Wednesday morning signals a Heyshott work party. It was a glorious Autumn day and the beech trees were dripping with toned of gold and red. The work is coming on rapidly, hopefully the female Duke of Burgundies will tumble down from the chalk pits and delight in the primulas which we expect to sprout from the newly opened ground during the next few years.
After lunch Neil and I headed to Pagham Harbour hoping to see the Hooded Merganser in the excellent light. Our expectations were exceeded. When we arrived the North American immigrant was on the north side of the embankment. She headed away from the dozens of enthusiasts already there, but later returned and gave a good show just the other side of the reed beds with the light falling on her perfectly. I only wished for a better lens than my 300mm to give me the shots the bird deserved. There were hundreds of Brent Geese flying, plus four Common Snipe feeding on a bank. A Curlew's call completed a wonderful afternoon.
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| Brent geese, Branta bernicla |
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| Common Snipe, Gallinago gallinago |
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| Cormorant, Phalacrocorax carbo |
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| Hooded Merganser safely cruising among the Mallards |
Hoodie paddles our way to give a superb display
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| Hooded Merganser, female, Lophodytes cucullatus |
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| Mallard, Anas platyrhynchos |
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| a Spitfire gave a different kind of aerial display |
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| Teal, Anas crecca |
Those Heyshott landscapes are superb. I imagine Heaven looks something like this in autumn.
ReplyDeleteBWs, Neil