08:33 on May 1st, up and out for my morning wander, parking up by the sports field gate across from the junction, I can head onto the shore, walk to the Fort then decide where I go from there. That's often decided for me if the Red flags are flying.
First sighting of the morning was a Skylark foraging around on the grass just before the path.
The white blobs in the distance in the first shot turned out to be Common Gulls & Sandwich Terns on one of the pipes. :)
Sandwich Terns on the pipe
I was into the action almost immediately, Larks, Terns with Turnstones and Ringed Plover on the shoreline.
Turnstone on the rocks
Turnstones are beautiful wee birds and you can easily walk right by them if you're not paying attention or they don't move. They also change their colouring at different times of the year so some people think they are a different bird.
Turnstone variations
Turnstone variations
Turnstone variations
I almost didn't notice except that it was running away from me, a Ringed Plover
So easy to miss if they don't move AND, they nest in these stones so spotting the nest and eggs is almost impossible but, the adults will try to draw you away from them by being noisy and pretending to be injured. This one allowed me quite close so, I took quite a few shots :)
Bear in mind I wasn't actually that close, I have a good zoom lens to do that without trying to get close enough to scare them off :)
One eye on the sky
Got an itch
On the rocks
Watching me
Another favourite along the shore is the Rock Pipit, usually but not always seen on the shore itself, often on and around the Fort walls
Rock Pipit
Rock Pipit
Yet another shore bird that you can easily walk past but may notice as it fly / hops ahead trying to keep away from you.
Rock Pipit
So far, I'd only reached the start of the grass area at the from of the fort, the bushes and trees around there can be full of bird life.
Willow Warbler on a shrub
Nothing worth photographing caught my eye before heading down the ramp and along the shoreline down there, that's really where the Common Gull numbers start to go up. They nest anywhere along that shore, mainly on the pebbles, at this stage they get quite agitated even though there are no young yet, they're trying to get settled on a nest.
If you are around their space, either try to stay away from them or keep your eyes peeled. I've found they're actually quite calm when they get settled, don't stare at them, don't walk directly at them, walk around and look away / ahead :)
Unlike the Herring Gulls who will definitely dive down at you.
As I approached the edge of the fort, I spotted a Meadow Pipit down on the pebbles! Rock or Meadow???? :) Meadows are usually lighter coloured but there's more to it than that.
Meadow Pipit
On rocks ;)
There's also a Tree Pipit, among others :)
Linnet male
Linnet male
There are a good few Linnet around just now, we had a flock of them using our back garden tree, dispersed now to go and nest. I also spotted another Wheatear, again a male, foraging on the grass by the fort but he flew up onto the wall before I could get some good ground shots.
Wheatear male
So it's just before 09:30, it's taken me about an hour to get from the sports field gate to the point by the fort. I come out for the walk, the wildlife and the photo opportunities and there's no shortage along these shores. Maybe I'll start Pt. 3 to put the rest out there?
