8th April - Keyhaven - Lymington Reserve, Hampshire

 Another day another morning of glorious sunshine and blue skies.  With the wonderful light I wanted to try Keyhaven - Lymington reserve, starting from the sea wall car park at the end of Lower Pennington Lane, I headed off across the Old Tip towards Fishtail Lagoon.  There was over fifty Avocet around the lagoon with a good number looking to use the island for nesting.  The Avocet though did not attract my attention, it was the Lapwing that were displaying over the lagoon.

The aerobatics were quite spectacular, the two birds flying alongside each other and twisting and turning.

Along with the aerobatics there were the calls.

I walked around to Keyhaven lagoon where there were more Avocet and a single Spoonbill in the middle of the lagoon.  Walking back past Fishtail I had to stop for the Avocet on the island.  Nest building together

Tidying up.

There was another Spoonbill feeding on the Jetty Lagoon.

At Pennington Lagoon there was a single Avocet flying around, coming quite close overhead.

At Oxey Marsh a pair of Redshank came low across the water in the marsh.

A Little Egret flying low over the water.

Looking west across the Oxey Marsh.

On the Salterns Pond there were 23 Black-tailed Godwits, mostly all in the brick red breeding plumage.

From Pennington there was the constant calls of Mediterranean Gulls overhead, sometimes they fly very high and are difficult to see, but these came low across the lagoons.

Sandwich and Common Terns could be heard and seen distantly on the water and as I walked around the sea wall at Normandy Marsh I found a Little Tern on one of the exposed shingle banks.

Time for a preen.

I dropped down to get a little closer.

There was a group of Dunlin, some showing the black bellies of summer plumage.

I walked around to the east side of the marsh, there were more Mediterranean Gulls overhead.

Like the Lapwings on Fishtail, the Redshanks were going through displays and fights with others.  Their calls ringing out across the marsh.  This one was flying in to push another off a post.

Some relaxed images of Avocet.

Oystercatcher were joining in the aerobatic displays.  This pair were flying around the marsh calling continuously.  I caught them in perfect symmetry.

I made my way back to the south side of the sea wall and found the Little Tern gone, however it wasn't too far away, I found it fishing in the tide on the sea side of the wall.

It is always nice to have this delightful little sea bird back for the summer

It then headed back to the lagoon.

Coming in low over the water to the shingle bank once more.

I walked back towards Pennington, crossing Oxey Marsh.  At the Jetty Lagoon there were three Spoonbill, two feeding far at the back, while one was preening and wing flapping a little closer.

In Butts Bay there was a gathering of seven Great Crested Grebes, probably birds that have not been able to pair up and breed.

Just after this shot there were two more appear but kept a distance from the main group.

I walked around to Fishtail once more to look for the reported Little Ringed Plover.  But on arriving the plovers were distant at the back of the lagoon, but I was assured that they would come back to the island.  I decided to wait and watched the antics of the Avocet on the island.

This one was calling constantly.

And as usual fights broke out amongst the pairs as they battled for some prime real estate.  On land...

And in the water.

But it wasn't all war some pairs were engaging in a little bit of love.  The pair come alongside each other, the female laying with her head on the water while the male preens and walks either side of her.

Then he jumps on, flaps the wings and does the deed.

I could see and hear the Little Ringed Plover flying around the back of the lagoon, and eventually I found one on the island, this is the female.

Then joined by another, a male

The Little Ringed Plover is smaller than its cousin the Ringed Plover and lacks the wing bar the Ringed Plover has.  The bill is also all black.  The male has a solid black forehead band, the females slightly thinner.

It walked around the island coming closer.

But was eventually spooked by the Avocet and moved back to the causeway.

It was very much a flying day today with some great flight shots in beautiful sunshine and light.  Great to have the terns back, we await the return hopefully of the Roseate.