I was hoping for some spring migrants but as I parked on the corner at Lower Pennington Lane and walked west the north-east wind gave a bitter bite and I wished that I was wearing an extra coat and gloves - it was sunny but it felt far from spring like. On Pennington Marsh there were still fair numbers of
Wigeon and
Teal and a single female
Pintail while a scan through the grassland revealed that many of the
Lapwing were already incubating eggs. At the Efford Lagoon my first migrants, three
Little Ringed Plover fed on the grassland around the lagoon while a
Whitethroat sang from the hedgerow along the Ancient Highway with a second bird more distantly on the marsh. I walked out past the Shoveler Pools my hands turned to ice and I had to take shelter from the wind in a sheltered sunny hollow to recover them - approximately six
Whitethroat sang obliviously in the Brambles and a female
Marsh Harrier past east. At the jetty there was a flock of 25 Turnstone, many gaining their summer plumage with lovely chestnut upperparts and black chest markings. On Butts Lagoon a
Ruff and a
Spotted Redshank were again present but the Ruff was a far darker bird than that seen on
6th April and so was likely to be a different bird - it was in the same location as the bird on 6th and I at first took it to be the same bird. The distinctive call of a
Sandwich Tern and there the distinctive rakish shape flying west along the Solent, my first of the year. On Fishtail Lagoon there was a nice gathering of 30
Shelduck and a lonesome looking
Brent Goose while on the mudflats was a flock of 250
Dunlin, many birds now in summer plumage. I wandered onto Keyhaven Lagoon, the wind seemed to be getting colder, there was a single
Common Tern, again my first of the year, patrolling the south-east corner of the lagoon and giving excellent views. I decided to call it a day and head for Denny Wood but a final scan at Efford Lagoon produced 30
Sand Martin, five
House Martin and five
Swallow.
My first Whitethroat of the year
Whitethroat
Female Marsh Harrier
Skylark on the old tip
Turnstone - Now developing their summer plumage with a mix of rufous feathers on the upper parts and a gradually blackening breast
Ruff - Male in the same location as bird on 6th April but apparently a different bird
Dunlin
Gadwall
Common Tern - My first of the year foraging over Keyhaven Lagoon.
A bird that seems to have a fairly concolourous dark bill.
Common Tern
Shelduck
Denny Wood felt positively warm, my main target here was to see if the
Redstart were back and within seconds of leaving the car I heard them singing. Over the course of an hour or so I saw at least 10 birds many singing males but also a pair prospecting nesting sites, breeding was in full swing. A single
Willow Warbler was singing but there were few other migrants evident and with time ticking on I needed to head for home.
Redstart - Male investigating nest hole
Redstart - On song post atop an Oak
Redstart - In full song
Marsh Tit foraging in fresh Oak leaves
