Early morning on the 23rd May, I decided to go back on to the RSPB reserve to see if the Red-footed Falcon was still around. It was cold and the hobbies I could find were all still sitting in willows. A message came through that a Bee-eater was sitting on wires at the Point, in two minds whether to try and see it as they are notorious for staying all too briefly before flying off, I decided to go for it. On arriving, I was lucky, because the Bee-eater was still perched on the wires and calling infrequently. It stayed for a further two or three minutes before flying high and to the south, still occasionally calling and I lost it as it became a dot disappearing into high cloud.
Bee-eater
After then spending a couple of hours completing a couple of monads for the BTO Heathland Bird Survey, I returned to the reserve as the temperature had warmed up and news had confirmed that the red-foot was still around. There were plenty of Hobbies foraging across Boulderwall Fields, Hookers and Dengemarsh and the numbers just seemed to increase as the morning went on with my finally tally being 23, plus the female red-foot.
Female Red-footed Falcon
Female Red-footed Falcon
One of the great aspects of the area is the diversity of wildlife and I always love seeing ruby-tailed wasps, this one was on one of the many seats across the reserve no doubt checking the area for mining bees.
Ruby-tailed Wasp
Wader passage across the reserve has resulted in views of beautiful adult summer plumaged Knot, Turnstone and Temminck's Stint, plus there have been good numbers of the Tundra form of Ringed Plover. The Temminck's Stint was found by Jacob, initially on Burrowes but then relocated on ARC.
Tundra form of Ringed Plover
Red Knot
Ruddy Turnstone
Temminck's Stint
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