Hobbies

Lade - cold, dry and sunny, ne 5 - Following another cold, moth-free night the day continued likewise with a blasting north-easterly off the bay and the temperature barely creeping into double figures. Our morning walk outback was notable for the hundreds of Swifts, Swallows and House Martins forced down to feed over south lake, although few remained for long before spiralling up and heading north into the wind. A first year Marsh Harrier patrolled the main reed bed and a pair of Egyptian Geese flew towards the Kerton Road pit.

                               Hobbies over Dengemarsh

                          Barney can always find a sheltered spot for sunbathing!

  This afternoon a check of the front pits at Scotney yielded very little apart from a couple of Ringed Plovers and a Whimbrel on the bone-dry fields, plus the usual gulls, Cormorants and common  wildfowl on the lakes.
 Moving onto Dengemarsh, a Bittern `boomed` occasionally from Hookers reed bed where Marsh Harriers, Buzzard and at least three Hobbies noted; the latter raptor somehow finding flying insects (presumably Mayflies) to snatch and eat on the wing in the bitter, cold wind. Hobby numbers usually move into double figures as the month progresses here at Dengemarsh and with the weather forecast set to improve I would expect more migrant birds hawking the wetlands next week. Flight photography with a cheapo bridge camera is always a challenge, but one Hobby feeding over the hayfield did come low enough and into range for a few piccies. Also noted: Yellow Wagtail, two Whimbrels, Redshank and Lapwing with juvs, Little Egret, Shelducks and Shovelers.