With a text from Chris Hindle yesterday alerting me that he had just found a male Desert Wheatear c200 yards east of Reculver Towers, I was keen to go and see this little stunner as its been a while since I last saw one in the area. I have seen one in the area before and another just west of the area at Herne Bay but with a busy day at work and the light fading fast now in the evenings I had no chance yesterday. I hoped that it would remain and a check with Matt Hindle during the day provided some good news. All I needed now was to get out of work sharp so at 3.30pm I was out of the door and driving over to Reculver. On arrival, although sunny, it was going down fast and on reaching the seawall I soon saw the DESERT WHEATEAR and managed a few shots before the sun went down.
Desert Wheatear
What a little beauty it was and just ashame that the sun had to set so quickly for it spent the next 20 minutes showing well on the seawall and shingle and at times flying and landing within a few metres of me allowing me to study this fine bird.
Desert Wheatear
Hopefully it will remain overnight and if the sun shines at all tomorrow, maybe I can get a few shots to show off its plumage. Nonetheless, a lovely bird and lovely to see and grab a few images of, it certainly made my day and with a supporting cast of Snow Buntings and a Shorelark nearby, the patch certainly seems to have delivered the past few days.
Desert Wheatear
Very nice looking bird Marc, something to cheer a November day :-)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful Desert Wheatear, taken by Marc. The best is the Wheatear balancing in small pebble, tremendous.
ReplyDeleteWOW....and Shorelark/Snow Bunting too. You're beginning to annoy me again Marc.
ReplyDeleteNice shots Marc given the time of your visit. Will post some of mine tomorrow from the rocks near the Towers in sunshine !
ReplyDeleteWhat a great tick,love the last image.
ReplyDeleteJohn.