7th September - Titchfield Haven Canal Path and Reserve, Hampshire

The previous day had been due to be wet, but only resulted in a few showers, but overnight the winds turned around more to a north west, and we were greeted with overcast conditions at dawn.  The hope was that this would be a little constructive for the autumn migration, and hopefully a few migrants along some of the coastal spots.

I was meeting Ian at the sea front at Hill Head, the sight of the sea washing my car last weekend.  The tide was high once again, but no where near as threatening as it had then.  As I pulled up I saw Ian rush to his van to get his camera, and a I got out he pointed out a kingfisher in the reeds around the pool close to the roadside.

It was gloomy, and these photographs have been enhanced to bring out some of the colour and light, but the grainy image still remains

It was then spooked by a Black-tailed Godwit that flew in from the Solent, not sure if the godwit was the actual threat or just the shadow, any way it flew off but circled back and returned to a reed stem just a little bit beyond the original spot.

Moving to the right it was possible to get a different angle with the water in the background.

Another godwit appeared and the Kingfisher was off again, flying to the reeds on the other side, then gone and out of sight as the the blue arrow sped low across the water and around the bend.

While we were watching the Kingfisher there was a lot of movement from the Canada Geese.  Flying up from the scrapes they could be seen and heard heading out into the Solent.

With the tide high we decided to walk to the beach at the edge of the harbour mouth.  A good number of Turnstone could be seen gathering just above the high tide line, and on the groynes.

As we walked along the top of the beach we disturbed a smart male Wheatear that flew over to the groyne closest to the harbour mouth.  We gradually got closer taking photographs as we went.

The Wheatear was an encouraging sign, would there be other migrants moving?

As always it was a case of one step too far and it flew off into the harbour.

On the beach and groynes the Turnstone were gathered, some still showing signs of summer plumage.

While at the tide line there were four Ringed Plover.

The high tide wader roost was made up with four Dunlin, all with their heads tucked under their wings, but always keeping a watchful eye open as the body twisted to ensure a wide area of vision.

Walking around to the bridge by the visitor centre a Little Egret provided the interest as it hunted in the shallow water close to a groyne.  The darkness of the groyne providing the perfect background for the white plumage of the egret.

I left the egret, while Ian persevered, and walked to the bridge, and on the branch was the Kingfisher once again.  I called quietly to Ian but once we had got close to the wall the Kingfisher was gone.  We waited but it did not look like it was going to return, and after agreeing that we probably had enough shots from last week we headed back to the sea front, and headed towards the canal path.  There was a good chance that there could be some activity there.

Just as we passed the entrance to the reserve we saw another Wheatear or maybe two.  As they appeared to cross, were these two new birds or the one we had seen on the beach with a new one.  One did stop on the fence before being disturbed by passing cars.

We walked up the canal path, and at first there was some activity with Chiffchaffs calling and up to four Blackcaps seen, nothing though that set the pulses racing.  At breaks in the hedge we scanned the fields and fences for any sign of activity, but nothing of interest to report.  In fact the most interesting sighting was a gathering of nine Pheasants in a tree along one of the hedges.  Not something you see everyday, and reminded me of how the Crested Guans behave in Costa Rica.  Clearly they were not aware that pheasants do not climb trees

We then reached a spot where the canal was over hung by Willow, As and with bushes close to the water.  In addition there was quite a large flock of Long-tailed Tits calling and with them quite a few Blue and Great Tits and warblers.

We could hear Chiffchaffs, and there were several birds fly catching.  This one a Willow Warbler with the very distinctive cream eye stripe and yellowish green appearance.

But confirmed from behind by the wing length, which according to the Collins guide has the primary projection being equal in length to the tertials, plus the pale legs, but here the feet look pinkish but they are not so dark on the legs themselves.

As we watched the warblers zipping about and us trying desperately to get some sort of photograph, a wagtail flew in along the edge of the canal water.  A Grey Wagtail and it was quite close for once.

With the typical tail bobbing action it patrolled the waters sedge pecking at invisible insects on the mud and surface of the water.

Then it was gone flying upstream with the undulating flight and call, attention returned to the warblers, here a Chiffchaff, not the less defined supercilium, and the shorter primary projection.

The Long-tailed Tits continued to call constantly during all the activity, and it must be these contact calls that bring all the birds together.  On stayed still long enough on a lichen encrusted branch.

I wandered back along the path following the calls of the birds and came across an open area of water and mud and the Grey Wagtail flew in once again.

Blackcaps could be seen in the bramble feasting on the blackberry harvest.  In all there must have been about six male and female Blackcaps.  Again distant and very mobile.

There had also been plenty of Whitethroats about, and I thought one was showing well but it was in fact a Reed Warbler.

Which then joined the overall melee taking place around the bramble

Gradually the calls of the Long-tailed Tits died away, along with the movement.  The Blackcaps and Whitethroats headed away from the canal, across the field to trees and bushes a little way back, while the Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs appeared to follow the Long-tailed Tits as they moved south through the trees overhanging the canal itself.

