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| Great Northern Diver
© Chris Robinson
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After
tempestuous Storm Brendan twelve Lym Nats stalwarts met for a walk at Lepe
Country Park. The forecast was not great and way to the west we could see the
next weather system heading our way, so with no time to loose we headed east.
We joined the coast near Stansore Point, where on Stansore Pools a handful of
Brent Geese fed along with a couple of Redshank. Oystercatchers, Black-headed
Gulls, whilst a lone Common Gull just appeared to be resting. The Solent was
choppy, whipped up by the onshore wind,
but that hadn’t deterred the Great Northern Diver that loafed amongst the waves
quite close to the shore. Along the shore Turnstones searched for sustenance
along the tide line, where we also saw Rock Pipit, Pied Wagtail and a female
Stonechat. Fly-overs included a Raven and Buzzard.
After
we looked at the D-Day information board the first spits of rain were carried
on the wind, so we headed back towards the car park up the sheltered lane. By
the time we were there that shower had passed, so the bird hide and woodland
walk along the eastern side of the nearby Dark Water River beckoned.
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| Long-tailed Tits
© Chris Robinson
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A number
of the conspicuous plants such as Bay, Lesser Periwinke and Broad-leaved Bamboo
were naturalised species, perhaps from the gardens of the large house that was
there until the 1970s. On reaching the bird hide that overlooked the Dark Water
River we realised that recent heavy rains had raised the waterlevels so there
was nowhere for shorebirds to feed, although that didn’t bother the likes of
Shelduck, Gadwall and Little Grebe. The bird feeders in front of the hide
attracted an endless succession of Blue Tits, but the most interesting perhaps
was the cluster of hungry and hyper-active Long-tailed Tits that appeared
shortly after we settled into the hide.
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| Black Nightshade
© Richard Coomber
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When
we left we took the boardwalk beside the Dark Water reed-beds towards the sea
before heading up the hill towards the site of the old house and thence back to
the car park. Little was seen of note although perhaps Black Nightshade in
flower was a little surprising for the books say its flowering period is from
July – September! Is climate change to blame? RC