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Charlotte Weddell

@lottiecamera

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A personal journal of my wanderings as I try to document nature and wildlife with a quiet and understated approach.
My gallery is archived yearly.

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After arriving at the caravan park and dumping my stuff, I set out for my first seawall walk at around 2ish.

I was having a great time watching waders and a kestrel hunting when this Marsh Harrier caught my eye. It was very distant, but they're always great to see.

I kept an eye out for harriers on my other walks, but none appeared.

#marshharrier #allhallows #kent #estuarybirding by @lottiecamera

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2 hours ago

That feeling when you're having a moment just admiring the stillness of the estuary, and the sky comes alive with oystercatchers.

#estuarylife #estuarybirding #kent #shoot_small #oystercatchers by @lottiecamera

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8 hours ago

This is what it's like when you hear a curlew calling across the vast muddy foreshore of an estuary. Bins up, scanning, and then… bingo.

#curlew #estuarybirding #estuary #kent #allhallows by @lottiecamera

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16 hours ago

Wheatears have been a bit like buses for me this year. Once you get your eye in on one, they start appearing all over the place.

They're usually here until late October, before they head off back to Africa for the winter. Once they're gone, we won't see them again until March.

#wheatear #kentbirding #estuarybirding #allhallows by @lottiecamera

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18 hours ago

The London Stone is a Grade II-listed obelisk erected by the Corporation of the City of London to mark the easternmost boundary of the City's legal and conservancy jurisdiction over the River Thames.

When was it built, and what does that mean? Read on…

It meant the Corporation was supposed to look after things like regulating trade and shipping, managing fisheries and preventing encroachments. However, its management of the river was criticised because the Corporation prioritised making money from granting licences to build wharves and embankments along the river, while the conservancy of the river went by the wayside.

The government of the time wasn't impressed with this, and the Crown saw an opportunity to assert its own rights over the riverbed and shores. The dispute dated back to 1840, but it took years to develop into a legal challenge. All in all, the story spans around 17 years!

Although the Corporation was losing control, it erected the London Stone in 1856 in what looks like an almost desperate attempt to assert its authority, which it believed it had because of a 700-year-old Royal Charter.

And here is the mad part — the following year, the battle was over, the Corporation lost, and the Thames Conservancy Act was passed. This brought in modern (for the time) rules and regulations for the river, including measures to improve navigation and conserve the waterway, with two-thirds of the revenue from the riverbed and shores going towards river improvements.

I was looking for a ghostly shipping story to go with this photo, but it turns out the stone had a different story to share.

#thelondonstone #yantletcreek #allhallows #thameshistory by @lottiecamera

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a day ago

"To look out over water is the sweetest beginning"

From Black Water by Paul Blake

#kentbirding #allhallows
#hoopeninsula #esturarylife #shoot_small by @lottiecamera

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2 days ago

Live your life with little or no egrets.

Yes, I did go there. 😬

I feel like I need to say something profound now to redeem myself. How about some history?

Although Little Egrets are a common sight across the UK now, they declined globally in the 19th century (those bloody Victorians again – see my Little Owl post) due to the millinery plume trade. Some published figures estimate that around 200 million, potentially more, birds were killed. The UK breeding population was pretty much eradicated.

Prominent naturalist of the time, W. H. Hudson, campaigned against the trade by working alongside other RSPB founding members to secure important legislation: the Importation of Plumage (Prohibition) Act 1921. Sadly, he passed away before the Act was passed.

If we fast-forward to today, the reasons cited for Little Egret success include range expansion, improved habitat conditions, and climate change.

As an aside, if you're not aware of W. H. Hudson go and look him up. His books offer an interesting insight to those times, and also check out a book called - Etta Lemon: The Woman Who Saved Birds.

#littleegret #estuarybirding #allhallows
#kent #shoot_small by @lottiecamera

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2 days ago

Collared Doves were a feature around the caravan. They look so dapper, I think.

#allhallows #estuarylife #kentbirding #estuarybirding by @lottiecamera

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2 days ago

This has been my view for the week. Just a short walk out from the caravan takes you here.

Estuary, marshes and grazing fields sit alongside these imposing gas tanks, creating such a weird juxtaposition that is oddly beautiful. Granted, it's not everyone's cup of tea, but I bloody love it.

Humans may rule the world (or like to think they do), but these marshes belong to Mother Nature, and I'm glad she was kind to me this week. She even laid on a welcoming party of mosquitoes, which I embraced with open, loving arms (OK, that's not quite true. I'm very allergic to the buggers and wasn't that chuffed).

#allhallows #kent #natureandindustry #marshlands by @lottiecamera

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3 days ago

The 💩 that blows in off the Thames is horrendous. You can't really see it clearly in this photo but there was quite a lot of rubbish, some of it old, as it was clearly degraded.

The sad thing is along this stretch of coastal walk there are bays, which are habitats for birds.

#allhallows #environment #rubbish by @lottiecamera

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4 days ago

It was like Spring on Thursday, especially with the skylarks singing overhead.

#walking #coastalpath #kent #allhallows #autumnsun by @lottiecamera

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4 days ago

This has become one of my favourite walks. There is a seawall which extends from the caravan park right up to Yantlet Creek. Sadly, you can't walk any further as the coast path gate is locked. It's MOD land beyond.

On the estuary side you look out over the Thames across to Southend-on-Sea, and as it curves round into Yantlet Creek, you see Yantlet Beach beyond. It's not an accessible beach, but rather a beach used by birds to roost. On one walk there were dozens of Black-tailed Godwits, among other waders resting there.

On the inland side of the wall, you are faced with scrubby, grazing marsh. There is a Kestrel that regularly hunts here, and I've had a brief sighting of a Marsh Harrier.

The way the light changes depending on the weather and the time of day is incredible.

This photo is only from my phone, but you get a gist of the light just before sunset.

#allhallows #seawall #marshland #estuary #yantletcreek by @lottiecamera

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4 days ago