21st February - Elmley NNR, Kent

A weekend away in Kent and the chance to visit Elmley once more.  After overnight rain it was clearer as we drove into Kent, a drop off in Snodland and then the drive onto Sheppey and down the entrance track.  There was a lot more water around the reserve than on my last visit in December and as a result there were a lot of geese, duck and waders out on the marsh.

Where there are high numbers of birds then there is likely to be predators and we could see Marsh Harriers distantly on the marsh and on ethe fence posts several Buzzards.

The sun was trying to come out and as we drove the last part of the track two Brown Hare crossed the track and raced into the field.  After a short spa they then jogged across the field.

We learnt that there are leverets about and these two were probably females.

A last look back at the car before disappearing into the longer grass.

From the car park we headed down past the Old School where there wasn't any sign of the Little Owl.  Walking to the reed bed there were three Marsh Harriers quartering the reeds, here a male and a female.

They continued to fly over the reed bed, but frustratingly at some distance.

We walked to the Swale and with the tide low there was a gathering of Black-tailed Godwits on the mud.

A little further along was a small group pf Avocet.

We walked the sea wall path and were able to hear Bearded Tit, but frustratingly we were not able to see them.

At the end of the path you get a good view of the fields and marsh that is distant from the entrance track.  Another Brown Hare sat on the top of the ridge.

Marsh Harriers came low over the field probably looking for any sign of the leverets.  Large flocks of Wigeon were moving over the marsh.

Walking back a Marsh Harrier appeared to be interested in a particular area of the reeds, it wasn't clear what was there though.

The tide was much higher and the godwits were pushed closer together.

On the open water amongst the reeds were three Pochard, a male and two females.

A Reed Bunting on the path leading back to the car park.

And passing the Old School the sun had brought the Little Owl out on the bricks.

After lunch we headed east towards the hides.  There were huge flocks of duck, mostly Wigeon flushed from the marsh and heading out on to the Swale.

Four Gadwall flew past quite close and out on the marsh there were lots of Curlew and Lapwing.

We walked towards the Southfleet hide where there was a large group of Brent Geese, as we came close they took to the air, surprisingly silently.

They had been scarce so far but along the track there were now several Stonechat, the males looking smart right now.

The walk back was into the wind and we were left with the image of the Brent Geese flocks against the windmills.

The flocks of geese and duck was impressive once again, but it was a quiet day once again, apparently there are eight Short-eared Owls in the area around the car park, but they are more nocturnal now.  Driving out of the reserve there were more Marsh Harriers and large flocks of Lapwing and Godwits.  At the gate the two Kestrels were on duty, but by then we had packed the camera gear away.

13th February - Hayling Island, Hampshire

There has been a Snow Bunting at East Head on the Selsey Peninsula for quite a while but in the last few weeks one has been appearing at Black Point on Hayling Island.  It was reported yesterday while I was watching Bittern and Otter, so I decided to go this morning to try and catch up with it

Leaving Four Marks it was quite thick fog and this did not clear until coming down from Butser Hill on the A3.  I made my way to the Sandy Point area and then walked around the promenade.  The tide was falling but the sea was quite rough with quite a large swell.  Cormorants were perched on the groyne markers, with waves breaking behind them.

On the water just offshore was an immature Shag.

The Snow Bunting had been present along the causeway that leads from the Lifeboat station to the Sailing Club.  I walked the area but could find anything other than two Linnets amongst the grass on the dunes on each side of the path.

It seems the Snow Bunting commutes across the channel to the East Head Area in West Sussex.  It also seems it does this in the afternoon.  Yesterday it was seen flying back.  Nevertheless I decided to walk around Black Point, the tide now well out and it was possible to walk the beach.

Coming around the point there were two Sanderling on the tide line and I couldn't resist them.

A dog came close but the Sanderling didn't seem concerned and stood their ground.

Scampering away along the tide line.

Finally managing to catch one with both legs off the beach.

I just waited and they came towards me.

Walking back around the beach the waves were impressive out in the channel.

Brent Geese flying across the channel

I stood around and waited but there wasn't any show.  There was a distant Great Northern Diver in the channel, too far for the camera.

With rain coming I decided to walk back to the car and drive around to Northney.  The Cattle Egret that have been found at Warblington have moved away.  This is due to the lack of cattle at Warblington and a large herd at Northney Farm.  I parked in the tea room car park and watched as Mediterranean Gulls called and flew over and they a flock of Cattle Egrets.

Seven at first.

The flock increased with thirteen.  There have been reports of over fifty!

I went back to Black Point and did another circuit out on the water there were five distant Great Northern Divers and four Slavonian Grebes.  However this was an afternoon that the Snow Bunting decided not to commute across the water.  Never mind, there may still be time to get it another day.

24th January - Emsworth to Nutbourne, Chichester Harbour

Today was my birthday and we had taken the opportunity to have a weekend away, staying just outside of Emsworth on the border of Hampshire and West Sussex.  The one time I have been to Emsworth was December 2024, then for a Black-throated Diver on the Mill Pond.  Nothing like that around today, but we were off on a walk and to be honest I had no idea where we were going.

