Pennington Marsh - 31st August

Sarah and Tobias were heading for a charity tea-party and knowing that I would find this a bore I was permitted to head for Pennington Marsh for a few hours. I parked up at the bottom of Lower Pennington Lane and wandered out past Fishtail Lagoon - this was almost devoid of birds but for a handful of Lapwing, Black-headed Gull and a mass of Canada Goose. Small numbers of Sedge Warbler called from the reeds and rushes and Whitethroat flitted amongst the Brambles. I headed to Keyhaven Lagoon just as a male and female Peregrine broke away from haranguing a Buzzard to flush all the waders from the lagoon, which mainly appeared to be Lapwing and Redshank. I turned back eastwards and spent some time enjoying the Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit and around six Yellow Wagtail which were feeding along the tideline.

On Butts Lagoon there were around 75 Black-tailed Godwit while on the falling tideline there were around 50 Grey Plover, 25 Ringed Plover, 30 Dunlin and a small number of Curlew. Four Goosander worked the tideline and on the Solent were 25 Eider and six Great Crested Grebe but the sea was devoid of any Tern species. Wandering back past Shoveler Lagoons a single Wheatear was present on the marshes, only my second of the year. It was time to collect Sarah and Tobias and predictably I waited for around an hour for them to appear when I could have had longer on the marsh.

Yellow Wagtail - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Yellow Wagtail - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Yellow Wagtail - Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Meadow Pipit- Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

Meadow Pipit- Pennington Marsh, Hampshire

The Nationally Notable A bee Aster Colletes Colletes halophilus was common feeding on Golden Samphire along the seawall south of Fishtail Lagoon today