Just a catch up time as I consider the good as well as the bad. The bas being the very beautiful KESTREL that I picked up dead at the side of the road. Still warm and with a broken neck, how sad. Took me back to when I was young when as I would be cycling round watching birds around Layer-de-la-Haye. I would stop and sadly bury all the birds found. I would put my heal in the soil in the bank and say goodbye. Perhaps things don't change over many years. But I know that years change us all and I know that I am nowhere so overcome by the loss. But I am more upset at the loss of bird life in general and wish that there where as many birds living in the wild than there are.
The above reflects against the picture below as I photographed this lovely KESTREL doing what it should at Carlton Marsh last Wednesday. I also had the regular BITTERN put its head up twice while I was in the lookout hide. The oyjer things of interest was a really dark form female MATSH HARRIER. Which flew within feet of the hide and as it did so it put up 3 SNIPE. Also the regular GWE was strutting its stuff, and 3 COMMON BUZZAED over North Cove.
At Pathways this morning the first CHAFFINCH for months, and with all the gadwall gone and only three MALLARD on site. BUZZARD kept on flying over and bringing the BLACK HEADED GULL to flight after there bathing exploits. The COMMON GULL was enjoying company. Also the regular KINGFISHER was calling well but only viewable once.
Links Hill: For a seawatch meant that on arrival a single MED GULL and a single COMMON GULL it is not the same as the Pathways bird. As for what lay out on the sea there was an obvious movement of GANNET with around 50 birds and about as many CORMORANT all heading North.. Just 4 RED-THROATED-DIVER but some auks unidentified well off.
