28th January - Keyhaven to Oxey Marsh, Hampshire

I left New Lane and had a short journey to the main car park at Keyhaven.  I didn't see the point of trying the sea wall car park at Pennington.  From Keyhaven I intended to walk the sea wall, but probably not going the full distance to Normandy.

As I passed the harbour bridge at Keyhaven, the water on the floods was high and a female Tufted Duck drifted through the water that was reflecting both the blue sky and the surrounding reeds.

I now had a different view of the saltmarsh to that earlier from Hurst Spit, it was coming up to mid-day and the sun was at its height and the tide still quite low.

The water levels on Keyhaven Lagoon were high, but the water was as still as a mill pond, affording some lovely reflections.  At the far end as I walked the sea wall there was a good gathering of duck.  I was particularly taken by a group of male and female Pintail roosting in the shallow water throwing their reflections in the water.

And the same group from a different aspect.

Coming around to Fishtail, the waters were as still and this drake Shoveler shows off its colourful plumage in the sun and water.

Movement on one of the islands caught my eye and this Snipe stood out against the bank of the island that in itself was quite impressive with the grasses reflecting in the water

Hard to think that I didn't noticed this snoozing Spoonbill until I was almost on top of it.

Again reflecting in the waters of the Fishtail Lagoon.

There were also a few more Pintail.

From Fishtail I walked on, having been told a Slavonian Grebe was showing off Oxey Marsh I intended to at least go that far.

A Spotted Redshank showed well on Pennington Lagoon.

While a Greenshank stood motionless on the grassy top of one of the islands.

Tufted Duck are not usually seen on these lagoons, but the high water levels seems to now be attractive to them and there were several pairs.

The Tufted Duck provides some wonderful reflections what the water is as calm as it was today.

The Spoonbill that had been on Fishtail flew past me heading east, but then settling at the far end of the Pennington Lagoon.  However a dog walked disturbed it and it flew back coming low over the water.

The yellow tip to the bill and the all white wings age this bird as an adult.

Two more Spoonbill were also seen flying west making a total of three.

Approaching Oxey Marsh, looking back the shingle spit was exposed, the Solent waters calm, under the moody clouds that had rolled in once more.  Far out were two Eider.

I found the Slavonian Grebe off the sea wall at the point where it turns and heads to wards Moses Dock.  It showed quite well but I would have like it to have been a little closer.

An infrequent winter visitor to the south coast, the Slavonian Grebe does breed in Scotland, albeit in  few localised sites.

An interesting fact about the Slavonian Grebe is that It regularly eats its own feathers. Forming a plug in its stomach, this may act as a filter, holding fish bones until they can be digested; parents also feed feathers to their chicks.

I had decided to sit down to watch the grebe and did not notice a group of six Spoonbill, that must have come across the water, until they were over my head and heading towards the Pennington Lagoon.

Interestingly one bird lowers one of its legs as it glides towards the lagoon.

I decided to head back and to try and get closer to the Spoonbill, they had settled down on the lagoon and were feeding.

As I walked back I was taken by the colours and patterns in the water.

I stopped and took in the group of six Spoonbill feeding on the lagoon, one of the largest flocks I have seen for a long time.

Unfortunately activity on the sea wall was not to their liking and they moved on, but fortunately settled closer to the west end and the Jetty.  As I walked on I passed a Greenshank.  It stood allowing photographs and when I processed these I felt they were better served in black and white, the conditions of the lagoon and the bird itself was monochromatic and it seems to work well

The Spoonbill were now actively feeding and seemed more settled.  They had also be joined by another, the number in the group now seven.

Generally feeding in flocks, they swing their slightly open beaks from side to side through shallow pools of water. Their remarkable bill is packed full of sensors attuned to the tiniest vibrations, and once located, unlucky beetles, crustaceans, worms, small fish, tadpoles and frogs stand no chance of escape. 

Although they bred in East Anglia during Medieval times, spoonbills had not bred in Britain for over 300 years. But in 2010, a colony was discovered on the saltmarshes in north Norfolk, thought to have made the journey over from the Netherlands and France.