From the hotel we walked down Beach Road toward the water front, this being on the edge of Chichester Harbour.  The skies were blue, but with a very strong south easterly wind it felt cold.  There was a threat of rain later in the day so we were hopeful we could have a good walk before it arrived.  The tide though was low, with it just being low tide an hour ago.

A black and white view, looking east towards Thorney Island and West Sussex.

There is a path around the Mill Pond, but it was very blowy and exposed.  Black-tailed Godwits and Redshank were feeding in the channels and at the Mill there was a Black Swan amongst the Mutes.

We walked through the centre of Emsworth and eventually found the path around the Slipper Pond that took us through the marina and out on tt the sea wall that leads towards Thorney Island.  I was here just before Christmas, then it was also sunny, but cold and still, today the reeds were blowing.  Back in December I had great views of Bearded Tit, today I heard a few pings from the reeds but didn't see anything.

We walked on the lower path out of the wind.  It was very quiet.  At the Great Deeps there were plenty of Coot on the water, Teal, Wigeon and Black-tailed Godwits.  Looking up the channel there were two Greenshank roosting on the shore.

We had no intention of walking around Thorney, so turned back, this time on the higher path.  With the tide rising the waders were pushed closer.  There were a few Dunlin feeding on the mud

Out on the sea a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers bobbed on the choppy water.

There was the constant calls of Brent Geese out in the harbour and every so often there would be groups flying over the sea wall and towards the fields of Thorney Island.

 I watched this Oystercatcher chiselling away at something under the water.

Wigeon flying out towards the harbour.

We decided to walk across Thorney Island to pick up the Coastal path as it made its way around the sea wall.  Walking the footpath towards the coastal path a Green Woodpecker was flushed from the field alongside the path.  We headed east with the tide rising.  The sun was still with us, if a little watery now and cloud building up to the west.

A stream or rife as it is known in this area ran on the other side of the path and there was a feel of the same area at the North Wall at Pagham.  In the fields behind the Rife there were pools of water in the field and there were Curlews feeding and taking the opportunity to bathe in the freshwater.

The largest wader in the UK, they have an elegance about them.

A feeding group.

As well as the Curlew there was also a pair of Oystercatchers in the field, but they soon departed.

It was the case of checking the map and the weather, by turning north and heading towards the old A27 we had the option of a bus should the weather turn against us.  But while all was well we kept going passing the village of Southbourne and walking towards Nutbourne.  There was a footpath that turns north at a small bay.  We paused here as there was a selection of duck and few waders on the water and mud.  A pair of Wigeon close in.

There was a few Redshank and a single Black-tailed Godwit, but of greater interest was a pair of Pintail preening on one of the banks.

The footpath that led to Nutbourne followed a stream that had flooded the field.  There were a lot of Teal, mainly drakes who were trying to attract the attention of the few ducks with their whistles and head bobbing.

As we came up onto the main road we were delighted to find a cafe on the corner.  It turned out to be a really nice place.  From the cafe we decided to walk the main road west back towards Emsworth.  This was the bus route so we had the option to get the bus should we need to.  We kept going and made it all the way to Emsworth.  As we walked into the village centre I noticed this sign outside and old car garage.  This seemed to hark back to the sixties by the look of the decor, but it was the sign for National outside.  National was a petrol station I remembered from back in the seventies.  I had worked at one in my home village of Kennington just outside Oxford.  An iconic signage

I had to find out what happened to National so spent sometime when I got home researching them.

National was a petroleum brand used in the United Kingdom from 1919 to the 1990s. In 1957, the National Benzole Co. became wholly owned by Shell-Mex & BP (through British Petroleum) but continued its separate trading identity. In the early 1960s, National Benzole was re-branded as National and continued trading as a UK retailer of petroleum products until the early 1990s, when the brand was phased out by parent company, BP.

To sustain the success, an imaginative advertising campaign was developed, and in 1928, Mr Mercury – startlingly naked – leapt for the first time from the pages of the national newspapers.

Mr. Mercury, in National Benzole's black and chrome gold corporate colours, became one of the most powerful marketing images of this age. Almost every service station in the 1930s had a National Benzole pump, for single-brand sites were unknown in those days. Eventually, Mr. Mercury's head was used as the brand's logo. At the outbreak of the Second World War, all petrol brands gave way to pool petrol.

Mr. Mercury returned in 1953, now more modestly attired in the advertisements, though he retained his winged helmet, and National Benzole quickly re-established itself as a market leader.  

In 1959 Mr. Mercury's black and chrome gave way to a sparkling new yellow, blue and white sign which is what I was looking at today and remembering from the past.

We made our way back to the hotel still not needing to take the bus.  It was an interesting day, a lovely walk where the rain stayed away and despite the strong wind thoroughly enjoyable.  Then the opportunity to reminisce about old petrol brands before dinner and drinks to celebrate another year ticked off