Birding with the Hampshire Ornithological Society

Saturday 24th July 2021

Keyhaven, Hampshire

With the HOS

A couple of weeks ago I joined the Hampshire Ornithological Society (HOS.) and today was my first outing with them.  4 of us, including leader Ian Barratt, walked from Keyhaven Harbour along the Solent Way towards Lymington Bay going past Keyhaven Marshes and Pennington Marshes.  62 species were seen - quite astonishing really for this time of year.

Despite an awful weather forecast, it was dry from the start, got even better as we progressed until, eventually, we shed our wet weather clothing completely and enjoyed fine sunny conditions from then on.

• Three tern species were seen, Sandwich Terns, Common Terns and my favourite - Little Terns.  Little Terns thrive here and they set the tone for much of what you see flying around.   I was particularly gobsmacked watching their kamikaze dive into the water to catch fish.

This site is particularly good for waders, as you would expect with many lagoons and a lot of muddy areas.

• Black-tailed Godwits, looking great in summer plumage were everywhere as were Dunlin, Redshank, Lapwing and Curlew.
• A Little Ringed Plover and 3 Ringed Plovers proved challenging but once found gave us a lot of satisfaction.
• My favourite was a single Knot, admirably demonstrating why the Americans call it Red Knot.
• A couple of Common Sandpipers and 4 Greenshank also added to our challenge. 
• We got several views of a Great White Egret including a superb  front on view as the bird flew towards us as and landed on the waters of the lagoon.
• On the saltmarsh we saw Turnstone, Grey Plover and Oystercatcher.  I saw my first Sanderlings of the year at the waters edge.
• We heard, then saw, several Reed Warblers and Reed Buntings but no Sedge Warblers.  It was the first time I had ever witnessed the "phishing" technique used to draw Reed Warblers from the thick of the undergrowth to the top of the reeds where we could see them. - Ian managed to do this twice! 
• A Marsh Harrier  patrolled the area continuously

There were a few hirundines.

• At least 10 Swallows and a single Sand Martin were seen.

Looking out to sea we saw lots of birds too.

• Great Black-backed Gulls were evident as were Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Herring Gulls and huge numbers of Black-headed Gulls, all resting on the shoreline.
• We saw 5 cracking Mediterranean Gulls, mostly in flight but once on the ground where we could see the obvious ID features at close quarters.
• A big surprise for me was the sight of 35 Eiders in the bay.  I thought they were an east coast bird with only the odd individuals turning up on the south coast.  Apparently they are a resident group here.  The only downside to this was that they were in eclipse plumage so I need to return in the autumn/winter to see the fabulous drake Eider in all its splendour.   

Although the habitat was predominantly marshland and coastal we passed by a few hedge rows and trees enroute.

• There were several Greenfinches, Linnets, Goldfinches, House Sparrows around.
• Stonechats and a Whitethroat also generated some interest.
• A Raven and a Buzzard were the highest flying birds seen.

 

A really good trip to a superb location, with lots of birds, good company and a very good leader.