A flu vaccination this morning meant a late start, but I had planned to go to Farlington, where high tide was just after 13:00. I would be arriving three hours before that and I was hoping for movement from the harbour onto the Lake. It turned out that the tide was already quite high when I arrived but this didn't stop the movement from the harbour, and the day turned out to be a good one for my photography so I have decided to split the post into two parts.
With the tide up I started by walking to the Lake view point, as I dropped down onto the sea wall, there were Black-tailed Godwits coming from a shallow area of the harbour across the water towards the Lake.
A little further along there were some more waders on a small island still above the water. Three Greenshank.
The Lake was very busy already with the Black-tailed Godwits, plus Dunlin, Knot, Redshank and a couple of Avocet. Duck were spread out and the Pintail numbers already looked impressive, but they were also still coming in from the harbour. This a female Pintail.
Quickly followed by several drakes.
This one a close fly by.
This manoeuvre by the Pintail is known as 'wiffling', the twisting and turning as they brake in the air and drop to the water.
Other birds moving were the Brent Geese, but only a few came on to the Lake.
And several Cormorants and Oystercatchers moving off shore.
While the Pintail were the most numerous here and in numbers never seen before, but there were also Wigeon coming in from the harbour.
There are several thoughts on why there are such unprecedented numbers of Pintail around Langstone Harbour. It could be that a lot of their usual sites along the south coast are dried up, such as Pulborough and Amberley, but it could also be that the amount of wildfowling has reduced. Either way they are welcome, such a stunning duck.
A chance to bathe in the brackish water to wash off the salt water of the harbour.
The obligatory wing flap following some preening and washing.
Here you can see the variation in the colours of the speculum, green in certain light but can also be seen as dark red.
And the chance for a sleep, in symmetry of course.
Grey Plover flew in joining the wader roost, showing off the black 'arm pit'.
A pair of Kestrels appeared on my left hand side, the male hunting, the female on the fence post. The female then gave me a lovely fly past.
So the end of part one. Part two will concentrate on the walk around the reserve and back to the Lake.
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