Seasalter Beach and The Holy Trinity

On Wednesday we thought we would nip down the road in the car and take Bracken to the beach. Something we should really do more often! My mum and I were saying to each other that if we were walking along a beach like at Seasalter and we were on holiday we would be saying how fantastic it is. We decided that we need to appreciate what is practically on our doorstep!

At Seasalter you can either walk along the beach and turn around and go back the same way, or you can walk along the top, the other side of the low wall and turn around and go back the other way. However, we walked along the beach and then clambered over the wall to walk back along the path! I managed fine, Mum did in the end and Bracken found his inner kangaroo and leapt on to the wall and off the other side!!

Along the shingle beach were hundreds of these jellyfish below. We have no idea what kind they are so if anyone has any idea what they are then please do comment below!! They were pretty darn cool though!

 

Shelduck

 From the photos below I think it is pretty easy to see that Bracken enjoyed his walk immensely!! With the tide out, he had fabulous fun getting absolutely clarted in mud!! He got a taste for seaweed also.

We came across this carcass, probably a seal pup?! It definitely looks more mammal like than fish like.

Once we had climbed over the wall, it wasn't long before we had swallows dancing over our heads! Less delightful - Bracken found many a cowpat to have a snack on! I noticed this wheatear further along on the wall. It didn't mind us too much and allowed us to get pretty close. Then it would float down the other side of the wall when pup got too near. I could never spot it though, they are great at camouflaging themselves! When I so much as glanced over the wall, Bracken had immediately jumped up onto it again. He is going to be great at agility when he is old enough to go to classes!

Wheatear

Wheatear

Shelduck again

Swallow

After a breezy but wonderful walk, we returned home for a nice cup of tea! As soon as we got home the clouds miraculously disappeared and the sun shone while the housemartins and swifts put on an aerial display to rival the red arrows! I made it my mission to try and get a few good in-flight shots. Not an easy task considering the speeds they zoom past at! I was happy with some of them but there is always room for improvement!

I added to my earlier swallow photo, to complete my trio! The holy trinity. Swallow, swift and housemartin! I love these birds!!

Swift

Housemartin

Housemartin adding to his or her nest from last year!

Sunlit housemartin

Housemartin

A trio of housemartins, one fairly in focus the next just about and the last blurry. But I like it anyway.

Collared dove with ruffled neck feathers

Pretty blossom in the evening sun

That rounds up a pretty awesome day. If the weather would like to start acting more like May than October that would be great! Prime example of the wintry weather was yesterday when my Dad and I got caught in a hailstorm whilst down at Oare Marshes!

Thanks for reading and pop back soon to see some photos of the walk, some rain drops and the garden in a brief spell of sunshine :)

A sunny start just to fool us!

On the 1st day of April we were graced with some much needed sunshine! There was still a very chilly wind so we thought we would take pup for his first trip to the woods! We went to Blean woods, on the outskirts of Canterbury which is partly owned by the RSPB. There were quite a few other people who had obviously had the same idea! Bracken LOVES other people and dogs and is very excitable so it was an... interesting walk!

Still looking rather autumnal

Little drink from the stream

Contemplating whether or not to have another drink

I love old trees that have been coppiced, they make brilliant shapes!

I thought this looked like a perfect little hole for a birdy to nest in!

It was a lovely walk, but we were amazed that we didn't see any birds! We heard the odd corvid squawking and great tit calling but nothing much else other than a grey squirrel which Bracken missed! Then about 10 metres from the car we saw a jay which saved the day! We don't get many down our way so it was quite nice to see one :)

A lovely sunny walk indeed, but was April fools day fooling us into thinking that spring may be just around the corner?!


Well we thought not, as the next day we opened our curtains and there it was again... vast expanses of blue sky and ... the sun!! We had another delightful walk in the afternoon.

I love this tree!

Go on.. throw the ball

I'm still waiting...

Getting bored of waiting now...

 So after a couple of sunny days, did the weather last? Well you guessed it, no! Back to freezing biting winds, snow, hail and rain again. I don't think I was fooled!

Although I can't wait to see swallows and house martins and swifts swooping around once again, I really hope they hold off a bit longer as I think they will be in for a bit of a shock if they do return to our cold wet country any time soon!

The last few days of March...

After my last post which was mostly moaning about the lack of sunshine and freezing weather, this post is going to be more positive and shouting about the rays of sun which keep peeping out from behind those blooming clouds! There is still a very chilly wind and it seems to have changed from an Easterly to a North Easterly, so it is definitely no warmer!!

Along the pavement just outside our house, the daffodils are just coming out, and the crocuses are also looking beautiful. Well they would be if they hadn't been jumped on or kicked. Culprits are either the primary school kids nearby, whose parents don't seem to care that their delinquent children are ruining the spring flowers, or it is somebodies dog which has had a bit of a field day with them. I think I know which it is more likely to be. Anyway rant over. It was sad seeing unopened daffs lying around so mum took one home and put it in a little vase, and miraculously it survived!

Usually I don't bother taking my camera out with me when walking Bracken, often because it's so bloody cold and my fingers are like blocks of ice, but with the recent glimpses of that fiery ball in the sky, I decided to take it on the last couple of evening walks.

Sunlit tree trunk and bluebells emerging

Spring!!

Catkin silhouettes

Gorse looking wonderfully colourful

Action shot! Look I have my ball, but you can't have it!!

Another walk, another litter pick...

Mmmm ready salted crisps! My fave!

We also had rather distant views of a few buzzards flying way up in the cloud, soaring in the thermals. Must have been really chilly up there! We also saw a heron gliding really high up, which we thought unusual.

Heavily cropped so a bit blurry, but can make out it's markings.

 More pup shots...

Posing next to a large fallen tree

Racing back for a treat!

About a week ago I saw a couple of snipe down in the strawberry fields behind our house and then didn't see them again for a few days. We were just on our way back home and we flushed about 10 from the marshy ground. They really are endearing birds! Also quite agile in flight. I got one shot but it was already quite far away so the photo below is a cropped image.

Snipe showing its characteristically long straight bill.

Well March is finally over! We did go for a lovely walk down at Blean woods with plenty of sun but I will save that for another blog post.

So let us hope that this year April is remembered for glorious hot weather, rather than it's renowned showers!!

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, and please visit again soon :)