A late evening visit to the patch, spent entirely scanning from the top of the big dune yielded a me a very nice year-tick - a spoonbill.
I was chatting to a mate, showing him a male marsh harrier when tit flew over the spoonbill on the Budge fields. It was up to its belly, feeding in the pool, so I couldn't tell whether it was the same bird that was at Newton recently sporting lots of jewellery (see the Stringers post)
As well as the spooner and the marsh harrier I also had barn owl, long-eared owl and a couple of roseate terns offshore. Also on the budge field at dusk was a male roe deer, it must be a couple of years since I saw deer on the patch. Not a bad haul.
Still no groppers
115 roseate tern
116 long-eared owl
117 spoonbill
2 comments:
Never seen a Long-Eared owl! Always wanted to, and I had no idea they were even present in this area. Might have to pop down again this week to try and spot one.
Also is this likely the same Spoonbill which has been dropping in at East Chev from time to time?
James :)
James,
They are regular but scarce breeders on Druridge Bay, favouring the coniferous shelterbelts.
Dusk is a good time to see them
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