Oxon & Keyhaven Marshes :: 01 - 03 April 2024

With ten days holiday still to take before the end of April I've decided to take the rest of the week off in addition to the Easter weekend. Knowing there was no pressure to do anything specifically, and unable to travel and stay away - Charlotte knackered her back and foot and was awaiting treatment - I made a few short trips out.

Over the last week or so a local little owl has been seen again and after a short view last week I popped out to try again in some better morning sunshine. It was only a few minutes before I found the bird and then repositioned to have a better view. During winter, little owls generally remain within their territories but become less active during the day, preferring to conserve energy and shelter in their territories. Recent sightings seem to suggest we have seen a change in behaviour -

Spring is sprung, the grass is riz.
I wonder where the birdies is.
Some say the birdies is on the wing, but that's absurd.
I always thought the wing was on the bird.
(Author anonymous)

I called Kev to let him know that there was a bird out and soon he joined me, enjoying good views in the part sun - Edwin Barson dropped by too. All too soon is was time to leave as I'd left my family all still in bed and it was probably a good idea to return before they were up and about. Just as we were about to leave the owl flew up and behind a dead branch with just the top of its head and eyes visible above, perhaps assessing the safety of its environment but definitely with its eyes on us.

Later we went for lunch at a local garden centre in Bicester and on the way out I asked if we could drive by the Bicester Wetlands Reserve field where a pair of little ringed plover are showing currently. It was very much a drive by visit but I was able to pick out the birds, although very distant for photos. With the warming weather and lengthening days, these plovers migrate back to their favoured habitats of sandy riverbanks, gravel pits, and open shorelines. Their arrival heralds the onset of the breeding season, during which they will establish territories, court potential mates, and build their shallow scrape nests on the ground. Known for their distinctive yellow ringed eyes and sandy-brown plumage, little ringed plovers patrol water edges in search of small invertebrates and insects to feed upon.

The following day we eventually got round to going out for a coffee and a walk - with Charlotte's ailments somewhere flat and with solid ground was called for and so we dropped into Farmoor Reservoir. We crossed the causeway and found a single turnstone on the F1 shore, out of the wind. There were more people than birds on and around the water, so we dropped down into a hide by the river and sat for a while. We sat with the Merlin Bird App open and watched as it recorded the species calling around us - we were amused as it reported great bittern, as we didn't hear anything resembling that - the App is good but not perfect. We returned to the Visitor Centre cafe and had a coffee returning home having had a nice walk but little in the way of interesting bird species.

Wednesday arrived, and Charlotte would be tied up with her chiropractor appointment/assessment/treatment so I decided to check if Kev @kev07713 would be allowed to come out and play - he was, and even better his wife Karen @karenheath62 said she'd come along too. We looked at the weather forecast and decided the south coast looked best/driest and opted for a visit to Lymington and the Keyhaven Marshes - we always find something of interest there. We drew up in the yacht haven after a journey interrupted with our customary breakfast stop and found it was very windy. We got kitted up and set off along the Solent Way past Normandy Marshes and Lagoon, spotting a calling Cetti's warbler as it relocated back and forth across our route - it never perched in view and the views we had were always in flight and away (as they often are).

Now out in the open we realised quite how windy it was - hopefully it might drop at some point (and soon). We stopped hoping to see a spoonbill over the marsh, lagoon, or shoreline but there were none - I think this is the first time we haven't connected with one. We reached the edge of the lagoon and picked out around twenty snipe, spotted redshank and a greenshank associating with one another, and a handful of black-tailed godwits; the godwits have undertaken a long migratory journey from their wintering grounds, often spanning thousands of kilometres, to reach their breeding sites in wetlands, marshes, and coastal areas. Upon arrival they undergo a remarkable transformation in plumage, as their breeding attire emerges in hues of rich chestnut, orange, and copper, accentuated by their striking, black-tipped tails and white wing bars. The spotted redshank in contrast had not started transitioning into its distinctive dark breeding plumage.

We fought around the lagoon against the wind, deciding to drop down to the lower path to try and get some respite. Here we had close views of avocets, a couple of ringed plovers, little egret, two female red-breasted mergansers, dunlin and redshanks. While we there a little egret perched close a couple of times but decided to depart each time I raised my camera. On the corner we popped up onto the main path on the sea wall and scanned the water and shore spotting our first swallow as it came in off the water, over the lagoon and away. The plan had been to swing round to Pennington Marshes next but Kev was getting tired of the wind pushing at us all the time and said he'd prefer to try something inland instead. We headed back to the car and into the The Haven Bar & Restaurant for a hot drink and lunch - their sandwiches are enormous; our fish finger sandwich must have contained way more than just the fingers ...

