It had been a very up and down week weather wise. Friday saw rain but as I headed west the skies were clear and the sun was rising away to the east. Pulling into the car park along Lower Pennington Lane the sun was just above the horizon lighting up the flooded Pennington Marsh.
There was a very fresh westerly breeze that took the edge off the temperature. Around the car park a Song Thrush was singing, in the distance I could also hear a Chiffchaff. A Cetti's Warbler burst out its song from somewhere in the scrub at the back of the car park.
Walking through the gate to cross the old tip a male Chaffinch sat on the top of the bramble.
Today I had a new toy, a brand new Canon EOS R7 and an accompanying 100-50 RF lens. I had used it briefly on some of the birds in the garden but this was its first use. Lots of questions, how would I get on with the electronic view finder? How long would the battery last. Were the setting I had used be right for my type of photography. Lots of questions and hopefully the right answers at the end of the day.
The water in Fishtail Lagoon was very high with very little land for the waders, however there were plenty of Avocet around the lagoon with this one just off what was left of the island.
The tide was low and a Greenshank was feeding in the channel alongside the sea wall.
A feature of the electronic view finder is that it will show you what the impact of changing the exposure, so you can under and over expose and see it in real time. This was useful with the Greenshank with a background of dark mud.
Quite a few duck were on Fishtail, not surprising with the high water levels. The most numerous being Shoveler and Wigeon, but there were also several Pintail, Gadwall and Teal.
The Shoveler were quite mobile, flying around the lagoon.
Really pleased with how the auto focus tracks the birds in flight
On the mud were several Redshank.
In the west end of Fishtail there were several Pintail, I wonder how long this beautiful duck will be seen here.
I turned back and headed east to wards Butts and the Jetty Lagoon. A Little Egret was tucked up close to the bank sheltering from the wind and taking in the morning sunshine.
There were a few more Pintail on Pennington the morning sun picking out the chocolate brown on the head.
The tide was well out and there was a lot of mud exposed on Oxey Lake. Avocet fed around the channels and this Grey Heron was standing motionless alongside one of the deeper channels.
At Moses Dock there was a Greenshank in the creek.
I was looking down on to the Greenshank so turned back and positioned myself on the path to the south of the creek, from here I could get a little lower and the light was better.
A Redshank was up on the mud and you can see the difference between the two "shanks".
On the pool on the north side of the creek were a group of Black-tailed Godwits, giving away their presence with their chattering calls.
A few were roosting while others kept a look out for any danger above.
It was nice to see some of the Godwits almost in full brick red breeding plumage.
Heading towards Eight Acre Pond I noticed a drake Teal asleep on the exposed sea weed. I used the old brickwork for cover but as I appeared above it the Teal quickly woke up.
Alert, it slowly edged away.
In the pine at the back of Eight Acre Pond was a Little Egret.
At Normandy Marsh a Spoonbill was tucked away in the bulrushes, doing what Spoonbills do well.
But then a surprise it lifted its head.
But normal service resumed quite quickly.
There was good number of Avocet at the back of the lagoon.
I walked out of the wind at the bottom of the sea wall. A Spotted Redshank was feeding close to the fence so I had to climb up the bank to be able to see over the fence wires.
There were good numbers of Black-headed Gulls on the island and strips and in amongst them were several Mediterranean Gulls. I had been hearing the Meds as they flew high above me, so it was nice to be able to see them on the ground.
They are a striking gull when in the full breeding plumage.
I was about to walk back when some activity amongst the Avocet stopped me. There were five birds, probably two pair and another looking to try his luck. This resulted in a lot of squabbling and fighting.
Then it came to be a battle between two birds, probably, the loner being chased off.
I left the Avocet to continue their battles, and started to make my way back. A Curlew was feeding in amongst the sea weed along side the sea wall.
I walked across the marsh in hope of Wheatear, but with nothing. On Pennington Lagoon there was another pair of Avocet. There were good numbers now across all of the reserve.
At the Jetty I dropped down and headed towards the car park. A pair of Wigeon were feeding close to the path and did not seem phased by my presence.
There was also a drake Shoveler.
After a late breakfast at the car I set off along the Ancient Highway, the wind was still very fresh but out of the sun it was warm, there were no butterflies, but many bumble bees around the gorse.
I turned off the highway towards Iley Lane. I thought the lichen on this branch complemented the Robin.
Several Chiffchaff were singing along Iley Lane, it took a while but I finally managed to get close to one that was moving through the willows and singing.
At the Keyhaven harbour bridge there were several Tufted Duck sheltering in the west corner, framed by the reflection of the reeds in the water.
I walked around the sea wall back to the car. The tide was rising but there was still some mud on the marsh, the sky having some trails of white cloud which are emphasised in black and white.
Just before I reached the car park a male Stonechat dropped from the bramble to a puddle for a drink, not behaviour I have witnessed before.
Based on reports of several migrants I decided to go to Fishlake next, it was a risk and it turned out to be a mistake as there were no migrants aside from singing Chiffchaff. At the road side viewpoint there was a distant Great Egret and sheltering under the canal bridge I was surprised by a Kingfisher.
Long-tailed tits were everywhere and could be seen with feathers and spider's webs as they built their nests.
As well as the singing Chiffchaff many Wrens could be heard singing from the fallen trees and in amongst the branches.
At the screens the only bit of interest was a pair of Snipe, almost hidden amongst the reeds.
In the willows a Chiffchaff was feeding on the pussy willow flowers.
And that was it, very disappointing, you would have thought there could have been some hirundines. The wind make it very difficult all day and probably contributed to the lack of anything interesting.
On the camera though I was really pleased with it, the images are wonderful and I am really looking forward to next outing and the opportunity to learn more about how to get the best from it.
