23rd July - Normandy & Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

With the juvenile Roseates having fledged and being seen on the sand bars in Normandy Lagoon, I decided to head there on what was forecast to be the best day of the early part of the week.  I left home in drizzle, but gradually as I headed west the weather improved and as I walked around the saltmarsh at Salterns the sun was out and it felt quite warm.

There was a small flock of Black-tailed Godwits on the Salterns Lagoon, all were mostly still showing a good amount of summer plumage, the lovely brick red colouring with black fringes to the feathers.

Waking up and alert.

Something spooked them and they all took off, circled around the lagoon and then returned to pretty much the same spot.

Walking around to Normandy Marsh, there was a single Common Sandpiper on Eight Acre Pond and the Eider family, female and three ducklings were crossing Oxey Lake.  As I got to the south side of the lagoon the Eider had hauled out of the water and were on the saltmarsh.  The ducklings still have a considerable amount of down and the wings are not developed.  They have now been around about four weeks, but after checking they would be expected to fly after 65 to 75 days.

There wasn't any sign of the Roseates although there was one juvenile reported in the morning.  There were though the Common Terns, this one with a good-sized fish for a youngster.

 

There were two adult Little Terns that were feeding a juvenile on one of the islands.

Another view of the Eider family.

Walking around to the east side of the lagoon there was a good number of Greenshank roosting out of the way.

A good count of six Greenshank in the bay, along with a Redshank.

 

Wader numbers were very low, Redshank outnumbered the other expected species, with Ringed Plover next. On the last visit the lagoon was full of Avocet and Black-tailed Godwits, but today there was only a handful.  There also were four Dunlin in summer plumage.

So when I picked up a small wader on the small island to the east of the lagoon I quickly managed a photograph and I with the white marked back, white belly and small bill, my immediate thought was Little Stint.  It disappeared on the back of the island.

I waited for it to appear but it didn't so I decided to see if I could get a better view and was able to find two waders.  Looking on the cameras view finder I still thought Little Stint and another birder confirmed they were as he looked with a scope, but I didn't look through it, my scope in the car, my neck and bad ankle not allowing me to carry it this morning.

I put the news out, but when I got home and was processing the images, I doubted my identification, and looking closer realised that they were in fact Sanderling in partial moulting summer plumage.  As a result I deleted my report and ate humble pie.  At least I realised and wasn't in the position to have been told, that would have been worse.

I walked back to the car, had some lunch then headed off to Fishtail Lagoon on Pennington Marsh.  On the Lagoon there was a Spoonbill briefly and a few Black-tailed Godwits.  I also found one Dunlin, but once again no waders of note.  A walk to the end of Fishtail and a scan of Keyhaven Lagoon found the missing Avocet, good numbers there that all went up when a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls flew in.

Walking back and around Butts Bay there were fifteen Eider on the saltmarsh, all either females of males in their dark eclipse plumage.

At Jetty Lagoon five Avocet flew in from Pennington Lagoon.

I turned back towards Lower Pennington Lane and decided to check the Shoveler Pools.  There was a flock of 14 Black-tailed Godwits once again, but at the back of the pool, there were three pale shapes.

These turned out to be three Green Sandpipers, here a closer view of two of them.

And a typical Green Sandpiper pose.

I walked back to the lane and then along the footpath through Oxey to the car.  This must be one of the visits where I have taken the fewest number of photographs here.  Wader numbers fluctuate at this time of year, but anything can turn up even Sanderling.  Hopefully there will be some Little Stint soon.