With a silence descending we decided to move on north, spotting bird activity in the thistles in the fields a little further on.  This turned out to be a large flock, or charm, of Goldfinches feeding on the thistle heads.  Mostly immature birds they would descend on a plant in numbers then once eaten fly off and around the trees before settling in the tops calling.

Leaving the Goldfinches we moved on towards Posbrook Floods, as you approach the footpath that turns off to the right there is a line of Ash trees, some of which are dead with bare branches.  As we got closer there was a bit of activity with what were probably Chiffchaffs flitting through the branches, I an then said he had a flycatcher, and at the top of a dead branch sat a Spotted Flycatcher.  

It very soon became clear that it wasn't just one, but two birds and they were quite content, as often flycatchers do to sit quite still, and if they did fly off on a sortie they would return almost to the same spot or branch.

One was quite relaxed, preening on the branch.

But they were always on the look out for, I can only surmise, flies, here one lines up a target that it shot off for.

But most of the time they sit upright, and very still.

The Spotted Flycatcher is disappearing. Once considered a common garden nesting species, the Spotted Flycatcher is now a bird that many people are willing to travel a long way to see.

Breeding Bird Survey data show a decline in the breeding population of 39% between 1995 and 2016, part of a staggering longer term decline of 87% since 1970.

The results of initial BTO research indicates that more Spotted Flycatchers are dying during the first year of their lives and that this increased mortality is likely to be behind the population decline.   Further research is underway to understand more about why this is and what can be done, if anything about it.

I can recall in my youth seeing plenty of this smart little birds, but this is my first of the year, and is only a bird on passage.  Chance then to enjoy the encounter.

Spotted Flycatchers, while being smart birds, are fairly drab birds, with brown-grey upperparts. Below they have dull white plumage with pale streaking, and there is streaking on the head. Juveniles are similar but have pale spots on their upperparts.

Spotted flycatchers prefer large flying insects, including flies and butterflies. However, if the weather is cool and insects aren’t flying, they will take smaller invertebrates from leaves and branches. If poor weather persists, many nests fail as these smaller invertebrates tend to be eaten by the parents rather than fed to the young.

In order to reduce the chances of their invertebrate prey escaping, spotted flycatchers have a series of modified feathers, like bristles, down the sides of the bill as can be seen in this photograph.

The two were flycatching together and would always return to the dead branches which seemed to provided a good hunting position.

As we watched and photographed the Spotted Flycatchers Chiffchaffs buzzed around the branches and leaves of the Ash trees.

We moved on, we had been tipped off that there were two Redstarts seen in the horse field to the west of the path just north of the floods.  We crossed the bridge, climbed the gate and walked along the path scanning the field that was now to our right.  Hawthorn and bramble bushes were dotted in the middle of the field, and these were the focus of our attention.  In the middle of one was a Whitethroat, and there were plenty of Goldfinches on the thistles behind them.

Eventually Ian found one of the Redstarts sitting in the middle of a Hawthorn tree.  As we watched it flew down to the ground, and then to one of the old fence posts close to another hawthorn bush.  As it arrived here another appeared in the bush.  We had found both birds.  Photography was always going to be difficult as they were very distant, and we had to be content with just a record shot.

Both birds were males, but lacked the striking black face, this now fading to a paler grey, so maybe they were either immature birds or adults going through moult.  They were both very active feeding on the ground and moving between posts and bushes, however they never came close enough.

With all the activity around the bushes, and the sun now quite warm we decided to walk along the path.  There was plenty of bramble, covered in Blackberries, and as well as more Blackcaps this was attracting a fair number of Starlings.  These juvenile birds were in the process of acquiring their winter adult plumage and were sporting a very smart spotted petrochemical suit, but still with the juvenile greyish brown head.

Walking back down the path we scanned again for the Redstarts.  Ian pointed out what he thought was one at the top of a bush, but a closer view revealed this to not be one of the Redstarts, but in fact a Whinchat.  It flew to the thistles and was joined by another.  The pale eye-stripe was very clear, and they were a lot smaller.  The closest one came to us was one perched at the top of one of the lower bushes, again a record shot.

As we watched the Whinchats the Redstart were still about, as well as the Whitethroats and a Lesser Whitethroat.  Overhead flew six Meadow Pipits, I was not sure if these had been present and just flying off, or birds moving through.  It had been quite a busy morning so far and eventually we decided to make our way back down the path.

Passing the more open parts of the canal there was a fairly good sized shoal of Chub, looking splendid in the morning sunshine.

Chub are a member of the carp family, they are quite distinctive with a blunt snout, rounded body and large mouth.  They are often seen in shoals, and look to seek cover in the form of overhanging trees or bridges.  The British record caught is nine pounds five ounces, these were probably around a pound.

