#avovet

[wingedjewels]

Morning reflection by Georgie Alexon Via Flickr: This photograph of an American Avocet was taken just outside of Calgary, Alberta, Canada Females are similar in appearance to males but with a shorter and more upwardly-curved bill, male bills are longer and straighter. They are the only avocet with distinct breeding and non-breeding plumages. During the breeding season, the feathers turn a rusty orange color, but in the winter, they are grayish white. I believe this is a male but please correct me if I am wrong. -Recurvirostra americana

[dansnaturepictures]

c11/07/2021-Pennington

We had a lovely walk at Pennington today, with the fields carpeted in ragwort as the first picture I took today in this photoset shows, mudflats beautified more by purple sea lavender as the fourth picture I took in this photoset shows and the reeds a delicious lush green colour just like the trees and grass. It was interesting to note the consistency of my last three days at Lakeside, Knepp and here with ragwort doing very well and giant bindweed coming out well at all three which shows how connected nature really is with these three locations quite far from each other bursting into these colours in unison. Skylark with its stunning melody would open and close the walk, the first we had done at Pennington since the Easter weekend. I really enjoyed seeing Swifts skillfully gliding through the air walking down the old trip towards Fishtail lagoon as we did the whole walk and as we do so often see here at this time of year. I took the second picture in this photoset of a view here too. I enjoyed seeing adorable Little Ringed Plovers on Fishtail lagoon with some appearing young.

There were also adorable baby Shelducks on this lagoon about half a dozen with a beautiful adult, great birds to see they looked like tadpoles by comparison of the huge lagoon, great little balls of fluff. I managed the sixth picture in this photoset of one, alongside another photo I tweeted on Dans_Pictures. It was a strong flower walk too with bright red poppy which I took the third picture in this photoset of and white campion which we saw a lot of today brightening up the grasses beside fishtail lagoon. We would also see some exquisite looking brown Linnets here today, a fantastic shade in their strong pallet of variable colours. Other nice flowers to see today included lots of broad-leaved clovers nicely, hawk’s-beard, sorrel, probably carrot, yarrow, lots of pink mallow, silverweed and lovely chamomile.

I took the fifth picture in this photoset of our dog Missy and the seventh of Keyhaven lagoon. The emperor of the reedbed as it quite often does flew up and soared over Keyhaven lagoon when we got there, a pretty and ferocious Marsh Harrier being mobbed by gulls we got some amazing views of it. Coming back beside fishtail lagoon and it was lovely to see more Swifts flying over and Sand Martins too. This made it the four species of Swift and the three hirundines that I had seen well over the course of four days which feels like a great summery thing to celebrate. As well as Avocet, Oystercatcher in the eighth picture in this photoset and Little Egret among the many birds put up by a helicopter and flying well over our head with amazing views we saw Common Terns flying getting towards the end of the lagoon along the path. Today was the first time at the coast for me since Anglesey two weeks ago and the last night there at Cemlyn where we saw the sensational terns including many common so this was nice. Another bird we saw in Anglesey Eiders made a nice sightings today too in offshore bits of land. I took the ninth picture in this photoset of a view out to sea. Then getting towards the jetty was got a fantastic view of a dainty Little Tern shooting through the sky with its mustard bill and cute white stature.

We then headed back to the car and some more floral delights awaited us on the way going into grassland. A white variation of mallow, as well as possible silverweed, self-heal, buttercups, a few of the ones seen earlier, my first centaury and some prominent and pretty Purple Loosestrife. We got our best view yet this year and first time landed in 2021 of a rich orange Gatekeeper butterfly on some vegetation really getting to make out this typical summer species. We saw Meadow Brown well on the walk too. There were some great landscape focal points of beautiful things to see today, like Sway Tower which I’d never got in a picture before, the Needles which I got a zoom in picture of, Hurst Castle and Hurst Spit looking nice. A really nice Sunday walk for us. When home as well as taking in interesting sky scenes later on I liked seeing my first love-in-a-mist and sweet William flowers in the back garden alongside oxeye daisies and others, adding some fantastic colour and flair to the flower areas. It was a phenomenal, packed and wonderful wild weekend for me again one of my best of the year with the football too even if England sadly couldn’t quite go all the way but it was some wonderful memories. I hope you all had a good and safe one.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: Three of my favourite birds the Great Crested Grebe out to sea nicely, Little Egret and Shelduck, one of my favourite butterflies the Red Admiral, Marsh Harrier, Linnet, Reed Bunting, Reed Warbler, Swift, Sand Martin, Blue Tit, Goldfinches well again today, Mallard with ducklings too, Eider, Tufted Duck, Coot, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit with some nice and bronze coloured, Avovet, Oystercatcher, Lapwing well today, Curlew, Little Ringed Plover, Canada Geese well today with one making a great splashing noise in the water just outside the lagoon very close to us which was special, Common Tern, Little Tern, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull  I had a great day for gulls seeing them fly over really well too, Peacock butterfly, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

[dansnaturepictures]

21/09/2020-RSPB Titchwell Marsh and Wells Woods: 9 different photos to those tweeted Monday evening in this set

After another fine morning taking in the beautiful grounds of the bungalow we are staying in, where I took the first two pictures in this photoset of a view around and flowers, and the beautiful Norfolk countryside around Little Snoring near Fakenham whilst getting ready and heading out today we came to one of my favourite places and the opening location of my first ever visit to Norfolk early in the April of 2013, one I had heard of beforehand and anticipated the RSPB’s Titchwell Marsh. I had really looked forward to going here again this time. And we picked a corker of a day to visit this beautiful coastal location, it looked stunning in the very blue and sunny conditions it was really very nice to take in the lovely landscape once more today. Obviously last week we had the heatwave at home and the question was would we get anything like this in Norfolk so I am so glad I experienced a hot day in Norfolk. Even if it’s in September, it just gives you a great holiday vibe being out in this weather especially on a Monday I find. I took the third, fourth and eighth pictures in this photoset of views at Titchwell today.

