Sunrise at Rye Harbour

Earlier this week I dropped Tracy's car off for it's MOT in Rye Harbour, and walked back home. As it was sunny and -6C, I thought I'd take the route along the edge of the nature reserve to get some photos of the sunrise. So here they are...

Mike

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Rye Harbour Sunsets

We've had some lovely sunny days over Christmas, and I've been down to Rye Harbour Nature Reserve a few times to make the most of it. Here's a few snaps of the sunset there a couple of days ago:

Walking back along the beach I saw this huge flock of Oystercatchers...

Of course, they took off as I approached! I felt a bit bad for disturbing them, but it was past sunset by this point so I knew they'd be heading to the lake for the night soon anyway...

Mike

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Swans and Sunsets at Rye Harbour Nature Reserve

Last Sunday I went for a walk around Rye Harbour Nature Reserve at the end of the day. The timing was perfect for a great sunset!

The lakes are now filled with Swans:

And ducks, such as this pair of Gadwalls - first time I've ever seen these!

Here's the female Gadwall on her own:

And the male Gadwall:

I was pleased to get a shot of a Cormorant flying overhead, though the light was fading a bit by this point:

It's all a far cry from what it was like back in May:

There's still a lot of birds around, but it's much more peaceful now.

Going back to the sunsets, I'll finish with a few more of my favourites...

Mike

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Sunset in Rye Harbour

Yesterday saw a beautiful sunset in Rye Harbour Nature Reserve:

We'd been having a walk around the lakes and the beach, and timed it just right coming back! The lakes look completely different to a couple of months ago. Back then, they looked like this:

Now, the water level is higher and all the gulls are gone, leaving the lakes to ducks, such as these Mallards:

And also some Little Egrets, which were busy fishing:

It's much quieter now, without the gulls and their chicks - but I'm sure they'll be back next Spring!

Mike

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Avocets, Terns and Gulls at Rye Harbour

Once again the Avocets are the star of the show this week - I captured this video of two pairs of them fighting! Ironically their offspring seem to all be getting along fine, but I'm sure they'll learn from their parents soon enough!

Although the chicks do spend time on their own now, they're never far from their parents, and follow them closely some of the time:

I was fortunate to get a few pictures of one of the adults flying:

They weren't the only birds flying though, I also got this Little Egret (which doesn't look so little when it's in flight!):

and also some Sandwich Terns:

This Cormorant had other ideas, preferring to head downwards... Watch the video to see how long it dives underwater for! I now understand why they spend time sat around with their wings spread out to dry!

The Common Terns now have their chicks hatched:

I think the Sandwich Terns do too, but the shrubs on their island have grown up so much I can't see them any more! The Black Headed Gull offspring are now heading into the juvenile stage:

But this doesn't stop them annoying their parents by begging for food!

Some of them have hatched much later though, and are still tiny:

You can see the difference between them and their peers that are just a few weeks older here:

The adults meanwhile are continuing to model ideal gull behaviour for their offspring...

Finally, I got my first picture of a Linnet at Rye Harbour, though it's not as sharp as I would like...

and I also saw a Sparrow, with its beak stuffed full of food! :-)

Anyway that's all for now. I've been busy up at the woods too, fixing tracks now they've dried out, and processing seasoned wood into logs ready for winter. Doesn't make for exciting photos though!

Mike

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