

Adonis Blue