An afternoon at Marshland

Marshland, Blacktoft - just about the only part of the reserve with a decent amount of water - apparently. I spent my whole visit in Marshland hide. Watching curlew sandpipers. 3 present along with spotshanks, ruff, godwits, woodsand, dunlins and supporting wildfowl. Reed warbler seen too. Here are the curlew sands.

Camera settings went wrong at one point and ruined some yellow wagtail shots. I rescued this one...

Grey heron

 Sunday 11th September - a day at Borough Hall

Have you noticed how if anyone is providing information on tv or radio these days they seem to always begin with the word 'so'?

So I drove up to Hartlepool heading straight for the Headland. I sensed some good birds were going to be there. I began with a spotted flycatcher. In the gloom of heavy shade. [Photo brightened as much as I dare]

I could see a group of birders on the Putting Green. I went to see what was there. 

Garden warblers - 2 of them. Not a bird I find easy to spot and, in fact, one I had never photographed. I went back several times to get these photos. 

A sparrowhawk flew overhead and the birds all went into deep cover.

A false alarm sent everyone [me included] rushing off to the Heugh Pier to see a red-breasted flycatcher but it was a case of misidentification. A wheatear graced the rocks.

Later I went back to Borough Hall to one particular line of trees that had pied flycatcher, lesser whitethroat and yellow-browed warbler. I managed a better view of a spotfly.

203 UK 2022