Wheatear's Arrive at Reculver

With a single Wheatear arriving a couple of days ago at Reculver I made a brief visit yesterday morning before work for 10 minutes where after a quick search I could see the male Wheatear sitting up nicely on the rocks. Its always a buzz to see the first of these attractive birds returning back to the area and after a nice view, I continued on to work. This morning around 9.30am and with the weather not sure whether it wanted to rain or be sunny, I made another visit to Reculver with the camera. There was a chilly biting north wind which made for an eye watering few hours but we are in that 'migration' window where things will start to turn up. The sun was in and out as I made my way west along the seawall and after scanning the rocks, I soon located the familiar shape of the Wheatear. Often after arrival, they are quite wary and this proved to be the case as photos were quite hard to get as it fed actively in the rocks and under the cliffs. I settled down on a few rocks and after a while it started to move a little nearer and I was able to get a few images. I'm still getting used to the camera but so far am pleased with the results that I am getting.

Wheatear

Room for improvement i'm sure and hopefully this will come as the year continues. I moved on where I wanted to see if any other birds had arrived along the seawall. I walked down as far as the Green Wall but with the rain starting and the biting wind reducing me to teary eyes, I made my way back. I did note a few birds including 3 Curlew, 2 Little Egret, 6 Sanderling, 5 Redshank, 1 Red throated Diver, 2 Oystercatcher, 3 Turnstone, c15 Linnet, c600 Dark bellied Brent Geese and back at the Oyster Farm, 1 Black Redstart was seen but soon moved deeper into the farm and out of view. A quick look inland on the way home produced 1 Great crested Grebe, c10 Tufted Duck, a few Gadwall and 2 Chiffchaff, one in fine voice singing. Hopefully an early morning outing tomorrow to Reculver to see what else may have arrived overnight. 

Wheatear