7th November - Bearded Tit - Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

Bearded Tits are one of several birds that are sought after by photographers, the sort of bird you probably have many images of, but always want more.  I have referred to todays sightings in the previous post, but due to the number of images I took, I felt it only right that they had their own post like some of the other special birds I have seen and photographed this year.

It all started with some movement in the reeds seen first by Ian, then brief views of the female until the male popped out, the male with his blue grey head and drooping Mexican moustache, not anything like a beard!

The female flew first flying across to the left hand side of the hide, the male followed but stopped in the clump of reeds just centrally in front of the hide.  Unfortunately it never showed well here and was soon off to join the female in the reeds on the left hand side.

They stayed out of sight for a while until the familiar 'pings' were heard and the female appeared showing off her acrobatic skills.

Lacking the colour and the black moustache of the male she is often overlooked, but she has the same abilities in the reeds and can be just as impressive.

She ducked back into the reeds and it was only a matter of time before the male appeared.  The arrival was heralded by the movement of the reeds until the head appeared.

Then the split legs shots as the Bearded Tit balance on two reed stems.

Then going back to some more conventional stem perching.

The Bearded Tit is cinnamon-brown with a long, brown tail. It has the blue-grey head with a distinctive black 'moustache' (rather than a beard) and a yellow bill and eyes. As we have seen the females are less colourful than males, and do not have the moustache.

The Bearded Tit is mainly found in large reedbeds where it feeds on insects during the summer and breeding season and reed seeds in the winter. It builds its nest low down among the reeds, often on piles of dead reed stems. Bearded tits can be heard calling with a nasal 'ting' or 'ping' sound as they fly about the reeds which can be heard from some distance across the reeds.

The male then came out of the reeds and moved up the stems into the morning sunshine.

The Bearded Tit is also known as 'Bearded Reedling' or 'Bearded Parrotbill'. In fact, it is not actually a tit or parrotbill, but today it is known to lack close relatives and it is the only species in the family Panuridae. 

Bearded Tits are strongly sexually dimorphic and form life-long pairs. They are highly productive and can breed several times in a season. 

The drooping moustache reminds me of several people, the actor and comedian Jimmy Edwards sported an impressive moustache, and a good friend and football manager of mine, now sadly departed Nigel Cassidy who used to play for Oxford United in the seventies.

It dropped down into the reeds and we watched the female fly across in front of us once again.  The male eventually appeared in the reeds, gave a short showing before flying across to join her and disappearing out of sight once more.

A great showing and lot more images to ad to those I already have of this charismatic bird.

7th November - Hill Head and Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

It was a cold start but the forecast mist wasn't too bad.  There was a haze on the sea when I arrived at Cliff Road, but the high tide was still and the visibility not too bad.  I scanned the sea and found two Brent Geese, but along side them was a smaller bird.  It lacked the white you would normally see in a Great Crested Grebe and wasn't as big as an Eider.  I took a few record shots that were not conclusive.

I could see it was a grebe and immediately thought it could be the Slavonian Grebe that had been present a few days earlier and put the report out.  I walked down to the sea wall and the grebe was a little closer and I doubted my identification.  An upright head with an upturned beak and from behind I could see white patches either side of the neck.  I changed my report to a Black-necked Grebe.

It was heading west so I dashed around the harbour to the sea wall by the Sailing Club spit where ic ould get a better view, not a stunning shot but it definitely was a Black-necked Grebe.

This was the second I have seen here at Hill Head.  

Also on the water were several Great Crested Grebes, this one close in.

I walked back to the Cabin where I was meeting Ian.  The tide was high and the Turnstone were looking for roosting sites.  The low sun and early morning mist gave a tinted glow to the silhouettes of the birds on the harbour groynes.

I walked up to the Brownwich Cliffs but there was little about, a good sized flock of Stock Dove in the field and a Buzzard sat on a straw bale in the middle of the field. Walking back the clouds and stillness of the Solent made for an impressive seascape.

From the cliffs we made our way to the Meon Shore hide, where for once there was a Black-tailed Godwit roosting on the Snipe island.

Reed movement on the right hand side of the hide revealed a pair of Bearded Tits, the male showing well as it emerged from the reeds.

The Bearded Tits were to put on quite a show later on and they will be given their own post as I took quite a few photographs of these photogenic birds.  The pair flew across in front of the hide to the reeds on th eleft hand side,

But it wasn't all about the Bearded Tits there was plenty going on around the scrape, which was looking splendid in the now lovely autumn sunshine.

High tide sees the Oystercatchers coming on to the islands on the scrape and they gather together calling all the time.

A Lapwing around the island in front of the hide.

The scrape was flushed by a male Sparrowhawk that flew to the predator fence to sit, preen and watch before flying off towards the West Hide.  It was back later and seen chasing the godwits which surely were a little too big for him.

The Black-tailed Godwit was replaced by a Redshank in almost the same place.

Two drake Pintail flew in the one still in partial eclipse and this one that looks in full breeding plumage.

While the Snipe were dropping in to join the others on Snipe island.

Also on the move were Black-tailed Godwit.

And Lapwing.

The Water Pipit that was seen on Thursday was showing in front of the Spurgin hide so we decided to walk up there and see if we could find it.  On arrival it had disappeared but did return and after a short wait it appeared.

The Water Pipit is a large and stocky pipit and similar to the more common meadow and rock pipits. They are slightly larger than a meadow pipit, have a paler colouration and are much less streaky, though they can be more difficult to separate from rock pipits.

The Water Pipit then flew off with a Grey Wagtail and a Pied Wagtail.  In the break a Cetti's Warbler showed in the reeds to the north side of the hide, showing well as it caught insects close to the water.

The Water Pipit returned and this time came closer to the hide.  At one point it caught a Common Darter and spent some time eating it and then after that, standing still as it digested the insect.

After about twenty minutes it started to move about once again.

Water pipits have a greyish-brown back and pale underparts (whiter than a rock pipit's), with the dark streaking mostly on the breast. They usually have a distinctively bold, pale stripe above the eye

It doesn't breed in the UK, but is a winter visitor, mainly to southern and eastern England. It breeds in the Alps and other mountains of central and southern Europe.

The water pipit was once considered to be a subspecies of rock pipit, but was given full species status in 1986.

Photographing Water Pipits has not been easy over the years, they are almost always distant and difficult to approach.  Today it showed really well and in some lovely autumn sunshine.

Walking over the fallen reed stems.

And some lovely reflections in the still water of the mere.

I left the Water Pipit after it flew off once again and walked back to the Meon Shore hide where the skies were still looking impressive, this time in black and white.

A third bird roosting on Snipe Island, this time a Snipe.

And a Snipe feeding at the shore in front of the hide.

Walking back to the car the view across the Haven looked impressive in the autumn sunshine.

A great day with the Bearded Tit s yet to come.