Little Egret, a Rock Pipit and a Sparrowhawk

By Paul Cecil | Published September 9, 2008

Just a few shots from today's visit to the beach, starting with a lone little egret which was feeding down on one of the more deserted areas of beach.

Little Egret

Now the egret is unmissable, the white plumage and size of the bird meaning that if you see it, you really see it. Much more difficult to spot is this next bird. It's small, and blends in perfectly with the scrub which runs along the top of the beach. I was fortunate that it decided to climb on to a pebble. It got a better view, and so did I 🙂

Rock Pipit

While we were watching the sea birds, a flock of starlings took to the air. A quick scan of the horizon showed the reason for their sudden movement:

Sparrowhawk

That was actually the second sparrowhawk of the day (it seems to be a good time of year for them). This one came in rather closer over the garden this morning, sending flocks of pigeons into alarm mode.

Camera note: all shots taken with the EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

This entry was posted in Bird of Prey, Birds, water birds and tagged , , , .

14 Comments

  1. Dudley September 9, 2008 at 2:09 am #

    Great shot of the Rock Pipit

  2. zetorres September 9, 2008 at 10:09 am #

    Fantastic Rock Pipit! :up:

  3. Words September 9, 2008 at 10:09 am #

    Andy, I was pleased with that one! It took a while to identify as its legs are usually a bit darker (more grey).

  4. Words September 9, 2008 at 10:09 am #

    Thanks Ze!

  5. SittingFox September 9, 2008 at 7:09 pm #

    Lovely shots of the hawk (as always!) and the rock pipit, but egrets always catch my eye. They're so perfectly graceful. Weird to think that just a few years ago they were considered rare sightings!

  6. Words September 9, 2008 at 10:09 pm #

    The egret was a delight to see. It was slightly too far off for a decent shot but I was happy to see it there (as I now know where to look, though that can sometimes be a thankless task).

  7. cakkleberrylane September 10, 2008 at 1:09 am #

    Great shots!!

  8. Words September 10, 2008 at 8:09 am #

    Thanks Lois!

  9. Ukwildlife September 12, 2008 at 9:09 am #

    Great set of photos of a nice selection of birds

  10. Words September 12, 2008 at 9:09 pm #

    Thanks Neil!

  11. Cynthia23 September 12, 2008 at 11:09 pm #

    Awesome photography!

  12. Words September 13, 2008 at 9:09 am #

    Thanks Cynthia!

  13. Vulpes vulpes September 28, 2008 at 2:09 pm #

    Re Rock Pipit…well spotted!!

  14. Words September 28, 2008 at 4:09 pm #

    Vuples, thanks!