Late Spring at Elmley.

 Towards the end of April Lisa and I headed once again to the north Kent reserve of Elmley. This time it was a one day only visit, although we were going to be staying overnight nearby to save the long drive home.

One of my hoped for birds was the Yellow Wagtail. A bird I don't see too often, and when I do they are generally distant views as they feed around cattle. Strangely, the first bird we saw of significance was another bird well known for being around cattle, the Cattle Egret. There were a few of them there but only one was near enough for a shot.

Cattle Egret with Cattle.

At Elmley the entrance track to the car park is a couple of miles long, and is known as the self drive safari as the car is used as a hide. The birds are used to cars going along the track and allow a close approach much of the time.

We were about halfway along the drive when I spotted a wagtail fly over the car. Once it settled it was clearly the Yellow Wagtail that I had hoped for. To start with the bird was on the wrong side of the car as it had the sun behind it, however, it then flew to the other side and landed in a shallow dyke. Occasionally it was calling, and I was lucky enough to get a photo in mid call.

Yellow Wagtail calling.

It soon flew back to the wrong side again before then flying further away. We hoped that we would get another opportunity later on.

After parking up and starting our walk, it became clear that there was quite a bit of Brown Hare activity going on. To start with I kept being in the wrong place to catch the action, but eventually, with some very careful and quiet walking I spotted one to photograph close to me.

Although the hare knew I was there it wasn't at all startled, and soon it moved a short distance, which fortunately for me was not in long grass.

Brown Hare.

After several minutes the hare then moved towards the track that I had just walked along. Lisa was the other side of the hare, and as there was a bush between her and the hare she couldn't actually see the animal, despite me trying to let her know that it was there. The beautiful animal posed for me briefly before crossing the path and going into deeper scrub.

Brown Hare.

Later we decided to wander down to the hides, past where we had seen the Bearded Tits on our previous visit. Unfortunately, we didn't see them this time, but once at the first hide we did see several waders. These included a Spotted Redshank, although this was quite distant. The Avocets however, were in the mood for breeding, and a pair mated not far from us.

Mating Avocets.

We have seen this several times over the past two years, mainly at Rye Harbour. As usual the female signals she is ready, and then the male spends some time preening before mounting her. The mating itself is quite brief, but as he's dismounting her he wraps a wing around her and they touch bills before seperating, when they then do a short fast run together. It's all rather sweet!!

The male wrapping his wing around the female.

We decided after this to only go to the next hide, where little was happening. On the return walk Lisa spotted another Brown Hare that was tucked away in the long grass. 

Brown Hare in cover.

After trying for the Marsh Harriers, in the spot we had success last time, with less activity we once again drove down the entrance track. We had been told by a warden that the first baby Lapwing had been seen that day. It wasn't long before we spotted a pair of Lapwing keeping an eye on three little bundles of fluff. As we stopped the car one parent called to the chicks and all three came running to her. The first two quickly took cover, but the third had a job to fit under the parent. Eventually it managed to barge under. Very quickly the parent realised we were no threat at all and the chicks all came back out again and all ran off in different directions. After watching and photographing a chick that came very close, we left the family in peace. They were so gorgeous to watch though.

Lapwing parent with chick. The legs of the other chicks can be seen under the parent bird.

All safely tucked away.

Lapwing Chick back exploring.

A little further along the track we spotted a close Oystercatcher. This smart bird allowed a close approach, and looked superb in the late afternoon light.

Oystercatcher.

We were now approaching the area where we had seen the Yellow Wagtail earlier, but there was no sign of it. However, although it was now getting late we decided to have one more drive up and down the track. This time we did see the gorgeous Yellow Wagtail again, and it was also the closest view we had of the bird.

Yellow Wagtail.

It was wonderful having one more chance of the bird, and was a fitting end to the visit.