Spring will be late this year, compared to the last two at least; Coltsfoot has just started to flower (reluctantly) whereas it was in full bloom on 18th and 20th January in 2008 & 2009.Another gauge for us is whether or not daffodils bloom by St David's Day - this year we'll be lucky if they are out by St George's Day.
In a brief respite from the foul weather of February, I took a trip to Thanet to check out the wader roosts. Not good, I'm afraid, probably due to the masses of dog-walkers trampling over the usual areas. Only four ringed plovers were seen, and astonishing total of three sanderlings.
Purple sandpipers totalled 25 on the pumping station, which isn't a bad figure, if somewhat short of the 50-60 a couple of years ago.
I was pleased to meet a new blogger, Barry Hunt, who is pounding the beat here, and I'll be looking out for his posts from this, one of my favourite spots.
There was a surprise on the lawns - a young kittiwake had joined the other gulls waiting to be fed scraps of bread.
This lesser black-backed gull didn't look too clever - it's a long-stayer according to Dylan, and is presumably not in the best of health. Do they normally have scarlet eye-liner?
2 comments:
Great plover pictures!
That flower looks so cheery and spring-like. I'm jealous! Great bird shots! Looks like a nice day to be out and about with a camera.
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