Coastal birds

Had a weekend sailing on Sea Scamp, a lovely classic boat built in the thirties. A new experience for me, as I’d previously only been on a small excursion around Southampton water with my brother-in-law when our children were young. We sailed to the Isle of Wight and moored at Newtown Creek, where there is a natural harbour and a nature reserve.

I saw little egrets when we were leaving Southampton: it was here that I first saw little egrets in this country and have always seen them along this bit of coast. Near our Southampton mooring there were a number of vocal oystercatchers and they were also nesting at Newtown Creek on the mudflats. Although it happened rather quickly, I rather suspect that an incident I saw when a gull swooped down near an oystercatcher, causing some consternation and flew off with something in its beak which it then ate quickly was a chick being stolen and eaten. It must be very hard trying to protect chicks with gulls around – some of which were large black backed gulls – though I think this thief was a herring gull.

There were also a couple of shelduck flying nearby and terns on the sail back. I’m not sure what kind of tern – I assumed they were probably common to start with but apparently there are arctic tern around too.

When we were sailing back to Southampton, it was quite rough, force 6 and getting towards 7 at times. Although we didn’t see any on the trip out, on the return we saw several gannets. Are they more likely to be seen in these conditions. No matter how often I see them, I think they are so amazing as they wheel around and then dive into the sea at such speed. And it is great to get the opportunity to see coastal birds given the landlocked nature of where I live.

Mid May update

Had a very good nature day yesterday and saw my first hobby. That was later in the morning. First thing, I decided to change my usual pattern of doing my exercises and some yoga and having breakfast before going out and took the dog for a walk just before 8am. Even that late I seemed to have the whole of the riverside meadow just off from the common to myself, or perhaps ourselves. There didn’t seem to be anything exciting around – for this walk – exciting includes the little egrets, that are around but not always seen, kingfishers, kestrels, buzzards, sparrowhawks, hearing cuckoos (rare), seeing kites (even more rare), or mammals such as deer (have never seen them on this walk though we know muntjacks are around, foxes or hares. But nevertheless, it is a lovely walk: a circular walk taking in the river and farmland takes around an hour, with the possibility of seeing the above. We often also see herons, which I love.

Yesterday I was reflecting about half way around that I hadn’t seen anything very exciting, but then thought about what I had seen. The river was quiet and beautiful, but low – we have had little rain. Mallards were swimming up and down and then a tern came along. Most summers we have a pair of terns on the river, and they are wonderful to watch. The number of swifts, swallows and house martins has fallen again this year I would say. Nevertheless there were some swallows around and the sky was full of the sound of skylarks. In spite of their decrease we have kept them here – not many – but some. Given this is an area close to a town and walked by many dogs and their owners, I’m so pleased that they are here and yesterday their song really did feel as if it filled the sky. I watched the bottom field for hares as they often forage here when the crop is young. Yesterday there were none, but I did see the pair of plover that is nesting – and I don’t remember having plover there before. One of the local birdwatchers said he had spotted them when the farmer was sowing and had been able to mark the spot so that it was avoided.

Unusually the rabbits were out and in the field. There is a very large population locally, but they are not usually spotted away from the burrow in these fields – not in the daytime anyway. As I was watching the plover a kestrel flew fast across the field having spotted something and dropped to the ground – a blaze of chestnut. I lost track of it then, but on the way back home, with the skylark song everywhere, I saw a buzzard circling overhead. It all reminded me that it is so worth keeping your eyes and ears open even wherever you are.

The reason for going out fairly early was that we had arranged to go got he BBOWT college lake nature reserve later, near Tring. I had never been, but know that it is a reserve created from and around old gravel pits, with chalk grassland and wetlands and a new visitor centre. We didn’t spend too long in the visitor centre as it was around 11 on us getting there, and decided to walk on the trail right around the reserve (only around 2 miles). There’s a good view from the visitor centre itself and the hide nearby, from where we could see redshank, oystercatcher, green plover and various ducks – none in great number. Apparently there were lapwing chicks, but we couldn’t see those. The sky was full of swifts and I wondered if there were nest boxes as there were no obvious nesting sites.

The woodland around the lake was full of birds – chaffinch, chiff-chaff and songs of birds I can’t identify. Sheep are kept to graze the pasture (see the photo) – which is think is poor, based on chalk, and thus good for many meadow plants and butterflies. There were what looked like spotted orchids that were not yet out, and a kestrel hunting down by the lake.

As we came back towards the visitor centre we saw a hobby. What a treat. Just the one, but we stood and watched its aerobatic flying for some time – twisting and diving, a bit like a giant swift. I read later that they can catch swifts – but the swifts it was flying amongst did not seem to be that bothered. Perhaps catching a swift is pretty unusual: after all they are very fast themselves. I’m really pleased to have finally seen one and to know what it is that I am looking for again – as we do have them around MK, too. And I think they are one of the most attractive of the birds of prey. That bright rusty orange patch near the tops of their legs. Wonderful.