As I arrived at the car park in Lower Pennington Lane, twenty years ago I was waking up on a plane as it approached the runway at Shannon airport in Ireland, what happened later that day is a part of history that I got caught up in as I was living and working in New Jersey and was travelling to Ireland on business leaving my family in the US. Fortunately they were all safe and I finally managed to get back to them a week later. It is a memory that stays with me and comes around every September, what is incredible is that it has been twenty years.
I got out of the car in 2021 at the car park and was greeted by a trickle of Little Egret flying west overhead. They must roost in the copse alongside the lane. Canada Geese could also be heard from Efford Lake. It was overcast and a little cool in a fresh westerly breeze, summer now having gone, despite the short heat wave we had at the start of last week. Sun rise is now as late as 6:30.
Once Ian had arrived we set off along the west side of the Old Tip and scanned the pools at the back of Fishtail Lagoon. The scan did not take too long there was hardly anything present. Then as we watched two immature Spoonbills took off from where they were obscured by the vegetation and proceeded to fly west gaining height as they went. Back on the pools we were able to locate a single Curlew, but nothing else. On the shore of the lagoon a Wood Sandpiper appeared and made its was closer to us, I can't recall a year where we have had so many Wood Sandpiper sightings and last week produced so many close photographs that thjis week I was quite content with a record shot of this individual.
We walked on towards the sea wall, ahead the clouds were painting a wonderful scene above the Solent and the distant Isle of Wight.
The path drops down to run alongside the small pool and here there was a family of Little Grebe, two adults and three youngsters.
The adults were diving and the young would wait for the adult to surface and then would call and swim frantically to them to see what they had caught. In this case the adult turned away and the youngster swam up behind it and buried itself eventually on the adult's back.
With one on board another came alongside and also climbed on board.
The third chick was a little smaller than the other two and didn't seem to be interested in climbing on board.
Here two tucked away on the adults back
Leaving the grebe family we climbed up onto the sea wall to be greeted with a huge expanse of mud, the tide was out and this explained the lack of waders on the lagoon. There were many here, Dunlin, Redshank, Grey Plover, some still in beautiful black and silver summer plumage, Black-tailed Godwits and these two Greenshank.
The clouds were beginning to break up which allowed the sun to break through sending shards of light across the island and the Solent.
The view across Butts Lagoon
The low tide just off Butts Bay, there were plenty of waders taking the opportunity to feed in the rich mud.
Looking across the Jetty Lagoon the Great Egret was hunting in the bulrushes at the back of the lagoon.
A few Wigeon still in eclipse on the water at the back of the lagoon.
The Great Egret slowly made itself through the vegetation to the water.
We walked on past the Jetty and the iron work which was impossible to resist as the clouds across the Solent provided a back drop.
The lagoons were very quiet and as we reached the path across Oxey Marsh we decided to drop down and check the bushes. A herd of cattle was the first stop and it didn't take long to find the Yellow Wagtails, a flock of over a dozen feeding around the feet of the cows.
I slowly moved forward and was able to get a closer shot of one.
But I believe the best shots of Yellow Wagtails are when you can emphasis the size difference as they weave in and out of the feet of the cows to take advantage of the insects disturbed by the cattle,
Walking on we could hear the calls of Whitethroat, but nothing else of any interest. as we approached Oxey Creek a Wheatear was on the lower path, standing with its back to us.
Coming up onto the path alongside Oxey Creek I could get a better view as it moved slowly along the path towards the dock.
A little further along the path we could see a Greenshank feeding on the mud and in the creek up close to Moses Dock.
It was feeding in a manner not unlike that of a Little Egret, dashing about and stabbing its bill into the water, pulling up weed as it did so. Hunting by sight it feeds on small invertebrates
The darkness of the water and mud contrasted well with the sunlight that picked the Greenshank out and once the exposure was sorted out provided some wonderful backgrounds to the Greenshank's silvery grey plumage.
Normally to try and get close to a Greenshank and they fly off calling, this one though seemed to be completely unconcerned as we edged closer.
Greenshank can be distinguished from similar-sized waders
like Redshank and godwits by the colour of their legs: grey-green. Adults are
olive-grey above and silvery-white below, with dark streaking on the breast.
Greenshank have long, slightly upturned, grey bills.
Like the Wood Sandpiper last week, these were now the best photographs I have managed of a Greenshank and I just kept on shooting.
Finally coming out of the water to rest on the mud.
Then it flew off, but came back over our heads and dropped into the creek on the east side of the dock.
