A line of Brent Geese heading westbound over the Solent.
Geoff and Andy picked me up from my house this morning and it was Andy’s idea to make use of the strong wind and rain to do a ‘sea-watch’ from the Gilkicker shelter this morning. So I am blaming him for yet another Gilkicker poor and very cold three hours here, where we saw very little going through and so just after midday, we made our way to the Sailing Club at Hill Head for a much better time and a lot more birds. It turned out that Selsey Bill was getting the ‘lion's share’ of birds going through, whereas the Solent, from Gilkicker, was virtually void of birdst. Despite a strong south-easterly and drizzle on and off throughout the morning, nothing really came of it (again!), as the birds most likely passed through around the southern half of the Isle of Wight and back out into the English Channel.
I still managed to take several photos here at the Gilkicker shelter including one of many Carrion Crows on the beach (above) or the Starlings on the field behind us.
Above, bath-time for the local Starlings and below, a bit of excitement when a juvenile Herring Gull passed through!
Above, small boats enjoying the battering from the waves in the Solent and below, even more excitement when a Common Gull headed east over the Solent.
Above, Fawley Refinery in the distance burning off the excess gas. My late father worked there many years ago.
The Solent from Gilkicker:
We arrived at the Gilkicker shelter around 9.15 am. Saw next to bugger all and then left around just after midday. The End! OK, it wasn't a total loss, for we did have a Brent Goose go west low over the sea and eventually land on the shoreline about a mile away and up to four species of Gull also flew past (but no Kittiwakes) within those three very long hours. Geoff did pick out a Great Crested Grebe through his scope, but both Andy and myself missed it. The only good to come out of this were the guys themselves who kept me entertained throughout the morning. There was a large flock of Starlings on the green behind us as well as around twenty or so Herring Gulls, but nothing unusual among them. A pair of Jackdaws were searching for food among the small plants on the beach and a lot of Carrion Crows were doing the same thing in front of us, but that was our morning at Gilkicker in one short paragraph!
Hill Head and Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve:
Dark-bellied Brent Geese passing the Sailing Club at Hill Head.
Parking up within the Sailing Club Car Park, we had lunch overlooking the oncoming tide and a wealth of birds on the shoreline. Large numbers of dark-bellied Brent Geese had gathered on the shore with many more in the distance and also some of the sea too. As far as we could see, they were all adult birds too, however, sadly some idiots decided to walk up to the Geese and flush the birds, though they didn't travel too far.
Above, several Oystercatchers were on the shoreline by the Sailing Club and below, at least 50+ Turnstone were also present.
Above, I counted at least 57 Ringed Plovers resting on the shoreline and below, one of the drake Eiders on the sea.
There was a good number of waders in front of us too that included at least 20+ Sanderling, 58 Ringed Plovers, approximately 50+ Turnstone and smaller number of both Oystercatcher and Redshank among the other birds and now that the clouds and rain had gone east, the bright late Autumn sunshine shone down over the birds and making photography much more easier. Gulls were abundant here too as I scanned through them, hoping to pick out something interesting among the many Herring and Black-headed Gulls, but all I could find was a single Common and Great Black-backed Gull.
Above, one of the Oystercatchers heading west over the beach and below, a pair of Ringed Plovers.
Above, a mixture of Sanderling and Ringed Plovers on the beach.
Above, three of the many Sanderling showing well in front of the Sailing Club. This individual on the right is heavily ringed and I am awaiting details of the bird.
Out on the sea, the only bird we could find was a smart drake Eider, which was later joined by a another drake Eider, but I could not find anything else on the calm sea; though the waders and geese made up for that. A pair of Little Egrets flew east along the shoreline and settled some distance away near a flock of Brent. We were joined for a while by local birder Mark Francis and during our interesting conversation, I found a male Kestrel perched on a nearby tree, looking down at something possibly to attack on the ground. The strong sunshine lit the bird up nicely as did a male Pied Wagtail that walked very close to where we stood. After having lunch and spending a good hour or so by the Sailing Club, I suggested we walk down to the viewing platform to round the day off, overlooking the reserve.
Above, Turnstone and Ringed Plover getting restless from the incoming tide and below, an adult Cormorant fishing in the sea.
Above, this male Pied Wagtail walked just a few feet in front of us by the Sailing Club and below, I saw this male Kestrel land in the trees just north of the Club.
A mixed flock of Turnstone, Ringed Plover and Sanderling on the beach.
From the Viewpoint, I finished off the last of my lunch as we checked out the birds on the island and also over the Reserve. The small island held a variety of birds that included several Lapwing, a single Cormorant and several Black-headed Gulls. A pair of Egyptian Geese flew in off the main Reserve and also landed on the island. A male Marsh Harrier flew in from the north, but was getting a lot of hassle from the Crows and did a U-turn back up the Reserve. A Common Buzzard also got the same treatment as it made its way west over the Reserve.
Above, a preening drake Shoveler and a Coot on the River Meon. Below, a male Marsh Harrier graced the Reserve, but it didn't linger long and flew back north.
Above, Black-headed Gulls spending time preening on the posts by the small island. Below, a female Marsh Harrier getting harassed by the usual Carrion Crows as she passes over the Reserve.
Above, one of the pair of Egyptian Geese coming into land on the small island and below, a Corrmorant preening on the same island.
Above, several Lapwings were roosting on the island along with the Black-headed Gulls.
Within the reedbed and brambles in front of us, a Cetti’s Warbler was seen very briefly flying from bush to bush and a Water Rail was heard a couple of times but not seen. A pair of Common Snipe was seen to fly over the Reserve and then dropped like a stone into the islands on the South Scrape. We could see rain coming in from the west over the Solent and as the first spots of rain fell on us, there was a terrific rainbow showing over the Reserve. Gorgeous.
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