ZigZags

This is the view I very nearly blipped yesterday, in the event I went for the sunset half a mile further on down the Sandside road - for a comparison with the blip of a year ago. That was planned, today's was not, but looking back a year, the 3 March 2011 blip was taken from almost exactly the same spot. A portrait rather than a landscape, and again showing how the conformation of the mudflats has changed in the Kent estuary. As the sun dipped today, it lit up the edges of the mud bars in the estuary emphasising the ziggyzaggy arrangement of mudflat and channel.

There were fewer gulls in the estuary this afternoon than yesterday. It was a good bird day though for different reasons. I got up early on an overcast and drizzly morning, and went to Sizergh hawfinch spotting. I've never been lucky here before as Brokenbanjo reminds me. But this morning they were showing well, with at least 7 birds feeding on the ground being watched by a huddle of birders. I even have some blurry but recognisable photos to prove to BB they were there when I was. There were goldfinches feeding with them, tiny by comparison, and demonstrating what muscley bruisers hawfinches are with their huge bills that can crack a cherry stone. Hawfinch takes me on to 105 species for the year.

Later in the day the weather unexpectedly improved, Bob the cat basked on top of the big red Volvo (and was nearly the emergency cat blip), and we managed to start tackling the neglected garden. I'm looking forward to the clocks changing in a few weeks, as then we shall have some usable time after work.