After the butterfly search at Old Winchester Hill, it was back to the birds today and another trip to Titchfield Haven. Black Tern has eluded me so far this year and there was a chance there could be one amongst the tern roost on the beach at low tide.
I walked from Cliff road heading towards the sea wall and the beach. The tide was falling and the exposed area was at the Rainbow Bar. However as I walked through the harbour there were plenty of Turnstones on the groynes and harbour wall. At this time of year they still have the breeding plumage, lovely oranges and rusty browns, that give them the name of Ruddy Turnstone in the USA.
Not quite able to hide.
Out in the Solent there were very large feeding flocks of terns and gulls, and there was constant movement of terns coming back to the beach. As we watched the numbers would increase. Other than a few Sandwich Terns the roost was made up of adult and immature Common Terns, no sign then of the hoped for Black Tern.
Gulls of interest were several Mediterranean Gulls and a very smart adult Common Gull. A Gannet was also seen distantly going west to east.
After spending time going through the terns I decided to leave it and go onto the reserve, heading for the Meon Shore hide to start. There was little difference from the visit earlier in the week, still three Common Sandpipers, with one on the small island gently picking up insects with it bill.
There was some activity around the Frying Pan and in the distance I picked up some white birds in a tight flock. These turned out to be Cattle Egrets, ten in total, a good number here, they flew around the meadow and eventually dropped out of view.
I decided to walk back to the east side with the intention of trying to find the egrets. Walking through the harbour the tide was well out ad the Brown Rats were searching the sea weed on the mud.
Rather than go immediately to the meadow, I was side tracked and ended up with a coffee back on the beach going through the tern roost once again. Once again mostly all Common Terns with an adult and juvenile Sandwich Tern the odd ones out.
A watchful Lesser Black-backed Gull on the harbour post.
I walked up to the Meadow Hide and found the Cattle Egrets, but they were hiding behind the reeds on Duck bay, this adult giving brief views as it preened.
Over on the Frying Pan there was a Little Egret and this Great Egret, making it a three egret day!
Kingfishers are beginning to be seen so I decided to have lunch up at the Spurgin Hide. The kingfisher never showed but I did get a short view of a Marsh Harrier, my first for a while There appears to be some feathers missing so maybe the reason for their absence lately is due to their moult.
Then a fly past by the Cattle Egret, here seven of the ten, there were at least three adults, and the rest were immatures with the all black bills.
They appeared to circle the south scrape and briefly dropped down, before taking off and heading back. Here eight of the ten.
And then all ten together once more. They flew past the Spurgin and dropped down in the region of the Frying Pan once more.
As I left the hide this male Ruddy Darter was sitting in the sun on the rails of the bridge leading to the hide. The head is redder tan the common, the abdomen has a definite "waist", there are black lines on the eight and nine abdomen segments and the legs are all black.
Back in the Meon Shore hide the only difference was that the Black-tailed Godwits were closer to the hide and feeding. In amongst them was this juvenile bird, the overall colour is off an oranged washed body with definite dark brown fringes on the feathers.
The Moorhen chick was dangerously out in the open being fed by its parent.
A lovely reflection as this Lapwing feeds.
The Common terns continued their commute between the scrape and the Solent.
This Mediterranean Gull have a bathe.
Then headed back out to the Solent.
No Black Tern, but ten Cattle Egret was notable.
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