Birdwatching from Thames Barge Hydrogen

 On Sunday, I joined a small group of birdwatchers for a trip up the River Colne to Wivenhoe observing the numerous birds that frequent the mud banks and saltmarshes. The weather was overcast most of the time so difficult for photography but I was pleased to record most of the species we saw. The Avocets were the stars with large flocks in several areas. Ducks included Wigeon and Shelduck, Brent Geese were not as numerous as I expected and then there were the Waders - first image Curlew and three Knot, followed by Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit (Bar-tailed also seen), Redshank and Dunlin. A Cormorant using a convenient perch, single Oystercatcher, immature Gull in flight and the star for many - a Peregrine disobeying the rules (another was seen catching a wader in the distance) completed the line-up.

Clacton Under Lockdown

A few images from our afternoon in Clacton - a late break in the clouds gave some very dramatic lighting - difficult to capture the colours and tones. Unsurprisingly, there were very few people about on the beach. The imposing Pavilion building has been renovated since my last visit to Clacton with a full Adventure playground and other amusements behind the façade. There is an extensive plan for Clacton's future but I guess after the withdrawal of EU support this is unlikely to happen. With Covid19 notices everywhere, it was good to see even the seagulls taking it seriously. There was excitement as police cars arrived in the evening and two policemen went off in pursuit of someone, while this local inhabitant put Phil right on one or two matters!

 

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.

Under the Pier

I am spending the weekend near Clacton for a postponed Bird Watching cruise from Brightlingsea tomorrow. Yesterday afternoon the sun came out for a short while and I made use of the light to investigate the world under the pier. There are abundant textures and colours but I mainly concentrated on the  'underwater world' and small glimpses cameos.

Tree Felling

My neighbours had to have a poplar that was right next to their house and obviously a danger to the property in high winds felled today. The skill of the tree surgeon was impressive as he first trimmed all the top branches before starting to take down the trunk.

Death in the Woods

While photographing the beauty of Beech woods, I started getting interested in the different forms and bark textures of the beech trees and the shapes of the trees. Where the trees were towards the edge of the wood they reach out long branches towards the edges, in the centre of the wood they had long branchless trunks up to the sky and only well-established trees on the lower slopes had the traditional spreads. They also show two bark types - I haven't been able to find out anything about why and how. I was photographing the final stages of the tree's life when I came across this dead stoat - no evidence of how it died.