31st March - Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

The fine, sunny and warm weather continues and over the weekend a Garganey turned up at last on Posbrook Floods.  There was no debate on where I was going this morning as it was present all day Sunday and they usually stick around for a few days.

As I set off along the canal path the news wasn't good, a search for an hour and a half had not found it.  I remained positive and continued, stopping to watch the two Glossy Ibis, that remain, on the Bridge Street Floods.

I scanned the Posbrook Floods, but without any luck, there wasn't any sign of a Garganey.  There were a couple of Tufted Ducks, a drake Pintail and several Wigeon along with the regular Gadwall, Teal and Shoveler.

After twenty minutes searching I decided to move on, there would always be a chance on the way back.  Chiffchaffs and Cetti's Warblers were singing along the canal and showing intermittently.  At the thatched cottage a Fox was hunting in the field.  From the look of the fur on the hind quarters, this is the same fox that gets around the reserve.

A little further along a Chiffchaff singing in the open.

I do not know what as happened to the feathers around the bill, they look black and dirty.

The warm weather is bring out the leaves in the Blackthorn, and the fresh green colours contrast nicely with the browns of the reeds.

Just past the sluice that controls the water in the canal going into the reserve a Great Spotted Woodpecker was drumming on the bough of an oak tree.

And a little further along the Firecrest was in song in the usual spot.

A Stunning little bird.

On reaching the end of the path I walked around the sea wall to the visitor centre.  Water levels were much lower in the bay, but still not low enough to expose mud at low tide.  However this Redshank was feeding close to the reeds.

At the harbour bridge a Little Grebe was diving just below the bridge.  Here you can see the position of the legs right at the back of the body.

After a brief visit to the Meon Shore hide I walked around to the Pumfrett where the birds were a little closer.  The water levels had fallen here too, but with there being the frantic gull activity there were few birds close to the Meon Shore, it was better at the Pumfrett.

Avocets feeding.

The male Marsh Harrier had shown over the reeds, but always at a distance.  

However a female Marsh Harrier did come close.

Then a head on glide towards us.

The male then returned a little closer.

There were well over fifty Avocet between the North and South Scrape, and as with Avocet there were some scraps with pair squaring up to each other with bills down and tails pointing up.

And when they fight they dance.

The Avocet on the left had been moving sticks and stones, as if making a scrape for a nest, I assume that this is the female and here she doesn't seem to pleased with her partner sleeping.

There were a few Mediterranean Gulls on the central causeway and they could also be heard calling as they flew around the scrapes.

The dark background created by a tree emphasises the beauty of the gull's snow white plumage.

I decided to leave the reserve and head back up the canal path.  As I reached the area wher ethe Firecrest had been earlier a Blackcap was now singing.  Have to assume it has just arrived as there wasn't any Blackcap singing earlier.

Another of the many Chiffchaffs singing.

A Jay flew across the meadow, heading towards the trees on the west side of the canal.

The view looking north east across the meadows.

And in black and white.

As I reached the floods I scanned again as I walked along the path.  I then noticed a group of birders, they had seen the Garganey but had lost it in the vegetation, I was able to get to a high point on the path and managed to find it.  The white stripe on the head as it moved through the sedge.

It gradually made its way towards the left and towards hopefully some more open water.  I tracked it through the sedge and waited.

Then looking north I noticed what I initially thought were six Cormorants, then as the bank it was clear they were Glossy Ibis.

They flew past and then circled as if looking for somewhere to land.  

The question was where had these come from?  There haven't been any reports of a group like this, recent reports are all of single birds, the two birds I saw here in the morning being the largest group recently.  These must be migrants, but arriving from where.

After circling low, they came in low over the sedge.

Eventually they dropped out of site behind the sedge.

With the Glossy Ibis not visible it was back to the drake Garganey and it finally came out into the open.

It was nice to finally get the Garganey, they are not always an easy bird to see as was shone by the no show this morning.  An interesting day, with some nice sightings.  But it seems as if the weather is too nice and is blocking the movement of migrants.  Last year the block was the cold weather, tis year it seems like the warm sunny weather.  The hope is that the winds will go around to the south east towards the end of the year.

29th March - Pig Bush, New Forest, Hampshire

A complete contrast in the afternoon from the blue waters of the Solent to the oranges and browns of the New Forest at Pig Bush.  We were here in the hope that the Redstarts had started to return.  On arrival the car park was full, the sun brings everyone out.

We walked through the wood by the car park and headed down towards the stream.  A Comma butterfly flew past and then settled on the ground in the sunshine.

A little further along we came across a moth, This is an orange underwing and is one of the earliest day-flying moths to appear in spring, taking to the wing on sunny days in March and April. Their caterpillars feed on birch trees, so they're found on woodland edges, in sunny clearings, and in scrubby areas or heathlands with patches of birch. The moths often flutter around the very tops of the birch trees, though they do come down to the ground to drink and bask.

Orange underwings spend the winter as a pupa attached to the bark of a tree, or dug in to rotting wood. The adult moths emerge in March and can be seen into April. They lay their eggs on birch twigs, with the eggs hatching in time for the caterpillars to feed on newly-grown catkins. In later spring, the growing caterpillars feed on the young birch leaves, instead. The caterpillars pupate around June and spend the rest of the year as a pupa.

Walking through the wood there was plenty of sunshine coming through the bare branches.  There were also some very dramatic dead trees, this one covered in ivy.

Plenty of Stock Dove calling, this one settled on a dead bough.

There were at least four Firecrests singing all around us, one showing well.

We made our way to the damp flooded area.  The paths though were almost all dried out.  Disappointingly there were no Woodlark in the open areas, but as we approached the wood by the bridge across the railway line.

A Blackcap was singing from the scrub, the first of the year, but was making it difficult to see.  As I searched for the Blackcap, I came across  a Great Spotted Woodpecker, two more Firecrests and this Treecreeper in the middle of a Hawthorn bush.

I finally managed to find the Blackcap and it stayed still for a brief moment.

There wasn't any sign or sound of Redstart.  A Nuthatch was vocal above us and showed well on the knurled wood.

Another classic pose.

With no Redstart and just a Blackcap migrant we headed for the path to cross the heath.  But as we approached we could see that fences had been put in place and there was a sign stating the path was closed as they were flooding the area to enhance the habitat for wildlife.

We joked how was anyone to know we had walked the path, when directly in front of us a Peregrine flew up in front of us.

It flew around the heath, with some low passes.

It then settled in a tree, perched behind the branches.  Here it preened for a while and we waited to see if it would fly again.

It did and came closer towards us.

From the colour and size we felt that this was an immature male Peregrine.

It spiraled up, gaining height very quickly and in a matter of minutes was just a speck amongst the clouds.

We had to make our way back the way we came.  As we walked across the heath there were Stonechats amongst the bracken, and this male Dartford Warbler.

Walking through the wood I was taken by the oak trees.  the bare branches, now waiting for the leaves to appear provide some wonderful shapes.

So no sign of the hoped for Redstarts, but some interesting stuff and completely different from the morning walk.