9th June - Romsey Abbey, Romsey, Hampshire

Overcast conditions were not conducive to butterfly searching so I decided to return to Romsey and the Peregrines that were nesting on the Abbey in the centre of the town.  As I walked around the Abbey I could see a Peregrine siting on the roof of the abbey.

Blood on the beast and belly feathers meant that this was probably the female.  A definitive identification would be to see if there were any rings, the male being ringed the female not.  However you couldn't see the legs at the moment.

Things were quiet for about half an hour, of interest was this partial leucistic Blackbird.

The female then moved to the cross that is above the gutter area where the chicks are.  Every so often you could hear the chicks calling.

At first we thought there was maybe a kill being held, but on a closer look it was clear that it was one of the legs curled up while the falcon stood on one leg.

Then with  out warning the Peregrine flew off, heading north, but seemed to be chasing something over the cottages, as the peregrine came back I picked up a Hobby flying off towards Fishlake.  The Peregrine then made its way back to the Abbey roof.

I then turned my attention to the other speed master of the air, the Swift, there were at least four flying around the abbey.

As well as the swifts there were also a few House Martins around the trees.  Other birds seen were Buzzard and Red Kite, while a Little Egret flying over seemed a little out of place.  Another raptor, a Sparrowhawk was chased away by a pair of crows.

Back to the Peregrines, this was the female on the roof.

With plenty of wing stretching.

The female flew off and the male appeared, flying on to the main tower, and looked down on me with those big black eyes.

And confirmation that this was the male bird came when it stretched out its leg to show the ring.

Continuing to watch the abbey roof.

I had arrived a little before 10:00am but others had been present since 8:00am and no food had been brought in for the chicks, so we were expecting some action soon.  When one bird went off we would see it circling high above the abbey.  The female then flew in to the area close to the nest site.

She didn't stay long and showed some great views as she took to the air.

My favourite shot of the day, showing the power and size of the bird.

Still no food being delivered, both birds away from the abbey, but always returning after a short while.

The male came in a settled on the weather vance, but then was evicted by the female who barged into her mate to move him off.

Flying out over our heads.

My time was up, so I left the Peregrines with both birds sitting on the abbey, the male on the roof and the female on the weather vane.  I will be coming back, the chicks will soon be looking to fledge and hopefully there will be some better light, which might mean an earlier start.

6th June - Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

There has been more rain this week than the whole of the spring this year, an amazing fact.  However the rain always frustrates and it was good to be able to get out today.  I decided on a trip to Titchfield.  I wasn't expecting much but there was always a chance of seeing something from the hides.

It was quite sad to see the work taking place on the old visitor centre and then to go to the ISO containers that are now the new office and centre.  It was also frustrating as there were several vans blocking the path meaning I had to go all the way around to check in.

After checking in I headed to the west side.  A Pied Wagtail was catching flies that were attracted to the sea weed that had been left by the fishermen on the sea wall.

It was pretty much business as usual in the Meon Shore hide with Black-headed Gulls busy around the islands, There wasn't any sign of any Avocet chicks which was concerning, but plenty of Avocet sitting on nests.  Amongst the gulls were several pairs of Common Tern.  What was good to see were the number of Black-tailed Godwits.

Here showing the flexibility of the godwit's bill.

Common Terns flying around the scrape.

Lesser Black-backed Gulls were testing the resolve of the nesting birds, cruising around the scrape.  Here an Avocet takes to the air to chase off one of the gulls.

The Lesser Black-backed gull in question.

It was nice to see four Mediterranean Gulls on the scrape.

All four of these were adults, more of which later.

I walked all the way around to the Spurgin Hide, it was still late morning and the light wasn't brilliant.  A Marsh Harrier glided by at the back of the pool every so often and Swifts could be seen hawking back and forth between the scrape and the pool here.

A Little Egret took off from the reeds and flew towards the scrape.

I spent a lot of time and shots on the Swifts but could only manage this.

After my lunch I decided to try the Pumfrett hide. In the ponds close by there were Common Blue Damselflies and this Four Spot Chaser.

A little more activity here, plenty of Swifts, and a few more successful shots.

The Pumfrett hide had some other action aside from the swifts.  On the central causeway an Oystercatcher had either found or taken a Black-headed Gull's egg and was addressing it like it would a limpet or mussel on the beach, hammering away with its bright red bill.

Then started to eat the contents.

Black-tailed Godwits were moving, this group coming in from up the valley.

I mentioned earlier about the adult Mediterranean Gulls, they had the black hood, redbill and legs and the all white wings.  On the causeway there were two, what initially looked like adults with the black hood and red bill and legs, but look at the primary tips, they show black.

These two birds are third calendar year birds.  In the spring moult the colour of bare parts become adult-like, with the orbital ring and bill turning coral red, the bill often with a black bill-band of varying width. The legs are scarlet red. The iris turns deep reddish-brown. As with 2CY birds there is individual variation in this age group but it is less pronounced and mostly involves the amount of black in the outer primaries and the fullness of the hood.

But back with the Swifts, they were coming closer now, which helped, but only a little.

The Predators though were never too far away, this Avocet taking to the air to chase off a Lesser Black-backed Gull.

But the biggest threat seemed to come from this female Marsh Harrier that would come towards the scrape, low over the reeds at the back.

There were young Black-headed Gull chicks on one of the islands close to the reeds and the harrier was headed towards it, but then dropped into an area next to the island, hovering and hanging just above the ground, watching the attention of the Black-headed Gulls and Avocets that were going crazy.

It would drop down, stay and then appear once again, heading off north but always coming back and heading for the same place.

Despite the chicks being left and definitely vulnerable the harrier didn't approach them.  My time was up, its June and not the most exciting time of the year for birds, but there will always be something to entertain, today it was the Swifts and the Marsh Harrier.