After the storms of the weekend I awoke to clear skies and a rising sun. The drive south to Titchfield was in a warm glow of November sunshine and despite the storm force winds over the weekend there was still a good number of leaves on the tree to provide the autumnal colour.
I walked from the top of Cliff Road down to the sea wall and beach. The sea was dead calm, nothing like the waves I had seen on video of the day before. A Great Crested Grebe was in close with the view behind across the Solent.
The grebe close in silhouetted against the low sunlight.
From the harbour bridge another grebe, this time a Little Grebe, the water reflecting the golden brown of the reeds.
The tide was high and I just had to check the roost on the spit behind the sailing club. There were Turnstone and Sanderling plus a good number of Ringed Plover.
Of course I couldn't give up the Sanderling, this one keeping an eye open amongst the crowd.
There was a good number of Shoveler in the bay, most of them roosting close to the reeds in the sunshine. The reflection was almost mirror like, so I have positioned them in the middle of the frame.
Not a bird that catches my eye that much, but today I did stop for this female Linnet perched on the vegetation close to the road.
In the Meon Shore Hide the view across the scrape showed that the weekend's storms had filled the scrape up and there was very little of the islands showing.
I settled in to see what might turn up. The water on the scrape was very still and sleeping duck, like the shoveler, this Teal was giving a superb reflection.
Everyone knows the sounds of the scrape dominated by the Black-headed Gulls in early March through to the summer. At this time of year the soundtrack of the scrape is that of the calls of the Lapwing. There is constant movement with the Lapwing wheeling around with their "peewit" calls constant.
With the water levels high the island that is normally in front of the hide was covered, however this Lapwing flew around and finally dropped down into the water. At first there were ripples.
But as they settled out the reflection became clear.
A move to a shallower part with the crown of the island.
It is not usual to see lapwing feeding like this.
A Cetti's Warbler was calling in the reeds to the left of the hide.
On the left hand side of the scrape a drake Wigeon was swimming.
A Grey Heron was on the west bank of the scrape, for most of the time it was motionless, but then a quick strike and it caught and ate, very quickly what looks like possibly a Mole
Then the female Marsh Harrier appeared, coming in over the reeds.
Coming this time quite close to the hide on the east side, rising up after coming in low over the reeds.
After another fly around the harrier came in and dropped onto the ground at the cause way between the scrapes.
But was soon off again, and out over the reeds and the closed Suffern Hide.
A diversion from the Harrier was a flock of Gadwall, these are males and it appeared that they were squabbling , probably over a female somewhere.
A Kingfisher had been flying back and forth while I had been in the hide, each time signalling its arrival with a whistle. Then it came through with a whistle and flew to the perch on the left hand side which was in the sunshine.
A female, it sat watching the new water below. Before the weekend it was mud.
There was one dive and it caught a fish and returned to the perch, the other way around.
The colours seem always to appear different in sunshine.
After the Kingfisher left a harrier returned once again, this time a male with the grey upperparts.
This one came across the scrape and then headed towards the West Hide, coming back across the scrape in front of the hide.
The Snipe on the small island to the left of the hide were squeezing together due to the receding amount of dry land.
I decided to move on, I had plans for the afternoon. As I left the hide Wigeon flew over, probably having come down from up the valley.
A very nice morning in some wonderful winter light. I was now off to try and find one of the iconic winter birds down here on the south coast.
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