A Sparrowhawk flew over heading north.

While on yet another stop to watch a flock of Long-tailed Tits and warblers Ian found this smart Migrant Hawker dragonfly.

As we approached the end of the path close to the Meon shore the reeds spill over across the path, and in places the flowering seed heads were lit by the sun against a dark black background creating a lovely picture.

While the reeds themselves back lit by the sun produced a rather abstract view of the reed bed.

After a stop for lunch we walked around to the beach behind the sailing club once again.  The tide was now very low and out on the exposed shingle bars were many gulls.  Of interest was a small group of Mediterranean Gulls settled down on the pebbles.

We had hoped to find some terns, a Sandwich Tern had passed by us earlier, but there was no roost.  However as we stood scanning the gulls I could hear Common Terns calling, and a couple of juveniles were flying in, followed by two adult birds.

The juvenile birds were constantly calling, and dropping on to the water while the sdults flew around scanning the water below.  Several dives seemed not to result in a catch, but once a fish was caught, the calls from the juveniles became more frantic.

Here the adult passes the caught fish to the juvenile on the water.

Which is gratefully received.

We left the terns and walked to the Visitor Centre.  The tide was low in the harbour, and at the base of the harbour wall there were three Brown Rats crawling around the mud and wood.

I have not seen them here before, but was not surprised as the ducks are fed grain at through out the day, so there would be plenty of food for them.  Rats polarize people's opinions, but it was quite amusing to watch them crawling over the mud, and jumping across the water, although I am sure they are perfectly good swimmers.  Where they go at high tide I have no idea.

After booking in at the visitor centre we headed back around to the western side of the reserve.  A quick stop in the Meon Shore Hide dictated what to do next, there were hardly any birds on the scrape, and what were present were on the north side.  We decided to walk the length of the path all the way down to the Spurgin Hide, and then make our way back.

We paused at Darter's dip which was very overgrown with reeds showing very little water.  A Common Darter was of interest but as we tried to get close, I noticed a Small Copper settled on one of the yellow flower heads.

Small Copper have up to 3 broods through the year, and this looked like it was one of the third brood showing immaculate appearance.  One of the upper wings though had a much faded copper colour.

From the flower it was disturbed and settled on a reed, the sun was in now and it seemed like the butterfly was looking to roost in the cooler conditions

Then it disturbed again and we were able to track it to a reed stem, this time settling with closed wings.

Looking at the hind lower wing I noticed five orange crescents, something I have not seen before or realised were there.  They look so delicate on the buff coloured wing.

It flew a little further, this time settling with open wings and showing the abreant colour on the right upper wing.

Close by was a Green-veined White one of three white species seen in the day.

The view from the Spurgin Hide was not encouraging, heavy vegetation cover and very little open water.  In our time there we saw a Mallard, a single Black-tailed Godwit, a Green Sandpiper that flew in and promptly disappeared from sight, and a flyover Sparrowhawk.

Outside on the platform leading to the hide the Common Darter would settle on the hand rail.  They always seemed to point one way and would drop their wings.  This gave me the opportunity to get in close front on to appreciate these amazing insects.

Here a male Common Darter.

While this is an immature or female type.

Finally leaving the hide we came across a group who had just seen Spotted Flycatchers, they were not there now, but we did find this immaculate Peacock butterfly, a stunning specimen.

Again this looks like a recently emerged butterfly, everything about it is perfect, and the colours incredible.  I particularly like the yellow and black edging on the fore wing, as with all things in nature there has to be a reason for it, but I have no idea what it could be.

Leaving the Peacock we entered the Pumfrett Hide, which produced a Common Sandpiper and seven Dunlin on the north shore of the south scrape.  Aside from that the north scrape was empty.

Coming out of the hide we disturbed a Painted Lady from the path, it flew around then settled once more on the stony ground.

As we walked back past Darter's Dip a Comma flew up and settled back down on one of the reed leaves, by moving around it was possible t get a lovely green background once again to show off the deep orange of the butterflies upper wings.

Then the sun came out highlighting the colours even more.  The butterfly lifting it wings to show the intricate shape of the wings.

Then the wings snapped shut allowing the opportunity to see the curious white mark that gives the butterfly its name, the shape being similar to a "comma".  The colouring and shape of the wings hide the hibernating butterflies over winter

Walking back to the cars we caught up with the Kingfisher once again, this time to the left of the tidal pool, again in the reeds.  It was distant and it soon flew off, darting over the water and turning right towards the harbour bridge.

I resisted the opportunity to walk around to the bridge to see if it was there, but Ian was keen to go.  Heading home I contemplated a very interesting and busy day.  This time of year it is always fascinating to see the the commoner migrants moving through and to experience the fact that they are there one minute then moving on.  Spotted Flycatchers are good to catch up with too, its been while since I have had the excellent photo opportunity that we had today.  Finally the late summer early autumn butterflies were spectacular.