Egrets, Herons, Grebe, Robin, Chiffchaff, horse and pony - Pagham Harbour nature reserve, Pagham, West Sussex - 26th March 2024

On Tuesday, 26th March, I walked along part of the North Wall in the nature reserve at Pagham until I reached the heronry, where there were quite a few large birds perching in the distance on top of a tall twiggy hedge.

Three Grey Herons and a Little Egret

Cattle Egret

Two Grey Herons having an argument

Grey Heron in flight

More Grey Herons

Two Little Egrets in flight and a Grey Heron at the top of the hedge

Majestic Little Egret viewing its kingdom!

There were several Little Egrets feeding in the lagoon as I made my way back to Pagham

I disturbed a Little Egret and it took flight

Great Crested Grebe waving its paddle-like foot

Horse and pony feeding in a field near the entrance to the nature reserve

The pony had a strange hair cut!

It was lovely to see some Primroses at the side of the path

A Robin was perching in a shrub

I saw a Chiffchaff at the top of a Pussy Willow as I walked back to the holiday park

Another Robin was perching on the Pagham Harbour sign at the edge of Church Farm Holiday Park

Birds and wildlife during a September visit to Rainham Marshes

In the middle of September I went for a wildlife walk round RSPB Rainham Marshes nature reserve.  The photos below are of some of the birds and insects that I saw there that day.

White butterfly

Cattle Egret

Four Goldfinches

Little Egret looking for fish

Pair of Common Darter dragonflies in a compromising position

Autumn leaves and berries

Speckled Wood butterfly

Lapwings in flight

Lapwing and Curlew

Male Common Darter dragonfly

Juvenile Grey Heron pretending to be a Swan

Pair of Gadwalls

Kestrel not wanting to look at me

I spent a very enjoyable afternoon at Rainham Marshes and only wish that I could manage to go there more often.

 

Bird of the week - Cattle Egret at Lee Valley Country Park

On Saturday, my camera and I went for a walk in the Lee Valley Country Park, near Cheshunt.  The walk was run by the RSPB and more than 25 people attended it, which was rather a lot for a group of bird watchers.

We saw lots of interesting birds but, for me, the special of the day was a beautiful Cattle Egret skulking in the undergrowth.

The Country Park is huge and we only covered a fraction of it in the few hours that we spent there.  Now that I have been there with other people, I hope to go again on my own and also hope that I will not get lost!