22nd August - Hook with Warsash, Hampshire

After the success of finding the Yellow Wagtails and Whinchat at the TLC for Horses field in Hook, I wanted another go so Ian and I arranged to meet at the Sub Station on Workmans Lane.

A kestrel was sitting on one of the pylons as I waited for Ian to arrive.  From the cars we walked around to the TLC field.  Once again the Swallows were on the overhead wires, mostly juvenile birds.

We walked on to the Donkey Field where there was quite a lot of activity along the fence and hedge line.  Several Stonechats were moving from the ground to the fence and there was at least one Whinchat, but the light was terrible.

On the other side of the path we found a Wheatear, but again a long way off.  It was the Yellow Wagtails we wanted to see and we walked towards a group of three horses and on the ground around them  was an immaculate adult Yellow Wagtail, but it was on the other side of the fence..

We moved a little further away and had a clearer view of the bird.  Here a typical Yellow Wagtail pose as it darts at the insects disturbed by the horse's hooves.

Yellow Wagtails do not breed in the county, the last recorded breeding was in 2003, we now get to see them on passage.  One or two during the spring but it is in the autumn passage that they arrive in numbers.  They winter in Africa and large flocks gather around the south coast usually where there are cattle or horses.  The TLC is one of those regular sites to see them in Hampshire.

We counted 25 to 30 birds when they took to the air the familiar 'seep' calls being heard as they flew away.

We walked back to the entrance and stood by the gate to watch the Swallows and House Martins on the wires above.  Of course there was the challenge to photograph them in flight around the wires.

House Martin

A Swallow catching flies.

The fly is below you.

One zipping past me.

A young fox appeared and then walked into the bushes, probably a cub from this year, then a vixen appeared and stopped to check us out.

She stuck around, lying down in the sunshine.

It was back to the hirundines flying around us.  An immature Swallow, the lack of tail streamers and the scaly plumage giving away its age.

Another House Martin.

We left the TLC and headed down to the beach and then walked towards Warsash.  The area of gorse is good for chats and wheatears at this time of year.  When I checked earlier in the week drew a blank but this morning there was a single Wheatear amongst the gorse.

Then fortunately it flew to the fence and stood on one of the posts.

Showing off the 'white arse' that gives it it's name.

Always checking the ground for any chance of a meal.

The Wheatear is one of those photogenic birds, whether it is the clean plumage or the bird's stature, I am not sure but you have to photograph them.

Looking along the line of fence posts.

The best of the bunch, showing off those clean lines.

We walked along the beach and in amongst the clear blue skies there was one small cloud above Fawley.  I took this and then when we looked back a couple of minutes later it was gone!

Nothing else of big interest along the beach, Oystercatchers on the exposing mud and a fly past by a group of Black-tailed Godwits.  We decided to walk around a loop through Hook Park.  This Red Admiral sunning on the trunk of a tree.

We walked past the grand houses and rubbished almost all of them.  Back at Workmans Lane there were a few immature Sand Martins on the wires.

We decided to go back to the tLC as the sun had now moved and the light may be a little better.  As we walked past the gate on the left hand side I saw a Spotted Flycatcher on the fence.  It stayed hidden for a while then flew up to one of the trees.

Then it came back to the fence.

It spent sometime foraging on the ground and amongst the vegetation, not something I had seen before, then flew to the bushes and out of sight.  We decided to walk on and as we came past the bushes the flycatcher was on the fence wires.

It would move from the fence to the ground, but always returning, giving some great views.

Finally it flew over our heads and into the trees on the other side of the path.  Feeling elated at finding the flycatcher we decided to walk on and to see if the Yellow Wagtails were still around.  As we approached the Donkey Field there was a bird on the fence post close to the track and it turned out too be a Whinchat.  At first with it's back to me

The sun was kind in popping behind the clouds and this provided some nice light and a lovely soft background.

Again a smart little bird that sports a very distinctive white eye stripe.

It moved from the post to the wires and then away into the trees.

As we searched for the Whinchat we found two Wheatear at the top of the tree.

Moving around to get into better light we realised that there were in fact more than two Wheatear, in fact there were six and they were feeding in the field.  This one doing an impression of a Meerkat.

There were a few Yellow Wagtails around the horses at the barn, but they were not showing as well as earlier.