After lunch and at the car Kev noted that a little gull had been reported down on Pennington and was less troubled by the winds - a spot of lunch and some respite from the wind had made a difference. We jumped in the car and parked up in the closest car park. We heard Cetti's warblers again, had skylarks singing and a marsh harrier at distance.

Almost at the sea wall we came across a pool of water across the path and had to shimmy along a metal fence to cross it, then balance on some strategically positioned stones and branches. We were now on the east end of the fishtail lagoon and could see a couple of birders down in front of some reeds at the west end and where the bird had been reported - that’s where we were going. It was just as windy and slowed us in making our way along but soon we were there, and on the bird - we dropped down to join the other two birders. In fact, there were two little gulls: one feeding on the wing; the other mainly cruising on the water. They are agile fliers and often catch insects on the wing or pick them from the surface of the water. Quite a few have been dropping onto large inland water bodies over recent days.

Little Gulls typically pass through the UK during their spring migration, which occurs from March to May, travelling from their wintering grounds in southern Europe and Africa to their breeding grounds in northern Europe and Russia. They follow various migration routes during their journey, with some individuals traveling along coastal areas and others crossing overland. The UK's coastal regions, including estuaries, marshes, and coastal mudflats, provide important staging posts where little gulls can rest and refuel before continuing their journey. They are striking birds, especially in breeding plumage. They have dark underwings, a dark hood, and a distinctive black "W" pattern on their wings. During the winter months, their plumage becomes paler, with less contrast between the dark hood and the rest of their body.

Beside one of the little gulls was a pair of pintails and our fellow birders mentioned they'd also seen a male scaup earlier, but it had disappeared. We looked hard and often but couldn't pick it out. We eventually decided to have a look for the scaup at the east end climbed back onto the sea wall, scanning further west but unable to see anything of note - potential Dartford warbler sightings would be limited in this wind and so we didn't venture further.

We'd been joined by another couple of birders and when we stopped to watch a little grebe and a rather interesting white gull, I strolled a bit further ahead to get a better photo of the gull. Off to my right I spotted our scaup diving and when I confirmed it was our bird I called to the others.

In the UK, scaup are primarily winter visitors (a female frequents Farmoor Reservoir each winter - see my account from January >here), with numbers spending the colder months in coastal and inland waters. As spring arrives, they start their northward migration to their breeding grounds in northern Europe and Scandinavia.

Our bird dived very frequently and quickly worked up to the group and passed, presumably to where it had initially been spotted. Scaup feed primarily on aquatic invertebrates, molluscs, and small fish. During the breeding season, they forage in shallow waters near their nesting sites, diving underwater to capture prey, and occasionally also graze on aquatic plants and algae.

We retraced our steps, ?nimbly? crossing the flooded path once more, an stopped on a number of occasions to scan the marshes, sky and lagoons. Nothing further to see we packed up and set off for home, happy with the 60 species we'd picked up despite the very windy conditions. More (stronger) wind forecast for this weekend ...

Year list: 164.

Salisbury Plain & RSPB Winterbourne Down :: 30 March 2024

I was scheduled to have lunch with some friends on Saturday to celebrate a birthday and so I asked Kev @kev07713 if we could perhaps bird on Friday instead, as it was a holiday for the Easter weekend. Discussing where we might go, and with the weather forecasting mixed conditions, some options were closer to home. Then he mentioned that his sister Karen @hobbylovinglife and her partner Dean @worlebirder were planning on visiting Wiltshire to see stone curlews and the great bustards - it has been seven or eight weeks since I'd seen them and so suggested that perhaps it would be nice to join them. The arrangements made, we would join them on Salisbury Plain on a track overlooking the valley where locating the great bustards is perhaps easiest - they are not hard to spot unless hidden down in a tall crop - they are the world's heaviest flying bird.

Historically, great bustards were widespread across Europe and Asia, but due to hunting and habitat loss, their populations have declined significantly. Globally, the Great Bustard is in peril, categorised as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It's estimated that there are fewer than 35,000 of these magnificent birds left in the wild. In the UK, the great bustard was extinct as a breeding species by the early 19th century. There has now been an effort to reintroduce them to the UK, particularly on Salisbury Plain; a vast expanse of chalk grassland and heathland, making it an ideal location.

