The photos are nothing to write home about, but I’m putting them up as they are my first sighting this year of a cormorant in full breeding plumage. Note the white head feathers and large white patches under the wing.
Cormorant in breeding plumage
Those were taken at Seven Sisters.
And this was taken at Falmer (left over from Monday).
Pair of Falmer Pond rats
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.
I took a slightly different route out today and spent some time on the other side of the A27 in what is now North Falmer (the village is split in two by the A27). This is a view across the South Downs National Park, which – thanks to a government u-turn tonight under pressure from Labour – will now be protected from fracking.
Falmer fields, part of the South Downs National Park
There are usually some horses around, and today was no exception.
Nicely wrapped up against the chill.
The closing shot today is included for its curiosity. I swear these doves think they’re ducks.
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.
We had some steady wintry sunshine today. All day. It was cold, but certainly a very welcome change, and I headed over to Sheepcote Valley which is where I generally go in search of kestrels. There weren’t any around today, but the scrub clearers were back. Yes, the sheep at Sheepcote are ‘workers’. They get brought in every few months to eat back the undergrowth, and then are moved on to another site.
It was while I was sheep watching that I spotted several little stonechats. These are small meadow birds, with a distinctive call (which gives them their name). They like to perch on low shrubs, and a prone to offer little wing flicks.
Stonechat flitting out a wing
Let’s give both wings a go!
The merest hint of a branch was sufficient for this male stonechat on lookout duty.
And what goes up a perch, must come down. I have to say I was quite pleased with this little sequence, not least because I had deliberately left room for the flight when I lined up the first shot. The stonechat helped things by staying in the same plane as it dove down.
Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D Mark II and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM lens.
