After the rain of Sunday I was hoping for some bright spells today. the forecast was better on the coast so I decided to head to my safe place, the Haven. On the way there were some signs of brightness, but as I turned into Stubbington the heaven's opened. Fortunately this stopped by the time I parked along Cliff road, but it was gloomy and there was a lingering threat of rain.
After checking in I walked around to the west side of the reserve, the ice of last week now gone. Ringed Plover and Turnstone flew past me as I walked along the sea wall and as I walked on to the reserve there was a Kestrel hunting along the path.
It was very gloomy with there being the need for an ISO of 5000!
Then of course banked away.
As I walked around the harbour all the birds on the scrape had gone up, so it wasn't a surprise to see the scrape almost devoid of birds, gradually they made their way back, but this Marsh Harrier didn't help.
It was nice to see several Gadwall around the scrape.
Once a good number of birds were back on the south scrape it was down to the Lapwing to spook everything once more, taking to the air as usual for no reason at all.
A female Sparrowhawk did stir things up a little as it flew in front of the hide and into the bushes. Over the past weeks there has been an influx of geese so it is worth checking any geese flying over. These though were Brent flying in land for some reason.
It was quiet in the gloom so it paid to scan everywhere. Movement in the distant trees turned out to be Fieldfare and possibly Redwing, but I couldn't confirm that.
It was a case of any action was worth checking and this Common Gull was standing where an island would normally be, but it was pecking at the water around it.
It turned out there was a fish in the shallow, I am not sure if the gull had caught it or it was just there, but the gull seemed not sure what to do with it.
It picked it up.
Then dropped it and fish managed to get away, so the gull flew off.
There were two Marsh Harriers over the distant reed bed, they would come together and have a tussle, but mostly kept to their selves.
The classic Marsh Harrier hunting scene.
The light was getting a little better and there was some sunshine getting through. The Lapwing were venturing closer, this one on Snipe Island, where incidentally there was a maximum count of two Snipe
There was a little gravel where the island in front of the hide should be and this, too, was occupied by a Lapwing that was preening.
With some really elegant poses.
There was some more raptor action with a Buzzard and Red Kite around the Frying Pan. The Red Kite appeared to drop onto the meadow, probably interested in the Roe Deer corpse that has been left there.
But with the sun trying to come out it was left to the Common Gulls to finish the day for me. I really like these gulls and after the Kittiwake are probably one of the nicest looking.
Then four became five to finish my day off.
On leaving we walked around the path a little way. There was a report of a dead bird by the side of the path. We found it and it was headless but with webbed feet at the base of the body could only be a Guillemot. The question is "how did it get there?" and "where is the head?"
Oh how I miss the cold and sunshine of last week.
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