Reintroduction efforts have involved bringing birds from European countries where populations still exist, such as Spain and Russia, and these birds released in the hope that they will establish breeding populations once again. Since the first releases in 2004, the population has gradually increased (currently a population of around 100 birds) and monitoring efforts have recorded successful breeding. A Great Bustard Group was created in 1998 with the aim of establishing a self-sustaining population in the wild, a target they achieved in 2019. They offer tours to see these magnificent birds, but it is possible to see them independently.

We'd come along the track before but there had been some work on it and so it was with regret than I didn't pay attention to the clearance my car would have over some of the materials - I heard a nasty sound as the stones tore away some of the plastic front engine under cover - bugger. Something I'll need to sort out in the coming week.

Kev and I arrived first and set up on the hillside overlooking the valley, picking out red-legged partridge and hearing skylark and corn buntings calling nearby. A short scan of the ridge ahead revealed eight great bustards feeding just beyond. In under ten minutes Karen and Dean arrived from the other direction, having entered by the farm road. They joined us looking over at the birds and scanning the adjoining fields.

A corn bunting dropped onto the left-hand fence line and perched in the early morning sun giving an opportunity for a photo. Corn bunting is a bird species that has faced significant declines across Europe due to habitat loss and changes in agricultural practices. Salisbury Plain, with its extensive grassland and agricultural areas, provides very suitable habitat and each time we visit, we are always treated with good views.

Other than seeing red kite and kestrels there were limited other species of note and so we drove further along the track to see the bustards from a different angle and as they had retreated a little over the brow of the hill. When we stopped, what was that coming over the hill? (The Automatic) - now 30 bustards! A great sight.

We'd spent a while admiring these birds and now made our way to RSPB Winterbourne as it is a great place to have views of stone curlews.

The stone curlew, is a distinctive bird species known for its large eyes and cryptic plumage. RSPB Winterbourne Downs is a key site and with increasing breeding success, marks the fruition of decades of dedicated conservation endeavours. This is where we visit to enjoy this species each spring as they enter the breeding season, and when they are at their most visible. They are unusual for wading birds, as you're most likely to find them on dry, stony ground. Eurasian Stone-curlews are seasonal visitors to the UK during spring and summer, nesting on sandy heaths, well-grazed grasslands, and arable fields. During winter, they migrate to southern Europe and northern Africa, with some British individuals documented as far south as Sierra Leone.

Stone curlews nest on the ground, relying on their camouflage to keep them safe. During the day, they remain motionless, making them extremely difficult to spot but as dusk approaches, they become more active using their large eyes to hunt beetles, worms, and other invertebrates, even in dim light. Not something I've witnessed though.

As soon as we'd parked up, walked up the slope and reached a viewing screen, Karen was onto a bird in a flash. Once she'd put us all on it, we admired the bird, and it was doing just what it said on the tin - sitting motionless and only visible as we were looking up the slope and it was proud of the clods of earth.

We didn't stop long as we could see at dog walker on the treeline beyond our bird and guessed there might be better views further up the track.

Having managed to see this bird better we decided to investigate the field on the other side of the trees, where there were apparently chances of more stone curlews. We looked from where we entered but drew a blank. Kev and Dean were some way back and so when the rain started to fall, Karen and I stayed under the cover of the trees. Soon I decided to go in search of the Lapwing Hide/Screen, stopping occasionally to see if I could see any of our target species. On the third stop I found one, two and then three - I called Karen and we watched as the birds eventually close the gap between them, allowing a photo with two together. We were thrilled as two displayed and called briefly. The call of is a distinctive and haunting sound, often described as a series of plaintive, wailing whistles or eerie, bubbling trills.

Out in front of us we had four hares chasing around, at one point boxing - I was a bit annoyed that I missed a photo of that.

We wandered down the track in the trees and found the Lapwing Screen, Kev and Dean. They'd also been able to see the birds from here and had videos of the two birds together, but unfortunately not when they were calling. Kev's here and Dean's here. The rain came and went, but the wind was constant. A couple of other birders joined us - after we put them on the birds we worked our way back to the car, picking out the single bird from earlier, but now further into the field. Beside us a kestrel hunted and on one attempt it came up with something in its talons, but we couldn't work out what it was, even when it landed on a distant post.

We made it back to the car park and heard a stone curlew call out in the field and amongst the sheep. Eventually Kev picked it out in a large stony hole - sheep and rooks walking through. We had lunch at a picnic bench and listened as the stone curlew called again - this time Dean picking it up on his scope.

A terrific day out - shame about the underside of the car.

Year list: 162.