After a lovely afternoon spent in Hollesley Limpy and I decided to finish the day with a visit to East Lane at Bawdsey. It was too early for swallows but there were still some lovely birds to be seen:
It's impossible to visit the coast in this part of the world without seeing a cormorant.
The lovely hamlet of Shingle Street is just up the coast from here - and we could just make out the Orford Ness lighthouse from where we were standing.
Birdwatcher at work! Check out that lens.
I was delighted to get this skylark soaring upwards - and its song is just beautiful!
We'd been told that a couple of purple sandpipers had been seen, but what a bonus to see them ourselves!
I'm pretty sure this is my first sighting of them.
A herring gull floats by.
This is one of my bugbears.
What kind of gulls are these juveniles?
I did initially think the first was a great black-backed while the third is a herring gull, but what about the second? It doesn't help that the only real difference I can see between the first and second birds is the beak colour.
A distant hare poses in the middle of a field.
Finishing with a beautiful reed bunting.
Phew! We had a great afternoon but it's taken ages to go through the photos! I hope you've all enjoyed them.
Our herring gulls are red listed birds. Think about that the next time you hear some flaming idiot calling for a cull of them.
It was a gorgeous day yesterday, sadly here it's back to the gloom.
I'm glad you saw the Purple Sandpipers; a species that's missing from my list.
____________________________________________________________________
Tony
My Flickr Photostream
such a beautiful warm day yesterday and for once it felt like summer. Well done spotting the purple sands, I've only seen them once and that was at New Brighton on the Wirral. The reed buntings look stunning in their breeding plumage. No wonder that photographer needs a walking stick with that lot to carry but the 5D is a good camera.
_________________________________________________________________________
Regards, Hazel
Actually, the photographer is permanently disabled and I honestly don't know how he manages to carry the weight of that lens - it would be too much for me! He needed help to get back to the car, in the end, as his right leg was getting shaky and he was struggling to walk in a straight line. It's painful just watching him but birds and photography have kept him from living indoors and withdrawing from everything.
I don't know how he managed either, its bad enough when you are able bodied to lug the gear around so must be extremely tiring for him; sorry to hear he needed some assistance but hats off to this fellow for not letting his disability spoil his enjoyment of going bird watching, good on him :)
Limpy will be pleased to read that!
Clare Bailey said:Limpy will be pleased to read that!
post edit: could be Mike looking at the cap and binocular pose ........ and Mike's wonky knee !!
Lovely photos ... and nice to see Limpy!
Don't ask me for help with the gulls, though!! They all look alike to me, if the third is a tad more mature. Without size to go on I would have said all Herring Gulls, but I hope someone positively ID's them for you (us).
__________
Nige Flickr
I really should know these gulls Clare but it is only lately that I have expanded my interest to include sea birds. Shame on me. Well done on the Purple Sandpipers, that is one bird I have learned to id and that is only by looking at all the photos on here. Good on you Limpy, you have the right idea.
Lot to learn
Lovely photos, Clare. I thought I recognised that birder with the big lens and reading on I was happy to see I was right! Sorry to hear that the trip back to the car was a pain for Limpy but as Gaynor says, 'good on him' for keeping on keeping on (a phrase occasionally heard in the 60s!) Hope you got some great photos, too, Limpy!
Kind regards, Ann