Down on the south coast

Last weekend headed down the south coast to catch up on some long staying birds first stop was Titchfield Haven. Started well with the sound of a Cuckoo so headed to the main scrape where lots of Black-headed Gulls where nesting with quite a few youngs birds with a few Mediterranean Gulls and some nesting Common Terns. The hightlight here was the Avocets feeding with their young along with the Oystercatchers and the Black-tailed Godwits. Watching the colony had a Sandwich Tern fly through a few Little Egrest around and a brief view of a kingfisher fly past.

Adult Avocets

1st broods Avocets

and current brood feeding

Young black-head Gull

Mediterranean Gull in summer plumage

Hunting little egret

Then walked around the other side of the river where we came across a young Goldcrest feeding and Blackcap, Whitethroat and Chiff-Chaff still singing before watching Black-tailed Godwits and a lone Redshanks feeding across the river with a Common tern fishing along the river but no hoped for Greater Yellowlegs.

Young Goldcrest

Hunting Common Tern

Then headed to Pagham Harhour at first quiet on the wader front but a few Ringed Plovers and Dunlin were feeding and a few Curlew were seen with a few Common and Sandwich Tern overhead.

Then a few European Whimbrel were feeding after flying aroung for a bit and checking the features the Hudsonian Whimbrel flew in though distance feeding in the grass where it stayed for quite a while so we had a little walk along the beach with a few Terns feeding out a sea but too distance.

We then returned to the Whimbrels which by now had moved alot closer to the shore with the tide slowly coming in and often the birds were seen flying and feeding pretty near at time which was a good end to the day.

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Pair together showing the size difference

and in flight

Redstarts in the carpark

A family hoilday up in the north-west was a nice break and quite producive one of the hightlight widlife wise was finding a pair of Redstarts right next to the car park at Grizdale forest in the Lake District even though did't get much time to photography them the time I had give me my best Redstart Images with a possible nest in one of the carpark walls pictures taken before and after walk around the forest. Other birds of note around the forest were at least 3 singing Wood Warblers and a nice flock of Marsh Tits were seen.

Male Redstart bring food to the nest

Female Redstart helping out

Bonus plovers

Went out earlier in the week to a local lake in the evening quite a few waterfowl around with looking like a good number of Great Crested Grebes with fledglings. Walking around on the footpath had a nice view of a flyby Kingfisher but the highlight was a pair of Little Ringed Plovers feeding on the shore right on the side of a public footpath while a pair of Common Terns were hunting over the lake.

Little Ringed Plover

Walking back had quite a few gulls mainly Lesser-backed gulls and found a nice family of young Blue Tits been fed and ended the walk with a few Swallows feeding over the farmers fields in the fading light.

Lesser-backed Gull

Young Blue Tit

Swallow in the last of the light

Black-throated Diver and more in Oxfordshire

Few weekends back headed over to Farmoor and Otmoor as a Black-throated Diver had been seen in summer plumage which is rare this far south though sadly seem to have had an injury but still a superb bird and was showing quite close to the causeway at Farmoor and seem to be fishing quite a bit.

Black-throated Diver having a splash

Over the causeway there were plenty of swifts overheads along with Martins and Swallows but it was a good waderfest on the causeway with 5 Turnstones and 1 Dunlin and Sanderling which are always good to see in summer plumage.

Waders all together

Turnstones

Sanderling and dunlin

Turnstones in flight

Then headed to Otmoor for a walk around where the first bird was a Cuckoo and then walking up the main path heard a Turtle Dove which was showing quite well calling from one of its two favoured spots. While watching the Turtle Dove the Cuckoo appeared very close before flying off with another Cuckoo. Also around lots of Reed and Sedge Warblers, Redshanks and Lapwings which even mobbed a Red Kite.

Turtle Dove in the tree

Cuckoo pausing briefly

Kestrel bonus at Stanborough Pits

With the weather a bit grey decided to have a walk around Stanborough Pits started off quite well with a Red-legged Partridge calling very close and a few Brown Hares in the fields. Further down the track the Skylarks were in full song and Linnets seem to be everywhere and a few Yellowhammers and Whitethroats were belting out their songs.

Then walked down to farm where a few Swallows and Swifts hunting overhead when out of the corner of my eye caught view of a Female Kestrel sitting on a post less than 10 meters away shielding herself out the wind.

Female Kestrel

After she sat their for a good 5 minutes a Hobby flew over at which point she flew off so headed down the track where Male Hobby was hunting when a Yellow Wagtail flow onto a Telephone Wire so sat down for a bit nearby and it and a Female flew on to a straw pile nearby every so often. While waiting watched a Stoat run across the path further up no doubt after the rabbits which were around.

Male Yellow Wagtail in the straw

Female Yellow Wagtail