A mixed bag.

3rd March

I've lots of catching up to do, with several days of bright sunshine during the last week I was out quite a bit so very little time to write the blog.

Having been very lucky in finally catching up with the Short-eared owl at Sandwich Bay on the 2nd I was keen to try and improve on my success. The weather was bright and breezy so I had to decide where to go until it was worth heading back to the Bay for the SEO at around 15:30. I weighed up my options and decided on Hampton yet again. I'd previously got some reasonable shots of the Purple sandpipers but wanted to better them, and they wouldn't be around much longer. If you catch the tide right (high tide or just either side of it) Hampton can be very rewarding. I did a 10 minute detour to see if the Buzzards were displaying again, which they were, I've still to nail a decent Buzzard flight shot but I think this is an improvement on the earlier ones, but it still lacks the detail and sharpness I'd like.

I got to Hampton around 13:00 just after high tide, the tiny bit of beach near the groyne was just beginning to show, which was ideal, the birds were anxious to feed as the water receded. There were upward of a dozen Turnstone running around the beach and a lone Redshank, but it took me a couple of minutes to locate the Purple sandpipers feeding beside the blocks of stone sea defenses. I sat on one of the lower stones and waited for them to pass me as they ran back and forth along the tideline. This time I think I got the shots I wanted, the birds practically filled the frame and the light was good. The top one is one of my favourites and a larger version can be seen on my Flickr site:-
 https://www.flickr.com/photos/bignick58/16709091975/in/photostream/

The breeze and the bright sun gave me a good opportunity to practice taking some flight shots of gulls as they remained suspended in the air above me - not really flight shots as they weren't really going anywhere, but good practice all the same. The sharpest of the lot was on one that I'd not managed to get completely in the frame - I'd be better zooming in less and getting the full bird.

3rd winter Herring gull I believe

As the tide dropped the number of birds increased, it was the usual Redshank, Turnstone, Oystercatcher, and the 2 Purple sandpipers  together with Black headed, Common and Herring gulls. I didn't sea the Med gull this time.

Click on the images for a larger view.

Leaving Hampton I drove back to Sandwich Bay and waited for the owls to make an appearance. Two were seen flying out over the golf course but at best we only got distant views and the 2 shots below were the best I managed.

This was my last opportunity to try for the owls for a few days and it would seem I'd been lucky in seeing them at all as they haven't been around much since, and although the shots above are very distant, it does give the atmosphere of the evening and is how most people would see the birds hunting.