9th January - Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

 An early morning start at the top of the Titchfield Haven Canal Path, the weather was still very cold, temperatures around freezing, but overcast and clear, leaving home it had been the freezing fog we have had for the last few days.  The hope was that the Barn Owl may be hunting but walking along the path there was nothing about.  From across the marsh a Cetti's Warbler rattled out its song while the whistles from the Meon of Wigeon were clearly heard.

Viewing the split tree we could see the Barn Owl was there, but very quickly it slipped out of view.  We contemplated walking further along the path but then decided against it, instead driving around Posbrook to the sea wall at Hill Head.

Across the Meon and into the reserve there were two male Tufted Ducks present, just resting close to the reeds.

The sea was like a mill pond, still and very calm with mist hanging low over the water and completely obscuring the view of the Isle of Wight.  Not quite a complete white out though, the lights of Cowes twinkling through the gloom.

Turning back to the reserve a Little Grebe had caught quite a sizeable fish close in.

The numbers of Great Crested Grebes remained high, with birds gathered in large flocks in almost all areas.  I counted 80, but I am convinced there were many more.  Every so often there would be small groups flying east and west.  A Great Northern Diver appeared from nowhere as usual, appeared to preen, then took off and headed away to the east and out of sight

On the beach Turnstone fed in amongst the sea weed pushed up the beach and a group of 20 Ringed plover took turns to bathe in the gentle waves that were rolling in on to the beach

As well as the grebes there were Eider and distantly a few Common Scoter.  With the tide falling we decided to walk along the beach, passing the chalets a Pied Wagtail was exploring the guttering of one of the chalets, probably looking for some fresh water for a drink.

There were one or two large gulls about, earlier there had been a Lesser Black-backed Gull on the island in the middle of the Meon, and two Great Black-backed flying along the sea wall.  As the tide fell and the Rainbow Bar revealed several Herring Gulls were dropping shells on to the gravel, while one or two could be seen offshore.

Last week the Sanderling had been completely absent, but this morning there was a large group of about 80 birds feeding in several groups along the edge of the water, scurrying about as they do between the water and the beach.  

Sanderling have been my go to bird to photograph over the last few weeks and today was not going to be an exception.  Walkers were now coming in both directions forcing the birds towards us and I managed to get down low to capture them in their environment once again.

I particularly like it when I can get completely head on with the Sanderling and they walk towards me.

With the number of persons increasing and with it more dogs it was to be expected that the birds would be disturbed.  The Sanderling would fly out over the water and then look to settle in a area that was free, but this would mean that they would only be off again as the dogs followed up.

The disturbance became more frequent and you have to wonder what this does to their energy levels especially on a cold day like today.  It did however provide some great flight shots some of which, like these were a lot different.

With the water so still and calm as the Sanderling flew around looking for a suitable safe spot to land they would throw dark rippled reflections on the water.

In this shot the Sanderling in the centre was definitely not going to give up its prize cockle!

As you can see they were also joined by other waders on the shore, above a Turnstone, but Oystercatchers too were being flushed from their feeding.

One more Sanderling photo.

This gives you some idea of what the conditions were in the Solent.

A pair of Brent Geese cruised along the shoreline, one reacting more to Ian's calls and coming closer.

After being informed that we had missed a Red-throated Diver that had flown east while we were photographing the Sanderling we decided to walk back to the sea wall.  Off shore the Eider were moving a lot closer to us, the males could be seen displaying, throwing their heads back and at times we could hear their "cooing" display call.

Despite this relaxed displaying they were also quite flighty, taking to the air, circling around and then returning to pretty much the same area.

There has been a drake Greater Scaup present over the last few days and it was picked up distantly associating with one of the Great Crested Grebe groups, then it appeared with the Eider, tagging along with one of the groups.  It was still distant but close enough now to get a reasonable photograph.  Here at the back of the Eider.

You always hope that it will drift closer but it was soon off again, flying when the Eider took to the air once more.

There was still no sign of the Red-throated Diver that had been seen to fly into the bay and things were now starting to quieten.  A Whats app message alerted to three Black Swan flying south over the reserve and we picked them up as they came over the Sailing Club and headed along the coastline towards Lee.

Black Swans at rest indeed, but once in flight they show white primaries.

We walked to the Harbour.  The water was rushing out of the Meon under the bridge but there was no sign of the Kingfisher or Little Grebe.  Off the Slipways a small group of Eider were close inshore.  We decided to walk back to the sea wall where they would probably be closer in, which is indeed where they were.

