A fantastic day at Normandy Marshes & the New Forest.

Monday 5th May 2025.

Don't let the beautiful day fool you. A strong freezing cold wind blew along the coast here, but the birds were superb.

I met up with both Emma & Matt Parkes very early this morning to take a trip down to Normandy Marshes for a possible Roseate Tern and a Curlew Sandpiper, both of which were present yesterday on this superb site. The weather was looking good for the day though cloud was coming in from the north in the afternoon, but we didn't realise how cold it was going to be this morning. Once we had finished with Normandy Marshes, we would then take a trip to the New Forest for Spotted Flycatchers at an undisclosed site, for we had the chance to see a Nightjar in broad daylight.

Normandy Marshes, nr Lymington:

This Grey Heron greeted us on our arrival from the Car Park first thing.

To say it was cold down here at this site was a major understatement for I was simply unprepared for such a cold wind blowing over the Marshes. Thankfully, the birds here did help to take my mind off it as we made our way to join several other birders present, checking out the island the Roseate Tern was using again this year. Last year, we were very successful in seeing the Roseate Terns nesting on the island, but during the hour or so we were there, the Roseate Tern only put in one appearance as it briefly landed on the island with all the Common Terns, but quickly flew off again and flew out to sea. My photos were very poor, but thankfully, Emma managed to get some great shots of the bird.

The Roseate Tern showed well, but briefly, over on Normandy Marshes. Photos by Emma Parkes.

There was a good variety of birds to look at here this morning with large numbers of Common Terns present and at least a dozen or so Little Terns using the islands too including one pair actually mating on one of the islands. There was just the one Sandwich Tern seen here as it flew over the site and then flew back into the sea. Also on the islands, there were a few Mediterranean Gulls nesting with the Black-headed Gulls, of which the latter species turned out to be real scoundrels.

Above and below, Common Terns over the Reserve.

Above, Little Terns getting amorous and below, mating has begun. Photo by Emma Parkes.

Avocets were well in double figures here and many had young feeding with the adults, which  proved to be quite vulnerable to Gull attacks as we witnessed a Black-headed Gull taking an Avocet chick to devour. But it wasn't all one-sided as the Avocets chased any Gull or Crow that got too near their young; but it must surely put so much pressure on the adult birds. There were plenty of waders to look at but there was no sign of the Curlew Sandpiper, though it was seen earlier that morning. Other waders present included at least 20 Dunlin, Oystercatchers, Lapwings, Redshank, Ringed Plover and a few very smart looking Turnstone. A lone Sanderling going into summer plumage was on its own on a strip of mud in front of us and I believe that this bird was mistaken for a Little Stint.

Above, a Common Tern resting with Dunlin. Lovely to see so many of the Dunlin in their summer plumage. Below, a couple of Ringed Plovers were present.

Above, a Sanderling on one of the nearer islands and below, at least two Turnstone, both in their gorgeous summer plumage, were seen.

Other birds noted on our trip here included several singing Reed Warbler's and Common Whitethroat's within the ditches and a pair of Gadwall on the pools. The Terns were most impressive with some hovering over the water, but I thought the water was too shallow to hold fish? The freezing northerly wind was getting too much as I suggested we should all make our way back to the car before my fingers froze off! 

Undisclosed site, New Forest:

This was only my second ever sighting of a Nightjar during daytime. What a beautiful looking bird.

For obvious reasons, we saw a Nightjar (there were in fact two birds in the same tree) on the edge of some woodland and among a few birders, it was a tree that the birds were seen in last year. We met up with fellow birder Andy Tew, who kindly told us exactly where to look and we had no problem in finding the bird perched nicely on one of the thicker branches. This was only my second ever sighting of a Nightjar during the daytime and I managed to get some lovely photos of this beautiful bird. Looking through the scope, I could see every intricate detail of the plumage that included all the different shades of grey and brown on the feathers. The bird actually ‘churred’ briefly but quietly; so we knew it was definitely in the tree.

Above and below, totally unexpected, this adult White-tailed Eagle flew over the heath heading east.

Above, just seconds after the Eagle, this Red Kite flew over and below, a Double-striped Pug moth on the heather.

Above and below, a Grey Heron flew over close to us.

Emma had earlier seen a Spotted Flycatcher in a small stretch of woodland and before checking out the Nightjar, I took a walk deeper into the wood and found a Spotted Flycatcher perched on a dead tree briefly until it flew off back into deeper cover. Redstarts were calling in the woodland, but we only got a brief view of a bird flying out of a tree and into the woodland. Several Stonechats and Meadow Pipits were seen on the heath and a group of three Swallows were also seen hunting for insects by the woodland edge and a pair of House Martins headed south high over the heath.

Above a 'teneral' Large Red Damselfly and below, a Meadow Pipit.

Above, a Woodland Dor Beetle crossing the main footpath through a wood. Below, Swallows were landing briefly on a tree beside a wood.

Above, this Willow Warbler was in song by the heath. Below, the Nightjar roosting in a tree.

Raptors put on a good performance over the heath and on our arrival we were walking around the edge of the woodland when Emma found a large raptor some distance away making its way towards us. I quickly got onto the bird and then realised it was an adult White-tailed Eagle! The bird sped over the heath on those huge wings and headed eastbound probably heading towards Beaulieu River, but I did manage a few photos of the bird, despite being some distance away. A Red Kite, a couple of Buzzards and a Kestrel were also seen on our trip here.

Normandy Marshes, Lymington:

I was so pleased in making another journey to Normandy Marshes to see this superb Curlew Sandpiper. I never got to see one last year, but this bird made up for that.

When we got back to the car park, a quick check on Birdguides revealed that the Curlew Sandpiper had returned to Normandy Marshes and also a report of a Little Stint. It was a 'no-brainer' and so we made our way back to this site again. It didn't take long to find the Curlew Sandpiper searching for food along the water edge with a Redshank on our arrival. The bird showed superbly well and I even managed to film the bird too. We then made our way to the area we stood at this morning and searched in vain for the supposed Little Stint. I picked up the Sanderling on the Tern Island and I could see why someone could potentially make the mistake of misidentifying the Sanderling for a Little Stint. But the latter bird is much smaller than a Sanderling and the upperparts did not match a Little Stint either. Shame; for I would have liked to have 5 ‘year- ticks’ in one day.

Above and below, the near summer plumage Curlew Sandpiper.

Above, a parent Avocet protecting her young from Gulls and below, one of the adults feeding in the shallow water.

Above, these Mallard ducklings swam close to where we stood and below, anxious parent Avocets with one of the young.

Above, the parent Avocet protects her young.

Above, the Curlew Sandpiper on Normandy Marshes.

A Common Sandpiper joined the long list of waders seen here today and showed distantly on the opposite side of the reserve. A Little Grebe in full summer plumage was fishing by the Tern island and within the creek in front of us, a Mallard and her broods passed by in front of us, totally unaware of our presence. Gorgeous. There were a few species of wildfowl present, which included Gadwall and Tufted Duck to make up a good list of birds present on the reserve today. I had to be back home by 2pm as I promised my wife I would not be out all day and though I managed to get back at exactly 2.03pm, she still moaned at me!