7th April - Fishlake Meadows and Cheesefoot Head, Hampshire

The cold and wet weather through the week gave way to something a little warmer at the weekend, and today the sun broke through unexpectedly.  As a result we decided on a walk around Fishlake Meadows, at this time of year there is always the chance of a flyover, and there has been a Glossy Ibis present for a few days now.  However I didn't approach the walk with high expectations as my record on flyovers is very poor.

Pulling into the new car park we were greeted by several singing Chiffchaffs in the surrounding trees.  Despite the low temperatures shown in the car the walk was sheltered and the sun very pleasantly warm, so what was thought to have been a wrapped up walk turned out to just be a sweat top.  Turning on to the canal path a Treecreeper appeared on the trunk of an old willow in front of us.

A little further along a male Blackcap was alternating between bursts of song, and pulling the blossom of the Blackthorn apart in search of food.

Only early in the morning I had seen what must still be a winter visitor feeding on banana in the garden, this is the latest I have seen them in the garden, normally they disappear when the summer migrants appear and start singing.

A little further along and a Chiffchaff doing exactly the same behaviour, here looking intently for any movement in the leaves.

Orange-tips and Brimstone butterflies drifted past, non stopping, the sunshine having warmed them up.  To our left as we walked north both Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler were singing in the reed bed, every so often you could see movement in amongst the reeds, but no decisive sighting that allowed a photograph.

The Canal itself looked very peaceful in the warm but misty sunshine.

A Long-tailed Tit sat on top of a bramble bush alongside the water, and looked as if it was interested in something inside the bush.  Looking closer we could see that there was the beginnings of a nest, here you can see the construction of webs, moss and lichen weaved around the bramble branches.

Further confirmation was provided buy one of the adult birds sitting close by with a mouthful of lichen to add to the construction.

As we pass under willow trees that lean over towards the canal another butterfly passes by, but this time stops and settles on some of the dried grass and reeds, a Speckled Wood, my first of the year, and taking the total up to eight.

We take the main path that crosses the reserve, alongside the ditch Cuckoo flower in in bloom, and as always seems to be the case there were Orange-tips checking out the delicate pink petals.  The Cuckoo flower or Lady's Smock belongs to the Brassica family, and is the main food plant of the Orange-tip caterpillars.

The common name 'Lady's-smock' arises from the cupped shape of the flowers. However, 'smock' was once a slang term for a woman and the name may have alluded to certain springtime activities in the meadows!

From the main path we headed down towards the screens, on a pool on the left hand side of the path heading north a Great White Egret, or Great Egret as it is formally now known was standing in the shallow water close to the reeds.

At the screens there were Teal and Gadwall feeding, and on the far side a few Canada Geese.  I scanned carefully through the reeds and Iris beds but there was no sign of the Glossy Ibis, I wasn't surprised.  In the bushes a Reed Bunting sang, and I could also make out the lovely liquid song of a Willow Warbler.

In front of the screens were pairs of Greylag Geese.

After standing and watching nothing happen we decided to walk back to the main path.  Cetti's Warblers sang their explosive song from within the reeds and the bushes, only briefly showing themselves.  In return the Wrens would join in as if to demonstrate that they could possibly have the loudest song.  One of the Orange-tips settled on a Cuckoo flower, but was gone by the time i had settled down with the camera.

Just as we reached the gate the Great Egret was showing a little better on the pool.

Back on the main path the route meanders through some woodland where Chiffchaffs and Wrens were singing, and then follows one of the streams of the River Test.  Brimstone, Peacock and more Orange-Tips flew past.  We crossed the river and then walked around to the garden centre where we paused for a cup of tea before retracing our steps back into the reserve.  As we walked out of the garden centre an Orange Tip flew past and settled on a Cuckoo Flower, this time it stayed long enough for some photographs.

We turned up the canal path rather than just head back to the car, it was quieter, not so many people, just the bird song, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Robin and Wrens.  A Buzzard drifted over, raising the hopes for just a split second.

Turning back we headed along the path towards the car park, the Reed and Sedge Warblers were still singing, a Great Egret flew up from the middle of the marsh, a completely different place to where we had seen to other bird earlier.  In the trees Blackcap sang, and we did see a female as well as the males.  A Chiffchaff also showed very well in a tree close to the path.

But that was it.  I suppose I had hoped, but was not surprised nothing else appeared.  No fly overs, no Glossy Ibis, and to make things worse the Ibis was reported later from the screens along with a pair of Garganey, plus a fly over White Stork!

On the way home I decided to take a detour to Cheesefoot Head, a couple of Dotterel had turned up yesterday and were showing well in a field just off the main road.  Parking in the small car park was a challenge, but managed.  I grabbed the camera and headed off towards the containers.

I have seen Dotterel here before back in 2011, and as I walked along the footpath by the side of the field I realised that it was in exactly the same place.  There was a group of birders already present so this made the challenge of finding the birds a lot easier, the only problem though was the fact that there was only one visible, and it had settled down in one of the tractor wheel tracks.  All I could make out was the head and part of the body.

The Dotterel is an unusual bird in that the female is the brighter plumaged individual, and takes little involvement in the breeding process other than producing the eggs.  Dotterel were traditionally hunted for their feathers which were used for trout flies, their habit of being approachable and turning up at familiar sites on migration adding to the ease at which they could be hunted.  In fact in their Latin name, Charadrius morinellus, the specific name means "little fool".

Both birds have the distinctive broad white stripe above the eye, and in breeding plumage the female has an orange red breast band.  The two present here were said to be male and female, the female just beginning to acquire the breeding plumage.

When I saw the birds in 2011 I have photographs of them continually looking to the sky for danger, and it was this awareness that forced this bird to stand up.  A Red Kite drifted over and spooked the bird which stood up.

This being the female, not the best shots, but record of this infrequently reported bird, maybe it turns up here every year but is not reported.