Morning Light at Hunstanton

In addition to the possibility of a stunning sunset, Hunstanton can also provide beautiful lighting for morning bird photography as the sun climbs above the cliff accentuating the intricate plumage of our winter waders, gulls and egrets. Sanderlings are always a challenge but worth the chase!! 

Hunstanton Birds

There were impressive numbers of birds on the beach at Hunstanton yesterday, probably more than usual as it was a spring tide so the mussel beds were exposed at the very low tide. Curlews remain my top wader both in flight and camouflaged feeding on the ground but Bar and Black-tailed Godwits are near contenders. The cameos between the Egrets and other waders were amusing and showed their relative size against the Herring gull and Redshank

Birds from Hull and Hornsea

Although not a birdwatching trip, we did see a lot of birds during our visit to Hull area. The Hull and Humber banks had large numbers of waders and gulls at low tide and these cute Sanderling along with dozens of Turnstone were everywhere at Bridlington and Hornsea and were comparatively tame.

Birds on Brownsea Island

We visited Brownsea Island yesterday on a bright sunny day but with a very strong northerly wind. Red Squirrels were sheltering and were not seen but the hides over the lagoon produced some sightings including Greyshank and Redshank, Avocet and Black-tailed Godwit. The Black-headed and Mediterranean Gulls (black heads and no black on primaries) were beginning to pair up. Most exciting view was of a Peregrine repeatedly flying at the flocks of waders.

Birds Return As the Tide Recedes

We left it a bit too long after the hide tide to take a walk along The Walls at Manningtree so most of the birds were a fair distance away except for this Black-tailed Godwit collecting small animals on the shingle close to us. The camouflage is so good it was hard to see without going in close with the lens. The Turnstones and Jackdaws were much more confiding and Black-headed Gulls, Lesser Black-Backed Gulls and Redshank also showed.