A short blog following a short visit to Kilnsea Wetlands yesterday. I have seen very few of these beautiful small waders. Unless you are lucky enough to go to their breeding areas in Northern latitudes, there is a brief timeframe in which you may see one of these rare Phalaropes on migration. Following the initial sighting of one Red-necked Phalarope at Beacon Ponds, this bird was joined by a second individual and that event was certainly worth looking at. Both phalaropes were feeding well on the multitude of flies on the water surface. They were also extremely mobile, sometimes being flushed by large gulls and making use of the entire water area of the ponds. I got a soaking as showers drifted in from the sea but it was worth waiting to see them feed at a reasonable distance.
A Great White Egret is also here at the moment, among the Little Egrets whose numbers are now incredibly in the seventies or eighties! This very rare shrike has been present continuously now, since found on the 27th June this year. In 2000, the Isabelline Shrike, which I am also lucky to have seen (Spurn Oct 2014) was split into three distinct species - Chinese, Daurian and Turkestan Shrike. To add to the complication, this bird is also now known as Red-tailed Shrike. Not long after its arrival, this shrike was seen to be clearly moulting. This has accounted for its long stay as, at times, the bird has looked distinctly tatty and recently lost much of its tail. Now, the shrike has developed its new plumage and is looking incredibly smart. The Turkestan Shrike has a smart rufous crown which shows stronger in different light. The rufous colour extends onto the nape and neck sides. A thin white supercilium can be seen above the black eye mask. A new red tail has grown back and white wing bars show well in flight. The shrike has fed very well along the hedgerow and has been seen to catch moths, beetles and even a small vole. It only devoured a wasp while I watched it! White wing bars and a red tail. Another addition to my life list I suppose, now split from Isabelline Shrike.
I planned on seeing this bird in the first week of July. On the day I was going out, I had three collapses at home in a short space of time and, within 48 hours was fitted with a heart pacemaker. Somewhat of an enormous shock for me, apparently nothing to do with my lifestyle but simply a tiny electrical circuit in the heart which breaks down on occasions. From a birding point of view, raising my left arm for six weeks was out of the question and there was a degree of 'confidence' too, being out on my own with my 'device' watching over me. Hopefully, the wonderful cardiac team will give me the 'thumbs up' in two weeks time and we'll be good to go again. |
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