Where it was joined by a second bird.
Usually they fly off and you have to move on, today we left them feeding and moved on. As we did so a Kingfisher flew over the creek and out across the marsh, we looked but couldn't locate it. Walking on we disturbed another from the side of the Salterns Lake, but never got the chance to see one perched.
At Normandy Marsh, like Fishtail, there were few waders on the lagoon, the only wader of interest being this juvenile Knot. It was close to the shore but had to be viewed through the fence that surrounds the marsh.
We walked around the marsh to the south west corner and scanned across the mud, picking out two Bar-tailed Godwits on the mud.
We turned back and headed off into the wind. Looking across the marsh we could see two Little |Egrets squaring up to each other.
We knew what was going to happen, it was a case of when and we stood, watched and waited. Then it all kicked off, flying legs and feet and open bills.
Then it was over and they both went on their way.
The Knot was now in a place where it was possible to view clear of the fence.
On the mud in Oxey Lake there were five Greenshank at roost. Walking back we had one fly into Salterns, it wasn't clear if it was one of the birds we had seen earlier or one from the mud. It dropped in close to the bank which once again provided a wonderful background.
This one, though, is my favourite of the set.
It then moved and I followed it, coming out of the dark water. We dropped down from the sea wall to get at eye level.
A large Starling flock was moving between to shore and Oxey Marsh, the flock seemingly "pouring" over the sea wall as one and then heading across the lagoon against the sun.
I couldn't resist another photograph of a Black-tailed Godwit.
Off shore there was a group of 24 Eider, all diving and catching crabs quite close in, the light though was appalling. Here one drake amongst a collection of eclipse birds and females
On Jetty Lagoon a pair of Greylag Geese, just one here.
We made our way back to Fishtail where the intention was to find the Little Stint that had been reported, but we were distracted by the Little Grebe family once again. Here the two larger chicks swim to the adult.
All three together, the smaller chick giving as good as the others
One chick takes what looks like a minnow.
This looks like a small invertebrate.
The adult having a brief rest before recommencing diving.
A close up of the food exchange
The smaller chick chasing after its parent.
Here you can see the size difference
Both the chicks and the adult swim very quickly towards each other, here the adults legs being used as water breaks!
And a final close up of the adult feeding a chick of what looks like a freshwater shrimp.
Leaving the grebes once again we found the Little Stint, only two though of a reported six, however they were far to distant for a record shot let alone a decent photograph
After lunch we decided to walk along the Ancient Highway, the sun was out and it was now quite warm so there may have been some butterflies. On the lake were several Tufted Duck, but on the field at the back of the lake we found at least ten Wheatear, maybe more. Four were perched on the hay bales.
We did managed to find some butterflies, there were Red Admiral around the bramble bushes, but in a sheltered area on the other side of the fence were two Small Heath, a Common Blue, Meadow Brown and a Small Copper, all on the same Ragwort plant.
At Keyhaven we popped into the hide over looking the Avon Flood. On doing so we disturbed another Kingfisher and decided to wait to see if one would return. Scanning across the high tide roost of waders I found a wader off to the side and getting in close could see that it was a Whimbrel. This is the best record shot I could get.
Out in the harbour a Great Black-backed Gull appeared to be using this boat on a regular basis.
The tide was very high and the calls of Curlew could be heard out on the marsh as they flew in to roost at the back of Keyhaven Lagoon along with another six Greenshank.
Taking into account the potential movement of the Greenshank we estimated that we must have seen at least 20 individual birds, quite a good count here. Walking around to Fishtail we came across the Little Stint, this time four birds but a lot closer for an acceptable photograph along with a Dunlin for size and feature comparison.
Further along there were three Brent Geese in amongst the Canada Geese.
Feeding at the back of Fishtail Lagoon was our nineteenth wader of the day, a Spotted Redshank.
Then on the east end of the small island in the lagoon a roosting Black-tailed Godwit, providing a nice scene.
We walked around Butts Bay and just off shore was a small group of Eider, this male just acquiring the breeding plumage.
then in the company of two females.
On the Jetty Lagoon there was a single Shoveler, my first of the autumn, either a female or male in eclipse it was hard to tell.
We walked around to the Jetty, then checked the Shoveler Pools that were almost totally dry. As we approached the car park, Ian stopped me for a Wheatear that was very close, giving some great views.
Found and dispatched a beetle.
We had hoped to get back to Normandy in hope that the Curlew Sandpiper turned up, but time had beaten us. A great day, if not just for the Greenshank shots, with plenty of interest.
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