Rye for a Sandwich.

Last weekend, during a very early morning visit to Rye Harbour N.R. on another sunny but extremely windy day, I appeared to be the only occupant on this extensive shingle foreshore. With high tide many hours away the peace and quiet was regularly interrupted by the distinctive, loud, grating 'kerrick ... kerrick' calls of one of the nesting Tern species as they headed offshore to hunt for a meal. I don't profess to be particularly adept at photographing white birds in flight ...... it is definitely a challenge .... but with time on my hands I felt it was worth waiting to see what might be possible. 

 

Initial shots were like the one above with the birds returning from fishing but all too distant for the lens.... but eventually my luck changed as a few flew nearly directly overhead. However they constantly decided to either jink left or right before disappearing at an alarming rate of knots towards their nesting colonies on the adjacent inland pools. My patience was wearing a little thin but after trying numerous different settings .... success.  

 Sandwich Tern (Sternus sandvicensis) carrying a fishy meal.

[Shot at 1/1600; f.11; ISO 400 @ 130mm]

Not easy to pick out its distinct features from below but the complete black cap combined with the yellow tip on the long narrow black bill plus the large wingspan (typically 85 - 97cm) clearly says this is an adult in its full summer plumage. 

This side on shot of another individual clearly shows the darker outer primaries ... this wedge shape will eventually darken with wear. The partial white forehead indicates that this is an adult but still showing signs of its winter plumage.  FAB.

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Broad-bodied Chaser.

Broad-bodied Chaser (Libellula depressa). This male was very active as it patrolled a very shallow pool of water during a sunny but breezy day during a recent visit to Ashdown Forest. This species often perches for reasonable periods interspersed with periods of rapid flight but on this occasion it tested my patience by not returning to the same perch very often!   FAB.  

Windswept Wander.

A week ago I took a wander around the lowland heath at Thursley Common in the hope of getting some images of maybe one or two of the specialist species that inhabit this landscape. 

What I didn't bargain for was the ever present blustery wind which kept most species, including Woodlark and Tree Pipit, far too distant for the lens although I did enjoy some decent views albeit brief through the bins.  

Even the male Common Redstart made life tricky as it flitted from branch to branch and then disappeared with its tasty morsel destined for a growing brood somewhere. Other species sighted included a pair of nesting Lapwing; a Common Buzzard hounded by Crows; a Hobby zipped past in purposeful flight and several Stonechats called from their windswept perches. Needing some respite from the blustery conditions I entered an area of mixed deciduous woodland and immediately my ears picked up the incessant calls of young Great Spotted Woodpeckers (Dendrocopos major) begging to be fed. I quickly located the nest hole and found a convenient resting place at the base of a nearby tree and waited.  

Both adults share the very similar black and white plumage including the large white oval shoulder patches plus the saturated red vent and barred black and white flight feathers. The first adult to appear was the female distinguished by her totally black crown.

Some five minutes later the male, who sports a red patch on its hindcrown, eventually worked his way down to the nest hole ......

 ... and then one of the youngsters appeared and gratefully accepted a meal. This species produces one brood with a clutch of 4 to 6 eggs. After an incubation period of 14 - 16 days, mainly by the female, fledging usually takes another 20 to 24 days. As there is only room for one chick at the nest hole it is definitely a question of 'first come .. first served'. Unlike most other species the parents do not remove the fecal sacks so I guess the nesting cavity becomes a little rank over time!    

I felt very privileged to monitor this constant feeding activity for over 30 minutes as both parents regularly returned with tasty insects for their new family before leaving them to their endeavours.  

Back at The Moat pond Mrs Mallard was overseeing the movement of her recently fledged young through the knee high waterside vegetation and every so often raised her head to ensure that they were complying with her instructions to stay out of view.   FAB.

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