We walked back to the car for some lunch and then down to the beach where the tide was out.  There were none of the Mediterranean Gulls that had been present on Thursday, but there were six Common Gulls.

Back in the TLC the Yellow Wagtails were in the middle of the field and Whitethroat and this Willow Warbler were either in the bushes or feeding on the ground around the vegetation.

We stood watching the area for a while before we had to move on and go back to the cars.  Overhead a pair of Raven were displaying and calling.  It had been a good day with some lovely close ups of birds that can be difficult to photograph here due to the light

20th August - Hook, Warsash and Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

Showers were forecast today and all around as I drove south the clouds were dark and threatening.  The plan today was to start at Hook, specifically the TLC field for Horses on Workman Lane.  I parked up and walked around to the field.  Swallows were all around the overhead wires, juvenile birds having just fledged and waiting to be fed by the parents.

I walked up to the area known as the Donkey Field which currently doesn't have a donkey in it, and had a Wheatear pointed out to me in the field opposite.

There is a fence line that runs east alongside the Donkey Field and this is the area where the chats get at this time of year.  There were two Stonechats present and a very distant single Whinchat.

I was though here for the Yellow Wagtails, two flew over calling but kept going.  I walked around the filed and checked the horses and found four feeding around the horse's mouths and feet.

Apparently there have been up to twelve in the area, the maximum I saw was four at one time.

I walked back to Workman Lane and concentrated on the swallows on the wires.

Here a juvenile Swallow still showing the yellow gape on the mouth.

You wait for the young bird to flap its wings and then you know the adult is coming to feed it.

The juveniles stayed on the wires, but the adults were also perching in the nearby oak tree, not something I have seen before.

Amongst the Swallows were a few immature Sand Martins.

And immature House Martins that were also perching in the oak tree.

I decided to walk down to the beach behind the sub station.  Walking down the lane there was a Whitethroat amongst the bramble.

And a little further along the obligatory Painted Lady.

As I came out on to the beach I disturbed two Curlew.

I wanted to check the gorse area to see if there were any Whinchats and Wheatear, but it was very quiet, with nothing moving at all.

The clouds were bubbling up away to the west, rain was coming and the wind had picked up.  The clouds look very impressive in black and white.

Oystercatchers were moving, all mostly flying up Southampton Water.

When I reached the slipway at the bottom of the path that runs down adjacent to Solent Breezes holiday park I noticed a collection of gulls on the foreshore.  As I walked down to get a closer look I passed a Common Gull on the beach.

There was a ring on the left leg, however the only characters I could see was the number '3', which isn't going to be much use in getting information.

I initially thought the bird to be an adult but on a closer look you can see that the tertiaries are in moult which would indicate that this is probably a third year bird moulting into the adult plumage.

The gulls on the foreshore were Mediterranean Gulls, adults having lost their black hoods but retaining the pure white plumage, a black smudge behind the eye and the lovely red bill.

From Warsash I drove around to Titchfield Haven once more.  I parked on the sea wall and away to the west there were very dark clouds that were threatening rain.  I decided to try and watch out the possible storm by having lunch in the Meon Shore Hide.  Things hadn't changed much from my last visit, the water level was high and the young Common Tern was sitting with the parent on the wooden perches.

There was only a splash of rain as the storm passed to the north of us, but this did provide a lovely dark sky to photograph the Common Terns against.

For some reason everything went up on the scrape and then flew around for awhile.  This brought the Black-tailed Godwits close to the hide, this individual passing right in front of the hide.

Eventually everything settled down and from nowhere a Spoonbill appeared at the top end of the scrape.  

I wanted to check the bay for the reported Garganey so walked around to the viewing platform to find there were no duck.  This bird has made a habit of disappearing, so it may possibly be still around maybe in front of the closed Suffern Hide!.

Watching from the bridge a Common Tern fished in the river water.

Another patch of heavy dark clouds were threatening from the west, the onshore winds helping the many wind surfers out on the Solent.

The clouds were very dramatic over Fawley.

The rain hit as I was driving along the A27 and M27 home.  At times visibility being reduced to the car in front.  Water was everywhere but probably not being collected in the right places.  By the time I turned onto the M3 it was dry and remained so all the way home.