May 21st Cley

Avocet with chicks

A short visit to Cley this morning. Avocet chicks were dotted across the islands of the main pools with their parents chasing off every other bird away. The avocets were just too overprotective and dominated the centre of the pools, pushing the other species to the pool's edges. Only the brave and the bold would remain close enough to these black and white iconic waders. There were a couple of  greenshanks around, but they were the most bullied bird here and were continuously harassed by the avocets. I felt sorry for those greenshanks, they did nothing wrong and were no threat to the avocet's tiny bundles of fluff.

Avocet Chicks

Greenshank

Black-tailed Godwits

Tufted Duck

Woodpigeon

Goldfinch

House Sparrow

Elsewhere, reed and sedge warblers were giving us the run around as they sang from various perches obstructed by surrounding dense vegetation. Meanwhile, we also watched swallows and house martins coming down to a puddle to gather mud to build their nests with.

Reed Warbler

Swallow

House Martin