Spent a couple of hours this morning over at Rainham Marshes looking for Wheatears. A few had been seen over the previous couple of days and so I figured there was a reasonable chance I could bag a couple for myself. The Thames river bank by the RSPB reserve is littered with debris, everything you could possible imagine is strewn along the tide line. It is a wonder these beautiful birds want to spend their time in all this mess but clearly it holds a good supply of grubs and caterpillars.
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| Female Northern Wheatear |
There were I estimated, five
Northern Wheatears along this stretch of the Thames, three males and two females. On the shore itself,
Oystercatchers,
Curlews and
Redshanks piped in spring. A few
Reed Buntings and
Linnets made themselves heard while a few
Meadow Pipits and Skylarks chased around the more grasser areas of the landscape.
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| Male Northern Wheatear |
I was lucky to get the two shots I did as these wheatear are very flighty right now but in a few weeks, they should settle down and allow longer opportunities to digiscope them.
Speaking of luck, I popped into the reserve itself to look for the Kingfishers that have started to make nest holes at one of the hides. Although they were not showing while I was there, a
Raven did and it was being mobbed by
Carrion Crows and
Lapwings. It occasionally took flight and its wing span was incredible. You could never mistake a Raven in flight. There were also a couple of
Little Egrets, a
Grey Heron and a few lingering
Wigeon on the reserve. Two hours well spent.
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