A drive to Rainton Meadows for the Temminck’s Stint which is a lifer for me. And if that wasn’t enough a Wood Sandpiper and Little Ringed Plover showed very well just outside the hide. All in all a canny morning out.
A lifer for me Temminck’s Stint.
Wood Sandpiper.
Little Ringed Plover with four eggs.
It was replaced on the nest by its mate and landed
right outside the hide.
Male Shoveler.
Male Shelduck.
A pair of Oystercatcher with four chicks.
I haven’t been to Rainton Meadows since last year so my wife and I decided to visit yesterday. Unfortunately, the Bittern that has been at Joe’s Pond recently was a no show while we were there but I did manage to get some images of some of the other birds that were showing from there and from the hide. A quick local walk when I got home didn’t produce much but it was still nice to be out.
Little Egret.
Great Crested Grebe.
A pair of Teal.
Lapwing.
An unusual looking Coot.
Bullfinch.
A grab shot of a Red Kite as if flew over when I got
out of the car at home.
A couple of Roe Deer from my walk at home.
And I start with Rainton Meadows last month.
Great White Egret.
It struck
Caught a fish
And ate it.
It stood for a while
Preened.
Then gave its self a shake.
Snipe.
The back end of the Bittern that was at Rainton Meadows for a while (this unfortunately was the best I got).
Four-spotted Chaser.
Common Darter.
A rubbish shot of a Brown Hawker but this was the best
I got.
I was looking for the Small Red-eyed Damselfly but
didn’t see any so here is a Blue-tailed Damselfly.
Common Blue Damselfly.
The birds I really wanted to see at Rainton Meadow were the Bittern and the Kingfisher, one out of two isn’t bad.
Kingfisher having just landed
Then waiting to catch a fish
Which it eventually did
It took to a rock to stun it.
Before flying off with it.
Also catching quite a few fish was a Little Egret.
It landed where it probably shouldn’t have done
Then there was a bit of a dispute over fishing rights.
One of them went back to fishing.
Trying to be a Kingfisher.
It was a bit of a balancing act.
Landing.
