Happy Birthday Phil

I had a great day in Rye with Phil on Sunday.   The weather was kind most of the day.   After cups of tea and birthday gifts we went off to Pett Levels for a walk.   This is where the "most of the day" came in as the heavens opened and heavy rain fell.

We decided to go to the shelter of one of the hides in the nearby reserve.   The list of birds came thick and fast, giving me a great opportunity to use the new BirdTrack app!   Amongst those birds seen were Canada Geese, Greylag, Gadwall, Grey Heron, Cormorant, Coot, Common Tern, Coot, Moorhen, Lapwing, Ringed Plover, Mallard, Mediterranean Gull, Black-headed Gull, Mute Swan, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Shoveler and Tufted Duck.   A large number of Swift fed over the water, and several Swallow were also spotted.

On nearby fields Woodpigeons fed amongst the deer.   Around the hide we heard Sedge and Reed Warbler in the reedbeds alongside the ditches and scrape and saw a Reed Bunting.   On the way back for lunch we found Stock Dove and Pheasant in the fields.

Back home and the benefits of living in the middle of a field are always a delight for me - the place is absolutely surrounded by birds!   From the kitchen window we watched the feeders where Bullfinch, Chaffinch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Collared Dove, Blue Tit, Greenfinch, Blackbird, Song Thrush,  Dunnock, Goldfinch, Magpie and Nuthatch took advantage of the goodies available.  

A pair of Marsh Harrier hunted over the reedbeds, and we were lucky enough to see a food exchange.   A female Sparrowhawk shot past right in front of us, but immediately disappeared.

The weather improved so we took off to Rye Harbour for a wander.   Many birds were repeats of this morning's sightings, but we also added some great species.   Walking down the path we had Rock Pipit displaying, with Skylark also singing from high up.   Three Wheatear were spotted from the hide along with Little Tern calling overhead.   As we continued following the river Lesser and Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, a hovering Kestrel and a couple of Linnet were added.  

From the scrape we had huge numbers of Black-headed Gulls with a few Mediterranean thrown in for good measure.   One of the islands had about 20 Sandwich Terns, it was hard to tell if they were on nests, but a few of them did appear to be quite hunkered down - so lets hope so.   Cormorants were grouped on the far side of the water, and a lone Little Egret rested on the edge.  

Walking back through the caravan park I noticed what I thought were two Stock Doves on the ground, just as I started to say it though, I realised that I was wrong - one was a Woodpigeon and the other was a Cuckoo.   Great to see one in the open, but sitting on the ground was not where I would have expected one!

A fantastic Curry for dinner in Rye topped off with a House Martin made my day, and the App performed brilliantly - no keying in, just pressed "upload" and the whole day's sightings were submitted in a second.

p.s my first Cream Spot Tiger Moth of the year also noted.