Morning Glory

Early mornings in Norfolk are great. If you can be out before the early dog walkers you can find some true gold. Much like these Golden Plover at rest with a few Lapwings. The sun was just starting to rise and the light was a nice orangey gold. I've said it many times, but this really is my favourite time of the day. When it's just me and nature, it feels like it belongs to me. Only I am seeing it at that time, and it feels special. Just need a few more of them to be bright like this, and not cloudy. Here are a few pictures of what I saw.

Golden Plover with a few Lapwings.

Grey Heron looking rather cold.

Grey Plover

Bar-tailed Godwits

Bar-tailed Godwit scouring the coast line

Black-tailed Godwit

Golden Plover

I know of a field that often has Lapwings and Curlews in it at this time of year. They are joined by Golden Plover sometimes, but it seems like its a bit of pot luck as to whether you will see them or not.

I pull in frequently to check to see if they or anything else is there. It's a really triumphant feeling when you stop and scan the ground and there they are, scurrying about in all their finery. There were a up to a dozen on this evening, and some were making their lovely call. Nice to see them close up and not hundreds of yards away on a sandbank or field in Norfolk. They'll be here to breed, so hopefully I'll see a lot more of them in the coming weeks and months.

Golden Plover on the moors

Over the past week I've spent a few evenings checking on the local area to see what, if anything, has come in or been moving around. I've managed to locate some pairs of Pied Flycatchers, and Redstarts and even got a nice daytime flypast of a Tawny Owl that I wasn't expecting.

One bird that is not the easiest to see up on the moors is the Golden Plover. I will quite often hear it's haunting calls, but finding them in the scrubby grass, heathers and mosses is a whole different ball game. I happened to pull into a layby where I have seen them in the past. Just a couple of days earlier I had done the same with just one bird seen. On this occasion there were probably about twenty birds, and some quite close by. Again, the careful approach is necessary so as not to spook them. Use of the car, or stone wall is helpful to hide behind. I ended up on tiptoe in the middle of the road and managed not to disturb them. Stunning birds in their summer plumage, and the males looking particularly smart.

A good looking male Golden Plover.

A look back to when it was nice and quiet.

 As I've not been out for a couple of weeks with the camera, I thought I would take a look back at some pictures taken during lockdown. This was a time when I felt that nature tried to take back a hold on it's surrounding environment. This was a time when cars were very few and far between for a good two or three months. The sound of planes overhead stopped, but footfall on the pavements increased. Birdsong appeared louder and activity more pronounced. Or was this just the perception? Maybe they are always that loud, but it is drowned out by the modern world around us. Either way, it was a joy to walk through their habitat during my lockdown exercise walks. Blessed with some glorious weather too, it was nice to reconnect with nature and proof that whatever happens to the human world, nature can survive and thrive, probably better than it does now.

Chaffinch

Golden Plover

Jays became very easy to spot during April

One of our smaller birds, the Wren.

Cemlyn Bay - Anglesey

I spent a full day in North Wales last weekend, stopping at sites from Llanddulas all the way out to Holyhead and South Stack. I did a bit of sea watching first from the shoreline of Llanddulas, where I quickly picked out a pair of Red-breasted Merganser followed by hundreds of Common Scoter. A Great Northern Diver went by too before I moved on.
I headed to Cemlyn Bay where I had been once before and was impressed by the birds on show. This time was no different, with lots seen that I wasn't really expecting.

A Whimbrel was the first bird I stumbled across. I'd been tipped off that there was one over wintering here, but wasn't really expecting to find it. Thankfully I did, although it didn't hang around long before moving off.

Golden Plovers were also a nice surprise. Always a very obliging bird but usually at some distance. I kept mine from this one out on the rocks.

It was soon joined by other waders, like this Oystercatcher.

A flock of 10 Purple Sandpipers were a real bonus.

Here's 7 of them together.

It took me a few glances through the binoculars at these, as I initially passed them off as Golden Plover, but they were just too pale. These are in fact Grey Plover, with one showing off the nice black underwing to confirm my doubting mind.

A pair of Dunlin at bottom left an Oystercatcher on the right of picture.

A very nice looking Ringed Plover was one of a few around.

Long-billed Dowitcher - Marshside

I picked up my third lifer of 2020 last weekend in the shape of a Long-billed Dowitcher. This wader is usually found in North America and should probably be in Central America at this time of year. However I was pleased that this bird had been spending the week on the North West coast at Marshside, just north of Southport.
I left home before sunrise to be in place when the sun came up. It was cold, but well worth the trip. This became bird number 90 for the year in my quest to see 200 different species in a year.

After a long wait, the sun finally made it over the buildings behind.

A good size comparison, with a Teal on the left.

Large flocks of Wigeon kept me entertained.

A group of Golden Plover

Golden Plover

I've searched for this particular bird species up on the moors of Cheshire for years now. I hear their calls echo around, but I've never found one up here. I see them quite frequently in Norfolk but it was always a bit of a bogey bird for me. I knew that they would be breeding, but they've always been elusive. I've sat in my car waiting for hours. I've wandered the moors of Axe Edge and nearby, but to no avail. Just recently though I had a bit of a tip off, and followed it up. As I got out of the car, that eerie ghostly call was picked up immediately. I could see at least half a dozen or so in fantastic breeding plumage. I walked back and along the public footpath to get a closer look.
Such a stunning little bird. I was just so pleased to see them here, and now I know for future, I should have more success in locating the little blighters.

Golden Plover - Norfolk

While in Norfolk we came across several groups of Golden Plover. I've never got that close to them, but this time we spotted one lone individual on some mudflats. It kindly let us drive up and park alongside it, which gave me a good opportunity to put the lens out of the window and snap away. The colours are quite beautiful.

Really quite unusual to be able to get this close to the Golden Plover. Just 20 feet away.

This is my favourite shot.