Don't you just love it when a plan comes off. I had been waiting for a suitable day to visit Brighton Marina, the plan - to photograph Purple Sandpipers. The early morning weather looked fair, some sunshine and light cloud. The journey along the coast to Brighton is never quick, more a leisurely drive, with queues at every junction and each set of lights. However, parking at the marina was easy, free as well, and a fairly long walk to the eastern arm of the marina paid off. At the undercliff there were several Rock Pipits posing for a photograph, on the arm itself I found ten confiding Purple Sandpipers waiting for the tide to recede. On the way back a bonus, a Guillemot swimming around in the marina and fairly close too. Then lo and behold another on the seaward side this time, just as close and duly snapped. Then the sun came out and blue skies set in so a quick dash home for the big lens and off up to The Burgh again to get some decent shots of the Red Kites. Wrong! after half an hour - thick dark grey cloud and rain showers. Thanks BBC for the accurate forecast.
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| Rock Pipit |
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| Puprple Sandpiper |
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| Guillemot |
Great photos! I've only been to the marina once before and saw nothing, so I was wondering if there are any particular places you have to go?
ReplyDeleteThanks.
Hi and thanks for the kind comments. Visits to the eastern arm of the marina tend to be more productive, not sure why, perhaps the western arm is more exposed to the prevailing south westerlies. There are always birds present on the beach and undercliff at the start of the arm. The last couple of hundred yards of the arm are protected on the seaward side by some odd shaped concrete structures, the Purplies are normally lurking amongst them. There are also birds frequenting the inside of the marina, particularly in the north east corner, where the fishing boats are tied up. Hope this is of help and good luck.
DeleteDave