I spent a Christmas Eve outside on the beach enjoying the open air and nature that was around. The Sanderlings were doing what they do most of the time – sleeping on the shingle and then dodging the spray and waves bathing and feeding.
HAPPY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR.
Stay safe
The common whelk is the largest sea snail found in the sea around the UK.
They lay their eggs in a spongy mass of up to 2000 eggs on the seabed. Once hatched, these balls of empty egg capsules often wash up on the shore.
The first whelks to hatch will eat their developing siblings to give themselves extra energy to help them survive.
This large mass of eggs shows most of the whelks have not yet hatched. Empty egg capsules dry and the lightweight balls blow up the beach, in the past, it has been said sailors used them like a sponge.
The drama unfolds on the shore often over food. Sanderlings feed on little invertebrates, worms and shrimps at low tide. The Black-headed gulls have worked out it is easier to steal a meal rather than catch their own.
A Sanderling weight is 50 -60 grams and a Black-headed gull’s weight is 200-400g so the gull is the bully but the Sanderling is extremely fast so they do not give up their meal that often.
On a dull day, a flash of orange brightens the day. Both Black-headed gulls and Redshank’s legs colours are bright and a standout.
A misty damp morning down on the coast this morning.
Shoveler duck passing a snipe.
Lots of Snipe about today also spotted 2 Bearded tits in the reeds a 1st I have seen in many years.
A very distant Bearded Tim deep in the reeds – sadly the best picture I could get!
Link to view a Bearded Tit.
https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/bearded-tit/
The morning after Storm Barra hit the south coast.
An Oystercatcher gets an early morning feed on a lugworm.
On Tuesday (7th December 2021) afternoon and evening the high tide plus storm-force winds meant local flooding. The coastguard had to rescue a number of car occupants stuck in the floodwaters. By Wednesday morning the water had gone but there was damage to the wooden sleepers on the walkway at the back of Titchfield harbour, the council had been around and cordened off the footpath and swept the road of shingle and sand.
A few bird spots within the nature reserve.
A kingfisher in the reeds.
A Male House Sparrow.
And a male Stone Chat.
#wordless Wednesday
Last week I spotted 2 birds at Titchfield haven that are relatively rare and I have not seen them very often. I caught them both on film (well memory card) not that close so not the quality I like but I thought I would post as I have not posted these birds before.
Dartford Warbler.
Dartford Warblers live on lowland heathland in the south of England the UK breeding birds are recorded at 3,200 pairs.
Short-Eared Owl.
Short-Eared Owls, are often seen hunting during the day over reed beds the UK breeding population is recorded between 620-2,180 pairs.
If you have been following my post any length of time you will know I have posted a lot of pictures of one of my favourite shorebirds “Sanderlings”.
Facts – Length:20-21cm Wingspan:36-39cm Weight:50-60g
Today was a dull and damp morning by 08.30 I was led flat on the beach enjoying some close views of a large flock of about 100 of these busy little birds feeding along the shoreline and dodging the spray.
Today’s post gives just a “few” of the pictures I took this morning.
The longest living sanderling was from Nova Scotia and was recorded to be 13 years and one month old.
The birds we see in the UK are long-distance migrants who have moved south to winter from their Arctic breeding grounds
My active blog is running out of space for more pictures so I am posting my new blogs here and will add a link to these posts on my other blog. https://sealandair67140807.wordpress.com/
If you arrive here why not follow my adventure from here directly by following these pages.
I find the number of pictures I upload to WordPress uses the free data storage in about 24months so as I am not in a position to pay for more storage space.
Feeding the Gulls.
Black-headed Gulls are happy to take some leftover fish and chips.
Continued Reflections from my World. 