At Holkham Estate in Norfolk this year, they boasted a record 77 young from 43 pairs of spoonbills.

Now the birds have spread across the UK, and breeding pairs and colonies can be found in eight locations, from the south coast to just outside Leeds. The colonies this year included four sites in Norfolk, one in Yorkshire, one in Cumbria, one in Essex and one in Suffolk.  The colony on Havergate Island in Suffolk raising over 30 young

The six decided to move a little away, leaving the one Spoonbill that had recently joined them.  It climbed out of the water before re-joining them.

Spoonbills are notorious for spending large amounts of time asleep, their heads tucked frustratingly under a wing. The first view many have of them is of a white lump on a muddy spit! Like earlier on Fishtail.  They are likely to be more active later in the day (they’re actually partly nocturnal), when they will be putting their wonderful spoon-shaped bill to use.

A count of nine for the area was quite impressive, quite a high count and by far more than have been present here for awhile.

I left all seven Spoonbill feeding at the back of the lagoon and walked on.  Wigeon could be seen just under the bank of the lagoon, this pair seemingly having a bit of a tiff, the duck warding off the advance of the drake

Back on Fishtail Lagoon the duck, specially the Pintail were closer to the sea wall.

By far my favourite duck I will never pass up the opportunity to photograph them (maybe I do when they are in eclipse plumage!).

Probably once the most numerous duck species in the world, the Pintail is a very rare breeder in Britain, possibly because of its very specific habitat requirements - shallow pools in open grassland areas.

Pintail nests and chicks are vulnerable to predation by mammals, such as foxes and badgers, and birds like gulls, crows and magpies. The adults can take flight to escape terrestrial predators, but nesting females in particular may be surprised by predators

This is my favourite shot, the head raised as it takes a sip of water.

Pintails are generally social birds and rarely fight with other ducks. But when one male threatens another, they jab at their rival with their bill open and chase them with their head hanging low, just above the surface of the water. Males and females also lift their chins to greet each other and sometimes tip their chins when threatened. Pairs form on the wintering grounds, but males often mate with other females on the breeding grounds, and pairs only stay together for a single breeding season. Courting males stretch their necks up and tip their bills down while giving a whistle call. Males also preen behind their wing to expose the green speculum. Interested females follow males with head bobbing, preening, and clucking. 

The Pintail is a popular species for game shooting because of its speed, agility, and excellent eating qualities, and is hunted across its range.   Although one of the world's most numerous ducks, the combination of hunting with other factors has led to population declines

Turning to the sea side of the path, the channels in the marsh were starting to fill as the tide rose once again.

I had been searching for a couple of Ruff that I had been told were on the Jetty Lagoon.  I hadn't found them there, but scanning at the west end of Fishtail I found one, the unmistakable white male Ruff feeding at the back in the flooded grass.

Female Ruff are much smaller than their mates. The male Ruff sport a large ruff of feathers around their necks in the breeding season and take part in showy displays to attract females. Males with white ruffs are known as 'satellites' and are not usually dominant enough to mate with females but will sneak couplings when they can.  This bird is probably more leucistic or even albino based on the bill colour, than showing breeding plumage

At Keyhaven Lagoon there was still a good number of duck.  This drake Wigeon joined the number of duck reflecting well in the water.

Out on the mud these four Redshank were doing the same.

As i arrived on the wall at Keyhaven Marsh I noticed something flying low ahead of me, it hen went out of sight.  Walking on I flushed a female Sparrowhawk with what looked like a Starling in its talons.  It was chased by a Magpie across the lagoon, at times dropping low towards the water with the weight of the catch.  I lost it to view at the back of the lagoon

Finally back at Keyhaven I stood at the bridge and scanned out over the floods and the reed bed.  A female Marsh Harrier appeared scattering the Gadwall on the water and putting up all the Woodpigeon

And so we are through the first month of the year, it started quite slowly but by the end of the month I had managed a total of 107 for the year, which is quite acceptable, the number including some real specialties like Sabine's Gull and Shore Lark, but also missing divers and auks which might be expected at this time of year.  We move on into February