1st September - Farlington Marshes, Hampshire - Part Two

Part two of my visit to Farlington and a slightly different experience to that first thing but in no way lacking in the quality of part one

The Lake at Farlington at this time of year can provide some very good conditions for autumn waders and this was definitely the case today  There was visible mud and some shallow water, the waders were roosting in the shallow water with a lot of duck occupying the deep water to the middle of the lake.

The one problem is the distance from the sea wall not being that conducive to photography and today matters were made worse by the heat haze.  It was a case of viewing with the telescope, so I settled down in the grass on the bank of sea wall and scanned through the flocks.

There were large flocks of Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank and in amongst them were Dunlin.  The most recent attraction though were the Curlew Sandpiper, but as I scanned through the flocks in search I came across thee two Little Stint, here feeding with a lone Dunlin for size comparisons.  This unfortunately is just a record shot.

I found the Curlew Sandpipers, at one point I counted 15, but there may well have been many more.  Once again they were distant and difficult to get a decent shot.  This flight image was the best I could get of one, again with Dunlin.

At one point the waders were spooked and flew around the scrape, here Redshank, Black-tailed Godwits, Dunlin and a few Knot in amongst them.

A large flock of Black-tailed Godwits lew around the scrape looking smart against some of the darker grey clouds that had appeared.

I had seen Grey Plover out in the harbour, but a flock of just over sixty dropped on to the Lake, many of them still in their silver and black summer plumage.

One broke ranks and came a little closer.

As the tide was almost at its highest the duck started to move.  I had seen Teal and Gadwall on the water, but not really scanned for anything else.  Flying around the Lake were the first Wigeon of the year and about thirty Pintail.  Here Wigeon and a single Pintail.

The Pintail came head on before breaking away and splitting up.

As everything settled down to see out the high tide I decided to walk back down to the stream.  There was a herd of cattle by the water and I had been told that there were Yellow Wagtail amongst them.  Last year I had my best views of Yellow Wagtail here and by the stream, so I was hoping I would get similar views today.

As I approached the cattle quite a sizeable flock of Yellow Wagtail flew up into the nearby bush that had quite a few dead branches.

A female type.

They soon returned to the ground and started to forage amongst the grass and the cattle.

I was kneeling down and concentrating on the wagtails when I noticed that one cow had become quite inquisitive about my presence.  As I turned to watch where the cow was a Yellow Wagtail flew to the cow nand stopped on the grass on the other side to me, very close.  I could see it through the cow's legs.  This gave me some of the closest views I have ever had of what is normally a very shy bird and normally flies off with any approach.

The Yellow Wagtail finally flew off but almost immediately afterwards a Cattle Egret appeared.  The black bill and lack of any orange brown on the breast and crest show this to be a immature, probably one of this year's fledglings.

So it was back to the Yellow Wagtails and I decided the best way was to kneel down and wait and they would come to me, which they did, through the grass.

Feeding around the muzzle of a cow.

Here a smart yellow male.

They all flew into the bushes once again and as I approached many flew out, back to the cattle, but one or two stayed showing well and sat nicely for me.

There was one below on an ant hill in that lunging pose the Yellow Wagtail uses when hunting for flies.

The last one in the bushes sat at the top of the tree and after preening sat nicely for me.

Once again the cattle at Farlington had brought about a wonderful Yellow Wagtail experience and they were not finished as the Cattle Egret returned.

It made its way to another cow that was close to me and like the Yellow Wagtail earlier appeared between the cows legs.

The binocular set of the eyes give them a comical look.

Inspecting the cows.

And finally my favourite, the egret appearing around the muzzle of the cow, again with that quizzical and comical appearance.

I hadn't been to Farlington for some while and did not know what to expect.  It was a brilliant day with some quality birds and some great encounters.

1st September - Farlington Marshes, Hampshire - Part One

It has been a while since I have visited Farlington.  This time of year can prove to be quite fruitful, so where better to spend the day on the first of September and the start of the meteorological autumn.

There is work going on around the ditches to open them for better breeding conditions next spring.  This meant that the lower car park was closed.  The work though did not have any impact on the birds around the reserve. 

I set off through the bushes and as I reached the open grass area there were plenty of Clouded Yellow about including this 'Helice' variation, a paler female.

Here the clean clouded Yellow, with a much fuller yellow colour.

There were Clouded Yellow everywhere, as I walked they would take off from the grass and were in numbers I have never experienced before, more than at Fishlake last Saturday.

As I came onto the white post path there was an immature Kestrel perched at the top of a bush.

Ity soon became clear that there was a lot of activity in the bushes with Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Whitethroats calling and buzzing around the bushes.

Here one of the Willow Warblers.

This warbler had me thinking and maybe hoping as it moved through the hawthorn bush, the colour and size of the bill much different from the Chiffchaff and Willow Warblers.  

Here eating blackberries I settled on a Reed Warbler, completely out of the habitat you would expect to see them in.

Several Whitethroat were about, this adult having a bit of a fight with a couple of Robins.

Another surprise was a few Spotted Flycatchers.  They showed very well catching insects from the hawthorn bushes.  At first hiding in the middle of the bush.

But then coming out into the open and perching from a prominent perch.

A lovely background and some great shots.

They moved around the bushes and would fly around the grass in a similar style to that used by the Bee-eaters.

It seems to have been a good autumn passage through the county this year, birds that are always welcome to see.

Finally some views from behind showing the white fringes to the flight feathers.

Leaving the flycatchers I chased another Clouded Yellow 'helice'.

I was trying to catch the butterfly in flight and this was the best I could manage.

As well as the Clouded Yellows there were plenty of Common Blues, this a smart male.

Leaving the bushes I heard a Lesser Whitethroat calling but was not able to find it.

From the Information hut this Common Sandpiper flew across the stream.

Passing the Hay field there were quite a few cattle, but I could only find one Cattle Egret and it was very distant and in a strong heat haze.

There were lots of flowers by the side of the path, mainly yellow daisies and in amongst them and the grasses were more butterflies.  A female Common Blue.

A Small Copper.

Small Heath

And another Common Blue perched on the seed had of a grass stem.

Walking along the east side of the sea wall, more warblers in the bushes.  This a Willow Warbler.  The wing projection isn't clear here

But in these two photographs you can see the long wings and flesh coloured legs.

Here you can clearly see the longer wing projection and the pale legs.

I followed this Kestrel uniting along the edge of the bramble bushes the other side of the sea wall.  There were two drops but both were unsuccessful.

A Whinchat was perched om a distant post and was joined later by another in the brambles close to the sluice at the Lake.

The tide was rising and a Little Egret was fishing in a chanel alongs side the sea wall.

I had my timing just right, I wanted to be at the Lake as the tide was about a couple of hours from being at its height.  I was hoping that there would be some good waders on the Lake, the conditions were looking perfect.  But I will save the details of that for part two of this post.

So far it was a very rewarding visit with some quality birds and some great photographic opportunities.