It was deceptively cold when we started the walk, it only warmed up as we got back towards the Car Park when the wind dropped and the sun came out! The tide was out, making a marked difference from the last walk we did here. There was plenty of mud exposed and many more birds were taking advantage of it.
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Brent Geese © Chris Robinson |
Adily and imamature male Red-breasted Mergansers ©
Chris Robinson
There were
good numbers Shelduck, Shovelers, Wigeon and Teal. Several Gadwall and a number
of Tufted Duck were on Keyhaven Lagoon.
Gadwall pair (male left, female right) ©
Chris Robinson
On Fishtail
these were joined by Pintails, whilst on the seaward side Redshanks were seen
in abundance.
Common Snipe ©
Chris Robinson
We continued on past Butts Lagoon to Pennington Lagoon, the other side of the jetty, to find the reported Spoonbills, Avocets and Snipe. One of the Spoonbills wore a Dutch ring (see photo), but we are still waiting for further details from the Dutch authorities.
Spoonbills ©
Chris Robinson
As we turned to retrace our steps westward a distant Eider was spotted. We also saw what I thought were several Meadow Pipits foraging amongst the debris by the steps. It wasn’t till later that Marion suggested they might be Skylarks, which they were! They didn’t move like MPs so I really should have known just from the way they were feeding and walking around. Thanks to Marion for pointing this out. Other than the larks the only small birds we really saw were Reed Buntings.
Skylark ©
Chris Robinson
Some of us also saw Little Egrets and a couple of Grey Herons.
The sun began to shine as we got back to the cars (or in John’s case his bike). A really good number of birds seen. CR