Taking it easy, (I always do)

Having had an op on my foot, I am off work for a short while, and cannot venture too far from the car. I caught up with the Rough-legged Buzzard that has taken up residence on the old Nicholls quarry at Hythe on Monday, (28th) and although great views of the bird were had, it always remained distant, too far away to get any decent shots of it as it hovered above the tall grass, hunting throughout my stay. I was able to get a photo of a fox, one of two that were sitting a few yards away from my chosen vantage point.



On the way down to Nicholls quarry, I stopped on the sea front at Hythe, just outside of the Imperial hotel. A short walk down the beach to where the rocky groyne is situated, and four Purple Sandpipers were seen feeding on the rocks. Keeping low and with a little patience, I was able to get behind them and get some close up photos, the distance between the birds and my camera compensating for the poor conditions.







On Wednesday (30th) I spent either side of a hospital appointment at Grove ferry, sitting in the Feast hide in the company of various local photographers. The weather was not great, most of the morning spent in grey gloomy conditions, but it improved as the day progressed. Several Bitterns were seen in the reed beds around the hide and a few distant photos were obtained.





There were several Goldcrest's seen along the entrance track, and when leaving for my appointment at 11 0 clock, chatting with Bill Gawler who had just arrived, I noticed three Tree-creepers busily feeding on the bark of the trees that line the path way.
Earlier that morning I saw a Hen Harrier, close into the hide, trying to muscle in on a kill that a female Marsh Harrier was eating, the dull and gloomy light not letting me get any useable images. A male Sparrow hawk thought about landing on a Kingfisher post, but changed his mind at the last moment, and two Little Grebes were keeping the Ducks Company. Noticeable was not one sighting of a Kingfisher, the main reason why I sat there for most of the day. A Cormorant certainly bit off more than he could chew with an eel that he wrestled with for 30 minutes. He managed to swallow almost all of it but as he climbed onto the Tern raft, he sat there with the tail protruding from his bill. After a while he gave up and coughed the huge eel back up into the pool, and I was unable to see if the eel survived its ordeal or not.