Avocets rule !!

 

A cloudy and cooler day at RSPB Blacktoft on Sunday.

A mixture of sunshine, cloud and rain with a fairly strong breeze. Marshland Lagoon is currently home for several adult avocets and their young. When the birds first arrived on the reserve there was water on Ousefleet and that is where they nested and their young hatched. As the water level on Ousefleet slowly reduced some of the adults took their young to the next lagoon, Marshland. 

The adult avocets rule and anything that is near their young is chased away, even if it is a day old mallard duckling!

The four remaining young avocets are now nearly adult size and their plumage is slowly turning darker.

When a marsh harrier appears, several avocets take to the air to chase it away.

It is now the time of year when waders are starting to return from their breeding grounds in northern Europe or Siberia. Female spotted redshanks leave before the males, who look after the young and make their journey south later.

Three spotted redshanks were on marshland lagoon on Sunday. They like the other birds were chased by the avocets, so they did not come close to the hide, hence the poor photo.

This is one of the 3 green sandpipers having a rest before the avocets attack again. A single greenshank was at the fat end of the lagoon.

Again this is possibly a female as they too leave before the young can fly.

A family of lapwings were close to the hide

the adults were defending their young from the avocets. A few young bearded tits were feeding on the insects at the edge of the lagoon.

So, the next stage of birding begins as the migrants begin to trickle back southwards. Reports from Filey include large numbers of swifts flying south. Gotta travel on, summers almost gone, winters coming on!!