Quality, Southease to Newhaven!!

 Margie and I headed for a walk from Southease to Newhaven this morning,it's a favourite walk, 20 mins from home so especially good when we get up too late to go our original destination!!! 😀

So we arrived just before 8, a fresh Red Admiral was sunning itself near the car and a Dragonfly landed in a tree nearby!!

Red Admiral

We headed towards the station and crossed the tracks not much about to be honest I was beginning to get a bad feeling about this, the tide was out and there was a much stiffer breeze than the weather forecast had lead us to believe!! The bridge had a couple of Gulls preening, but not much else.

Herring Gull

So headed south from the bridge down the East Bank of the river, grass was longer than usual which made spotting stuff difficult, was hoping for a Whinchat in this area but no luck, although there were a couple of Stonechats,but too distant for pics. A Wheatear appeared and immediately flew straight across the river!! A Grey Heron flew over as did the first of several Little Egrets we would see, a couple of small birds flew into a bush on the far bank a nice Male Linnet accompanied by what I think is a Reed Bunting happy to be contradicted if it isn't!!

Grey Heron

Linnet and Reed Bunting

Distant Wheatear

Little Egret

Everything was a bit distant, or flighty so not conducive to good pics😢 This continued when Margie spotted a bird flying down the river, Common Sandpiper very flighty. We would have several such encounters on this walk, we estimate there were at least 8 birds along the river,we had 6 in the air at once at one point, but it could have been many more!! Just after this first  encounter I spotted a Whimbrel standing on the bank, bonus!!

Common Sandpipers

Whimbrel

Another Common Sandpiper

CS having a stretch

We continued on, one eye on the river the other on the bushes and fields on our left, several Common Whitethroats seen and some Egrets standing in a field, which were Little Egrets rather than the hoped for Cattle Egret. I also strung and then unstrung a lone Female House Sparrow as a Corn Bunting!! 

Another Common Sand

The view back to the bridge

Little Egret

Whimbrel

House Sparrow

Less scenery pics today, I thought Margie was taking them but she had her settings messed up!! 

I saw some movement in one of the bushes, a Goldfinch which promptly flew off but as I was scanning I noticed a bit of grey poking out beneath a leaf much scrutiny was applied.

Could it be?

First View

Looking Good?

Yep Pied Flycatcher!!! Whoop!!

So there then followed 20 minutes of trying to winkle out a decent pic of the beast!! As often happens in these situations several other birds revealed themselves, couple of Common Whitethroats,Blue Tits and a nice Sedge Warbler!!

Sedge Warbler

Common Whitethroat

Still playing hard to get!

We tore ourselves away and carried on South, another Dragonfly posed okay more Common Sandpipers and I was once again bamboozled by a House Sparrow,this time I think it was a Juvenile acquiring adult male plumage I won't tell you what I tried to convince myself it was, too embarrassing!!! We also saw a Kingfisher but it  was spooked by a Swallow and as I was about to get a stonking flight shot it managed a perfect scissor pass with another Swallow and I followed the wrong bird!! Was also a nice family of Reed Buntings in the Reeds

Reed Bunting

The only decent pic of a Common Sandpiper

Another Sparrow

By now Margie had given up and was having a sit on a stile while I pushed on down to the Reedbed, nothing much here but a Reed Warbler in a bush and a Hobby over, on my return Margie had tall stories about a Bee sitting on her knee and a Lizard although she did manage a blurred pic of something that may or not be a Lizard you decide!!😁 

Reed Warbler

Another Wheatear on the far bank

Heron In the Reeds

Hobby

Margie's one scenery pic!!

Alleged Lizard!

We headed back, some small birds on the foreshore turned out to be a couple of Meadow Pipits, a few Pied Wagtails and a couple of Wheatears which didn't immediately cross the river hurrah!!!

Pied Wag no Tail😲

Meadow Pipit

Finally Wheatears that didn't fly off within 10 seconds of me pointing a camera at them!

Ringed Plover

Yet another Common Sand

Retracing our steps we arrived at the bushes where the Pied Fly had been, you know the Pied Fly that I spent best part of half n hour trying to get a pic of?? Well it had decided to do a bit of Fly-catching and was sitting on the outside of the bush showing lovely!!

Even got it in flight!!

The final stretch brought more Whimbrel, a Greenshank,a Redshank,2 Oystercatcer, more Common Sands (6 in the air at one point) a few Blue Butterflies,one posed, a Clouded Yellow,didn't pose and another posy Dragonfly! And some Big Fish

Whimbrel

Little Egret

One of the Fish

Juvenile Goldfinch (another ID conundrum)

Final treat was a Lifer at the Cafe, Orange and Poppyseed Cake at the Courtyard Cafe!! They were doing a Tea and Cake special for £3.95, Margie said she didn't want Cake just Tea my eyes lit up 2 bits of cake!!!!, When the blooming assistant said they did Cheese Scones as part of the deal Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!😂😂😂

Very enjoyable walk with a bit of quality (I'm talking the Flycatcher not the cake!!) thrown in, Excellent!!!!!