Marsh, Shingle, Concrete and Rust

Today we revisited Orford Ness, a long, isolated spit of land off the Suffolk coast, only accessible by boat, and now partly in the care of the National Trust. It's difficult to describe, and much of what happened there is subject to the official secrets act, as it was used for various top secret military purposes. Now it is abandoned and is left for nature to take over. There is some information and interpretation there, but for me, its charm is the way nature has reclaimed this place of dereliction. On the landward side, it is mostly grazing marsh and scrub, and on the seaward side, it is shingle, colonised in strips by a wonderful assortment of plants. We didn't see a huge number of types of bird compared to previous days' outings but there were some interesting ones including Little Owl and Spoonbill, Wheatear and Snipe and the ubiquitous Avocet and Marsh Harrier. One of the most numerous sightings was Stonechat, which is my main image for today, atop one of the many concrete fence posts.
The weather was similar to yesterday - grey and cool but the predicted rain didn't materialise until much later. We called in at the Smokery in Orford for a few treats before returning to the cottage, and as the sun actually put in an appearance shortly before setting, we had a crepuscular stroll across the heath, seeing a few Red Deer and hearing a couple of Muntjac barking loudly from the cover of the woodland.
A day off is called for tomorrow, before we resume our busy schedule on Monday ;-D