4th November - Calshot Spit and Shatterford Bottom New Forest, Hampshire

The main purpose for visiting Calshot was of course to see the Boat-tailed Grackle, but as I have mentioned in the previous post there were also others to see while others were entertained by the grackle.  As the grackle hid under boats I was called to the beach where a Red-throated Diver was just off shore.  Red-throated Divers are not always as confiding as there cousins the Great Northern and Black-throated in the winter so this was a great opportunity for a close encounter.

This bird is now in winter plumage, the grey head and neck and then the darker back which has white checkmarks.

As with most divers and grebes the eye is red which apparently helps with sight in the dim water.

The Red-throated Diver is the smallest of the divers we see here in the UK.  All the divers have a similar grey plumage in the winter, the r\ed-throated can be identified ny the appearance of an upturned billm the lower mandible being angled.  They also hold the head high with the bill usually pointing upwards.

It never ceases to amaze me how far they can travel underwater.  Watching this bird it would dive and you think it will appear in a particular spot and it either doubled back on itself or went a lot further.  The tide was coming in, and this probably helped when it went with the tide, but it could still travel a fair way against the tide.

I was trying to get a shot where the diver was just on the crest of the wave, which was not easy in the rough water.

This shows well the upturned beak.

This is my favourite image from the portfolio.

The position of the eyes is almost binocular, which must help when hunting under water.

The closest I got to the crest of a wave photo.

There was other activity on the sea, a large flock of Turnstone were gathered on the beach and they would be disturbed by dog walkers and they would fly back and forth along the beach.

Its no secret I do like a Common Gull and this adult was sat on the water close by.

Then it took flight and flew past me.

It was at this point I returned to the Grackle.  Once having filled the camera with many similar shots I decided to move on.  Before the grackle had appeared I had planned to go looking for the Great Grey Shrike that had been in the Pig Bush area at the end of last week.  Since then it seems it was more reliable in the Shatterford area, so this was where I was headed.

On arrival there was a report that it was showing in the Woodfidley area which was to the south of the Bishop's Dyke that runs through the marsh.  It was a mild morning, the wind blowing from the south bringing unseasonal temperatures, but it was lovely to see the autumn colours of the forest lit up buy the low sunshine.

There was still cotton grass flowering in the marshy area close to the railway bridge.

I carried on all the way down to the second set of bridges that cross the streams in the area know as Woodfidley passage.  Here looking along the line of dead silver birch, where in the past a Great Grey Shrike over wintered.

The report said it was in dead trees behind the lake.  There is a body of water close by, but I wouldn't call it a lake, so I made my way there and came across a small group of birders.  The shrike was on top of one of the dead birch on the other side of the water.

A closer view, the shrike the white dot at the top of the dead tree, the smaller branch amongst a group dead birch just left of centre!

I did though get a closer shot.

This was the first Great Grey Shrike viewable in the forest for a couple of years, the last one present in the winter of 2022/23.  This then was a very welcome bird.

It moved around the area quite frequently, using the vantage points of the dead birch trees.  The closest it managed to get was when it settled on a short stump close to the edge of the water.

Whilst not a shot that would win any prizes it does show nicely the underwing pattern of the shrike.

Some nice autumnal background.

I had been hearing Crossbills fly over and seen a few pass overhead.  One though was calling frequently and had to be perched up.  I scanned the pines nearby and found a nice male bird right at the top of a tree.

The shrike returned to hiding so I decided to make the trek back to the car park.  The clouds were closing in so I decided to head home after a great day.  Wonderful to see the Boat-tailed Grackle, despite its provenance, and to catch up with Great Grey Shrike at last.  The Red-throated Diver and Crossbill were a wonderful bonus.