Spring, Summer and Autumn in one post!

Well I did promise I would complete my summer sightings in a blog post, and here it is, with a bit of previously unposted spring action too...

As usual the post breeding passage of wading birds started not long after the northbound passage of wading birds came to an end.  Here were some of the best spring waders I saw this year, only posting now because I didn't blog about them earlier in the year.  It was a shockingly poor spring here, for basically all migrating birds, but especially waders with no big wader days at all.  This lovely Grey Plover on 14th May was probably wader of the spring for me...

Such a smart wader, with a couple of Whimbrel behind

And who doesn't love spring Bar-tailed Godwits.  There were nine on Black Hole Marsh on 24th April, including this group of six...

Such stunning birds - with lots of sleep to catch on clearly!

 

And now to autumn.  Well, 'wading bird autumn' anyway...

No massive rarities as yet but there has been one major highlight for me, with my first (very nearly complete) summer-plumaged Spotted Redshank on the Axe - in well over 20 years of birding here! Thank you Clive for finding it on the Estuary early on the morning of 24th June (never gives up does Clive!). I saw it on Black Hole Marsh once the tide had risen, it did wake up a few times but the only photos I managed were of it asleep...

Absolute beauty.  A rare bird in any plumage here so this was something else!

Otherwise wader-wise during the last month or so, it's been the usual selection of birds including the odd Green Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover and Whimbrel, with Black-tailed Godwit and Reshank numbers already up to the 50 mark.  I was surprised to see 11 Lapwing too a few days ago, usually only get the odd one until much later on. There has been Sanderling and Ruff recorded as well, but not by me.  Sadly no Avocet breeding success this year, after what was presumably the pair from last year had their eggs predated by a Fox back in the spring  The adults, and a third bird, did hang around for several weeks after, even mated again and looked like they were beginning to settle down on a new island, but this was all for show as nothing came from it.  A realy shame but that's nature.

In the gull department, as expected Mediterranean Gulls have been passing through for about a month now.  My biggest count was 16 on 20th July which included nine juveniles.  Although I havent been looking through the big'uns with the same frequency as in other years, I have still managed two juvenile Yellow-legged Gulls so far...

The first bird on a wet and windy 15th July seemed to be regretting its life choices!

Bird two, already showing some first-winter scaps, taken during a birdwatching tram trip on 28th July.  A lovely 'smooth' and pale bird.

 

I even got my moth trap out a few nights ago for the first time this year, but I will save that for the next post so this one can remain strictly birds-only.  Check back soon...