We were busy on Saturday morning, but we did manage to get down to Milford-on-Sea, for an afternoon walk. To tell the truth, we weren't expecting to see too many birds today.....except maybe there would be a Common Tern on Sturt Pond, this time of year.
On the walk down to the pond, lots of songbirds could be heard. A Sedge warbler was singing from the reedbed, and twenty or so Turnstones were.....you got it...turning stones! Then we came across a Mute swan calling to it's mate!! Poor thing, the mate was in no hurry at all... He turned up about ten minutes later and their little love ritual began...
love heart.....
Next thing you know, a pair of Terns flew in.... They weren't Common Terns as we had expected, but the much rarer Little Tern...
Little tern
We carried on up the cliff path, and here we noticed some Sand martins gathering nesting materials. That prompted us to take a detour down the steps to the beach, to watch them flying in and out of their nesting holes. It was a lovely warm afternoon, so we ended up sitting on the rocks, listening to the sea and watching the birds..... It sure was a novelty to be out without a coat on!
sand martin
Eventually we managed to drag ourselves away, and walked down through the village for some fish and chips for tea.........
123. little tern
124. sand martin
Sunday 27th April 2008
125. house martin
2 comments:
I haven't seen a sand martin for years. As a child, I walked to and from primary school past a disused sand pit. At this time of year it was alive with sand martins...
you were lucky Sam, I hadn't even heard of a Sand Martin until last year......
Post a Comment