THE SMART ONE

spent most of the day at canterbury cathedral for my other half graduation and becoming a bachelor of science with honours i was with company of her mum a proud moment for use as we know how hard it was to do along side a full time i kept out the house for long periods at weekends to help, so well done from all family and friends,just do your masters now so i get more birding time again lol

ITS A BIT WINDY

stayed on the north kent coast today mainly between hampton and the caravan park just below swalecliffe,as the sun was out had a good day with the camera, mainly the birds that get over looked it was a surprize what was about purple sand,dunlin,sandling,snow bunting grey plover turnstones and ring plover,med gull herring gull,black headed and common gull etc not a bad morning gave the extender a good bash i cannot tell the diffferents or is that just me

GUILLIMOT

one of five guillimots in dover harbour to never came that close,it was a very wet morning in the end a good test for the 1d in appalling light

A BANGING MORNING

i arrived at dover at first light to a brisk s s eastly wind which meant my best bet was on the admiralty pier,after my normal chin wag i was greeted by  three auks close in flying east at that how it went on for the next fours a steady stream of auks and gannets with a razor bill landing briefly only saw three common scoters and one Velvet and three megansars there was plenty of red throats moving past

also a single med gull and a iceland species that was fly east but could not get much on it,as i walking back to the POW i stoppped at wellington dock and spotted a shag by the swing bridge

but the highlight was a juv gannet that zoomed in the habour and past a few feet away i quickly got a shot

a great morning

WAXWINGS

a few shots of the two waxwings at recuvler this evening terrible light but still got a few shots

PURPLE SANDPIPERS

few more shots of purple sandpipers at hampton piper

DARTFORD WARBLER

today i had arrange to meet adam and martyn, to try and see the dartford warbler which is  along sandwich bay,as i got there at the poly tunnels, the two steves turn up so we walked down to the beach as we got there adam pointed out where had seen it the other day, as we wandered though the buck thorn with no luck. then i heard it call which to me sounded  very much like a high pitch dunnock,then it flew up and flew down, where we was, so we spent the next hour trying to get a shot,it was calling most off thimewith this everyone soon departed, leaving me there, then martyn turn up, we spent another hour trying for a photo lucky it popped up a few times just long enough to get a shot in a lifer for at last

after this i went home, and later on i popped out  for purple sandpiper at hampton pier soon found two which     must of like their photos being taken great view down to a few feet away

really enjoying my birding again best move i made was sticking to the coast i will no doubt stay coastal for next year

BACK TO DOVER

a return to the two piers today at dover, first stop was the prince of wales with four great crested grebes in the inner and a greylag goose on the hoverpad apart from that not a lot,moving on to the Admiralty with the weather showing sighs of raining hard, i head to the top of the pier seeing a few kittiwakes on the way hopefully numbers will increase

as i was watching the sea a med gull shot pass still showing signs of it hood.

with light fading fast and it started to rain a female mergansar flew, just after i put the camera away "bollocks" heading back along i had a coffeee at the cafe and a general catch up we were both hoping for a change in the weather, him for cod me for auks then as normal things happened,as i was holding my coffee a rock pipit landed right next to me quick grab for the camera out of the bag a nice shot of a rock pipit

FLORENCE uffizi gallery and piazza del duo mo

uffizi gallery great if you like art for me a load old .......... 13euro long queue 2hours plus for art,nearly had early exit as took a photo in there which i thought was aloud but it turned out it was the most famous picture there whoops!!!!!birth of venus by Botticelli

PIAZZA DEL DUO MO
what a church it was spell bounding and the tower with four hundred step views out this world tierd by you got to the top

it looks even better in the dark