Then like all the others they took to the air, but circled around coming a lot closer as they passed us.

Another Pied Wagtail appeared on the sea wall in front of us.

The sea remained completely still.

Early in the morning there had been a drake Pochard with the two Tufted Ducks.  The Tufted Ducks had now gone but the Pochard was still present swimming and diving close the reeds.

The tide was dropping fast now and on the water the Black-headed Gulls were plunge diving into the water.  It wasn't clear what they were catching but there seemed sufficient food of interest about to ensure quite a few took part.

Whilst it appeared overcast, thinning and gaps in the cloud over the Solent sent towers of light down onto the water illuminating the grey monochrome conditions.

The dropping tide also revealed the rocks on the beach and a Little Egret took advantage of these to first fish from.

Then to fish around and use as cover.

Just as I was about to call it a day the Pochard swam closer to the road

They are a very difficult duck to photograph, the exposure is key, to high and the duck is washed out too low and it merges with the background.  These were so-so.

After that I headed home wondering if this would be the last by the sea for a while.  I hope not but the weather will also play a part, we shall have to wait and see.

2nd January - Hill Head, Brownwich Cliffs and Warsash, Hampshire

 2021, a new year, but still very much like the old one, the same bad news in the media and cold weather.  But a new year brings optimism despite the gloom that surrounds the world and part of that optimism is the start of a new year list.  I am not an avid lister meaning that I am not twitching, but will always keep a list for life, the county my patch at home in Four Marks, the garden and of course the year.

Today it was back to Hill Head where I had hoped for a sun rise like last time, but it wasn't to be.  I was greeted with dull, overcast conditions and a cold northerly wind, which to be fair was much better than the weather that I had left behind in Four Marks, quite persistent rain that only stopped once I passed under the M27.

A large raft of Brent Geese were just off shore and twelve Eider could be seen on the exposed shingle as it was a low tide.  Scanning at distance I picked up a group of Common Scoter.  Great Crested Grebes flew past in numbers of five and six, all heading into the area around the Darling Bouy, The numbers have significantly increased over the last few weeks, I counted 54 on Wednesday and there was another count of 80 at the end of the year.

The Eider finally moved from the shingle as the tide began to rise.  In the gloom black and white images proved to be the best way of showing them.

A Little Egret flew past, here you get some idea of the light, this being lightened to get the best possible image.

More groups of Common Scoter were found and several could be seen flying west into the bay, unfortunately we could not find any with white wings.  Looking north across the reserve and the river Meon the sky was a little brighter with pockets of pink and yellow appearing as the sun was now up, but behind the clouds to the east.

A female type Marsh Harrier was perched in one of the bushes in the reed bed and of course the Lapwing were circling the scrape along with Shoveler, Teal and Wigeon.  Close to the road on the water there were Gadwall and a few Little Grebes.

Along the beach there were plenty of Turnstone, but no sign of any of the Sanderling that had been about last week.  We decided to walk up to the cliffs at Brownwich, elevation would help scanning the sea.

At the first stop we met up with Mark Francis who pointed out a very distant Guillemot that was extremely hard to pick out and then a Great Northern Diver that didn't stay long, flying off to the west.

We moved on to the next two openings from which we continued to scan the sea, but there was not much else other than considerable congregations of Eider and Common Scoter, the latter again not showing any white in the wings.  Below the number of people on the beach increased significantly as the sun began to show.  This meant there was very little chance of any Sanderling.

Looking East the emerging sun and aspect again created that silver look on the sea.

While straight out you could see the divide between the cloud and the blue sky to the west.

As we decided to leave and head back down to the sea wall I thought I should at least get a record of the many Eider just off shore.

Back on the sea wall a Velvet Scoter was reported but we couldn't find even any Common Scoter from where the cars were parked.  We walked around to the harbour.  At the roost on the beach behind the harbour there were fishermen so there were no waders at all.  In the harbour the Turnstone were lining up on the groyne at the harbour entrance.

There was nothing at the bridge, not even a Little Grebe so we decided to walk back and decide where to go next.  It was very busy again at Hill Head and having decided against the Canal Path we opted for Warsash, where there was the possibility of close diver views and hopefully not so busy.  As we drove along the road leading to Solent Breezes it was clear it was going to be as busy with cars lining the road.  Fortunately there were no cars in the area by the sub station.

