Saturday, 25 March 2023

Long-tailed Tits, Little Gulls and "Pop Goes the Weasel"

   
Hopefully after the few cold days forecast it will warm up and I'll be posting the early migrants. Until then I'll be trying to get Little Gull photos in sunlight and close, I might go inland as I haven't seen either of the Grouse, and I'd like to get a good Red Kite photo since I haven't taken any photos since my Tamron 150mm - 500mm days.

Photos below include a charming Long-tailed Tit, Little Gulls at Monikie and a my first ever photo of a Weasel, seen briefly at East Haven. The photos are chronological order, mostly!



An early morning look at Keptie Pond and I found a pair of Long-tailed Tits gathering nesting material, and flying back to a nest in deep cover  near the path




















Maybe the same Blackbird female I photographed before, this one is a bit wary others are quite accepting of people walking by, stopping not so much





Most probably the mate of the one above






It might be the light or just my imagination but these two hybrids look different, it would have been them I saw earlier this week in gloomy light and they looked grey in colour!





Song Thrush, not an easy bird to photograph, wary, always on the move and mostly in cover





A 2nd calendar year Little Gull at Monikie, like the others below it was taken after the sun disappeared and the rain started. Not helped by them almost always being in the centre of the Island Pond at Monikie


















The Mute Swans at Monikie don't usually approach but this 2nd year cygnet with another and the parents swam towards me perhaps expecting to be fed





One of the adults





The largest gull species at Monikie on Friday where Great blacked backed, Lesser black-backed, Herring, Common, Black-headed and Little Gulls were present




All of the larger gulls were roosting in boats (Lesser black-backed)




Lesser black-backed Gulls





Now at East Haven where I was sitting on the beach where the ditch cuts through the dunes, I'd hoped the many small birds would return to bathe after dogs flushed them, they didn't after this Weasel walked by. Shortly before the Weasel I'd seen a Bank Vole take the same route and swim across the ditch, it looked like the Weasel was able to trace the vole's path. "It all went Pete Tong" when the two large dogs returned and worked their way through the area......





This Meadow Pipit was the only bird to return when I stayed around for another 15 minutes





Pied Wagtail sitting on a cable in the car park





Not much doing in Craigmill Den except this Greenfinch and a pair of Grey Wagtails




Two of three Roe at the bottom of the den




A Rook in the extension to the main rookery in Craigmill Den


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