As we walked down to the coast looking over either side of the path it soon became clear we were onto a very high calibre day’s birding with so many species seen and strong ones at that. It was special to see a handful of Bearded Tits in the reedbeds getting great views of them, always fantastic to see these twice in a year these were my first seen since some at Farlington Marshes at home on 2nd January. Very special moments with these birds on the way to and back from the coast. You can’t come to Norfolk and not see a Marsh Harrier and in the stronghold for this bird I also got as a year tick this year at Farlington on the second day of the year, we saw all the waders go up and there above them was a Marsh Harrier a great one to see. Another strong bird for the area especially of recent days is a Ruff and we saw loads today. We got some great views and it was especially cracking to see one right beside us which I tweeted a picture of which I was quite proud of in the lagoon where I had seen one the first time I came here an abiding memory of that day in fact so it felt very good to see a Ruff again in similar circumstances. A bird I have a strong admiration and respect for.

Two of one of my favourite birds the Great White Egrets with Little Egrets was a nice imposing and delightful sight on the lagoon. I took the seventh picture in this photoset of the Great White Egrets. It was very nice to see Golden Plovers flying over as well as Avovet shown in the fifth picture in this photoset which this reserve is so famous for and how I first ever heard of it and another of my favourite birds the Shelduck. Cetti’s Warbler a bird now on my B list of favourites and one of my favourite bird calls made a nice soundtrack at the reserve today. I also took the sixth picture in this photoset of one of many lovely Lapwings to see today.

It was also such a good general nature reserve vibe today with lots of nice people met to speak to at a safe social distance all enjoying a very nice day to be out in as well as a range of other wildlife about including Common Darter dragonflies. On the way up we also saw a small deer briefly in the marsh. I had wondered about Chinese Water Deer as I knew they are around in this part of the world. We didn’t think much of it until on the way back reaching the same spot a man said there was a Chinese Water Deer around it had disappeared from view at that point. But after thanking him for the information about it we had our mind on it and a google search allowed is to match up and confirm it was a Chinese Water Deer. This was a brilliant moment and one of my standout points of the day. I had seen a new mammal species for me and a pretty special and beautiful one too. I had known of these and been fascinated by them for ages and here I stood having seen them it struck me what perfect habitat for them I was looking over. I was so thrilled to have seen this mammal yesterday a new bird seen for me the Brown Shrike at Warham Greens and today a new mammal it was amazing to have seen it. I love my deers with three of the species among my favourite mammals now and seen this geographically restricted and elusive species meant I’ve now seen all six species of deer whether native or not that you can see in the wild in Britain - red, roe, fallow, sika, muntjac and now Chinese water - which made me feel great. I also heard it making a noise quite a high pitched one which was nice.

At the coast here getting onto Brancaster beach as the fourth photo shows as I remembered from last time it looked really pretty in a sunny day. Like a cup of tea before we left Titchwell we indulged in some typical holiday activities relaxing on the beach. It was also great to see some waders on the beach particularly interesting seeing Curlew and Black-tailed Godwit and a Bar-tailed Godwit too where I don’t often see them at home right on the shoreline alongside Oystercatchers. We then left Titchwell and I left with a great impression of the well-known reserve once again a few special place I thoroughly enjoyed the few hours here today.

Like Marsh Harrier you can’t visit Norfolk without looking at a windmill and it was nice to see and photograph one from a lay-by as well as some beautiful views in the middle of fields a landscape shown in the ninth picture in this photoset I tweeted the one of the windmill itself on the way to our next stop today.

Our next stop was Wells Woods a view there the tenth picture I took today in this photoset where we searched for two or three more rare birds but in truth we didn’t leave enough time so we may come back later in the week. We did get to see what a beautiful lake, wooded, grassy, friendly and holiday vibed area by the coast so some different habitats perhaps to what we have seen in Norfolk already it is, great to be there at the approach of twilight with the sun lowering nicely it did look really beautiful. Wells-next-the-Sea already has been a wonderful, beautiful and friendly and welcoming place to take in and enjoy this holiday I have loved driving though it already seeing lots of people enjoying their holidays and memorable buildings as well as a horse sculpture in the sands area on the seafront there. So it was nice to translate that into a walk there and some pictures and birds seen. The standout bird was a lovely couple of Little Grebes I got very close to in shadowy conditions as the sun was lowering. A great end to a fantastic day out in Norfolk again.

Wildlife Sightings Summary: (Titchwell) My first ever Chinese Water Deer, three of my favourite birds the Great White Egret, Little Egret and Shelduck, Avocet, Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank, Turnstone, (interestingly all strong birds at the first reserve I ever visited in Hampshire Titchfield Haven, and among the first birds I ever saw in my birdwatching life aged 9 and 10 which I always think of when thinking of Titchwell due to the similarly in names and it does remind me of it here habitat wise), Bar-tailed Godwit, Dunlin, Ruff, Common Sandpiper, Curlew, Golden Plover, lots of nice Teals, Shoveler, Gadwall, Moorhen, Greylag Goose, Grey Heron, Marsh Harrier, Black-heeded Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Starling, many Pied Wagtails again there are a lot about here, Speckled Wood, possibly another Wall Brown butterfly after yesterday, Common Darter, other dragonflies possibly Emperor and a hawker they flew so fast it was hard to tell, Grey Squirrel and heard Cetti’s Warbler. (Wells Woods) Lots of Goldfinches and Long-tailed Tits which was nice, Robin, Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Mallard, Little Grebe and Comma butterfly.