Back to Sandwell Valley though.....Alf was off gallivanting around Portland Bill for the weekend so we didn't have our usual morning stroll, instead I was in the hide all day - I had no complaints about that though. I had my new camera with me and was looking forward to trying it out. Bird-wise it was quiet-ish, a few dregs of summer migrants were still sloshing about - we saw quite a few Swallows from the hide and there were several Chiffchaffs about, I even heard one singing briefly when I first arrived at the reserve. Small numbers of winter visitors have started to arrive - we had nice views of 2 Snipe feeding on the shore of Forge Mill Lake, and small groups of Teal and Shoveler dibbling around. We also enjoyed the antics of a Kingfisher making its way around the lake, stopping to sit on nearly every number-post; later on it was joined by its partner near the sluice gate. A Little Egret was a somewhat unusual visitor too, they only occasionally swing by Sandwell Valley, but this one had apparently been around for a while.
Here are a few photos...........
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| Little Egret on the move. |
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| Massively cropped so not a good photo, but this gull (perching) is really bugging me! The one on the water is a Lesser Black-backed, the weird gull had similarly-coloured wings but pink legs and the strange bill pattern. Is it just a weird juvenile? |
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| Robin outside the hide. |
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| Black-headed Gull sketch. |
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| A mixed bag of Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gull sketches. |
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