Ruddy Turnstone

 I had been watching a small group of these birds feeding on the rocks at the bas of the harbour wall in Whitby. They were using their beaks to flip over the seaweed in search of a meal. It was quite mesmerising watching them as they were so focused. What I hadn't realised however was that there were more of them on top of the harbour wall just a few metres away and it seems like they were hoping for handouts from the people walking by.

I was able to capture several nice shots of them and have selected just a few to share with you.

They are seemingly quite tame but also constantly on the move. These birds are still in their winter plumage, in the summer they have very distinctive markings, much bolder browns and a lot more white on the heads.

Turnstones do not  breed in the UK, apparently there is only one possible recorded breeding event and that was in Scotland in 1976. Those that do visit the UK will breed in Northern Europe, Greenland and NE Canada. For a small bird they are very hardy and have been known to live to 22 years of age.

Turnstone

 I love wildlife photography, patiently waiting and getting up close to beautiful creatures is so rewarding and something I have really missed doing. Yesterday when I went out I was planning on photographing the lighthouse (see yesterdays' blog) and the sea defences along the beach at New Brighton but I always go out prepared for any eventuality and I was so glad I did because I spotted a small flock of Turnstones taking a break among the concrete structures.

I cautiously approached hoping not to spook them and trying not to get wet or snag my clothes on the barnacles etc. I guess the birds felt quite safe because although they were certainly alert and paid attention to my presence they didn't fly away so I managed to get a few really nice shots.

Seabirds and Waders

There's quite a lot to see in today's post with a variety of birds spotted on my walk along the beaches at Runswick Bay and Staithes.

The first shot is of a pair of loved up Fulmar. While I was watching them they engaged in a bit of courtship behaviour unfortunately the shots I got of that were not very clear, given the light and the distance and the fact that I was shooting against a dark background it was quite tricky getting a sharp image. These birds are not gulls but a species of Petrel and they have a distinctive channel on top of their beak. I tried to get some shots of them in flight and they are really skilled fliers, they move so fast so I didn't get the shots I had hoped. I was amazed how they could fly directly at the cliff face at speed and then at the very last moment brake and land safely on the smallest of ledges.

The next three pictures are of Oyster Catchers, three in flight and then others wading in the shallow pools and silt. These seem really gentle birds and they allowed me to get quite close.

The next picture is of a Herring Gull, I think these are quite beautiful birds although they have a bit of a reputation as thugs and thieves.  They're quite fearless around people and are known to steal food from peoples' hands.  This particular bird was patrolling the car park at Staithes looking for handouts, he didn't get anything from me.

The final pictures are my favourite from today, not necessarily because they are great photos but more because they are of a bird I had never seen before, a Turnstone.  These lovely little birds were scavenging among the debris along the shoreline in the harbour at Staithes.  They were quite gregarious and seemed quite at ease with my presence taking pictures. The first of these shots shows the bird living up to its' name.