Monday 18 January 2016

SHOWY STONECHAT

The colourful male stonechat showed well again along the Strood seawall on Monday 18th.

The stonechat has covered the full length of the seawall at times since it arrived a couple of months ago to spend the winter here. It seems to have got used to people walking past it when it's been feeding on the side of the seawall.

Not many other small birds noted on a chilly but bright morning, ones or twos of reed bunting, linnet, meadow pipit and skylark.

This little egret seemed less wary than expected and appeared a bit poorly beside the seawall. It could fly a short distance but some of its feathers were muddy, which is unusual to see. Half a dozen other little egrets were seen in the fields beside ditches.

One of the regular green sandpipers flew out of a ditch and 500 wood pigeons were tucking into the rape crop.

Usual selection of waders and duck along the Channel with the tide at its lowest. The big brent flock was on the Peldon fields.

A big gathering of 40 blackbirds were feeding on the windfall apples at the Nothe, near the Firs Chase caravan site, as were 3 fieldfares.

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