After a quick look for the Little Owl around Workman's Lane which resulted in the usual experience but there were Black-tailed Godwits and Curlew in the field behind the tree lined fence.  We headed down to the beach where there were many people but very little else.  The Brent Geese went up over the fields at the back of the reserve.

From out of a completely empty sea and Great Northern Diver appeared, again a distant bird so all we could do is to get a record shot.

There were sleeping Teal on the Meander pools with a single Little Egret, and then up at the scrape there was a single male Pintail and three visible Snipe at the back on the bank.  It was beginning to feel like the last time we had been here in October.  That day it was blue skies, a high tide and very little else.  Still we persevered and walked on to the spit. Here we met a group of birders that pointed out the Bearded Tits were showing well at the sluice

Negotiating our way around dog walkers we stopped at the sluice to scan the reeds.  Last time here we had heard them pinging away but ot seen them.  Today though I picked up one at the top of a reed stem quite high up and showing well.

It was a female and almost immediately we could see that this bird was ringed, the pink rings standing out despite the poor light.

The second bird also a female was feeding from within the reeds, The ringed bird dropped down to join it, not so easy to see or photograph.

The two birds were being very confiding moving from the poor light into good and frequently either coming to the top of the reeds or picking a stem on the outside or one that would drop the bird down like an elevator.

Due to the fact that they are more frequently heard than actually seen and if they are seen it is a glimpse as they fly away with an undulating style over the tops of the reeds or between gaps in the reeds, when one does show well you just shoot away and make the most of it.

Known as a Bearded Tit, due to some similarities with the Long-tailed Tit, and the Bearded Parrotbill, the parrotbill family they were originally placed in, they are now in fact the only member of the Panuridae family which led to them being named Reedling, a name that some use but the commonest is Bearded Tit.  Molecular studies have shown that they are probably more closely related to Larks.

While we were photographing them the most frequent point discussed was "it was a shame they were not males!"  The males have a black malar stripe that resembles a moustache, along with a blue grey head, while the females are much plainer but still manage to display the acrobatics the male does.

Not sure what is going on here.  It seems to have flipped itself over, whether to scratch and preen or to check for predators.

The ringed bird has been present since November and we learnt from the other birders that it had in fact been ringed at Radipole just outside Weymouth.  Other than the rings there was a distinct difference between the two birds, the ringed bird having more distinct darker markings on the orange brown of the back and even the head.  I wondered if this might have been an immature male, but it turns out the juvenile birds moult to adult plumage by October.  Also the juvenile male would have a dark lores and yellow bill while the female would have a yellow bill as both adult birds do.  While most females are plain on the back some can show dark markings.

On Sunday I was sent the details of the ringed bird.  Apparently it was ringed as a female AJE9423 on the 15th November 2020 at Radipole Lake in Weymouth.  Most birds do not migrate other than for eruptive or cold weather.  The birds ringed at Radipole rarely leave although, as well as this one, a bird was reported from Dungeness a few years ago.

A wetland specialist they switch their diet between reed aphids in the spring and summer and then reed seeds in the winter, the digestive system changing to cope with very different seasonal diets.  In winter they can be seen collecting gravel and grit to aid the digestion of the seed.

Every so often they would fly off and you could hear their ping calls from within the reed bed, but then they would return again to feed on the seed heads on the stems that sometimes would drop down close to the water.

Every time they would fly off we would prepare to leave only for them to return or the sun came out to pick them out beautifully.

All the time the Beardies were present there was a Reed Bunting also feeding on the seed heads.  As it worked its way to the top it would be known as "oh no that's the Reed Bunting!".  So I had to get a photograph to confirm its presence.

Finally we managed to drag ourselves away and started the walk back to the cars.  On the scrape there were three Pochard now with the duck and every so often waders would fly past having been disturbed by the walkers along the beach.  One flock was of Dunlin and Ringed Plover but more frequently Turnstone.

The sun was getting low in the sky and once again the clouds were producing some dramatic scenes.  Here with the old Fawley Power Station centre piece.

And a close up of the orange ochre sky behind the pylons leading from the old power station.

The walk through the paddocks produced nothing, and a search around the cottage could not find any Little Owls so normal service has resumed there.  Not a bad start t the year, but after the reports of New Year's Day we did feel a little let down, but great to be out in the sunshine, just wish there were not so many people about.