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| Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis |
Saturday 2 November
A dull, cloudy with poor light yet still calm and mild. With the tide time all wrong for local shore walks I decided to drive over to Hayling Island after lunch and see if the Snow Bunting reported at Sandy Point for the past two days was still hanging around. Arriving at 2.30pm and parked the car I walked up to the shore path and headed east towards the nature reserve with only vague instructions where the bird had been seen. Within a minute of starting the shore path walk half a dozen long lenses pointing in the same direction was obviously a big clue, so I joined the visiting birders and passing pedestrians, sat on the wall and took photos of the Snow Bunting as it foraged on a small pebble mound less than three metres away. What could be easier!
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| Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis |
Still poor light but decided I would call in at Farlington Marshes on the way home and walk to the lagoon in the shortest clockwise direction. However, as soon as I turned off the main road onto the access lane I stopped to check the mud below now that the tide was well out and noted a score of Brent Geese along with a couple of Shelduck and a small flock of gulls, mainly Herring but also a few Black-headed and a single Great Black-backed Gull. On then to the far end of the lane, car parked and off to the lagoon as above.
Arriving at the old barn, just a couple of Coot on the lagoon but to my left behind the barn on the stream and flooded and no less then 25 Moorhen with another dozen Coot and a pair of Mallard. rather than return to the car I decided to complete the clockwise circuit of the marsh and set off towards the sea wall. A couple of Canada Geese in the field to my right and on reaching the first junction I looked ahead and that field held well in excess of 100 Canada Geese. A Woodpigeon flew over and in the last field on the right more resting Canada Geese plus a cock Pheasant. At that point a male Stonechat crossed the path in front of me and came to rest atop a small tree to my left.
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| Four of the hundreds of Canada Geese Branta canadensis |
Once on the sea wall it was obvious how far out the tide had flowed but one Little Egret foraging along with a handful of Black-headed Gulls. A Little further on and a trio of feeding Curlew. To my right in the neighbouring field a lone heron and a small flock of Starlings following the cattle. A little further way to Magpies on the grass. So onto the Deeps where a good number of Wigeon were seen along with a quartet of Mallard. In the reeds below a calling Cetti's Warbler.
Continuing on to the end and turning right for the next stretch hundreds more Canada Geese close by and, hiding within the flock next to its white goose, the long-staying Barnacle Goose. Difficult to photograph as the birds were grazing in a small trough. Another Heron in the flooded ditch and a Carrion Crow sitting on the sea wall in front of me.
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| Record shot of distant Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis (second from left) |
Continuing on round the last straight back to the car park I stopped at the view point to check the large lagoons below. Over 50 Wigeon resting to the left along with a few mallards and at least four Pintail at the back of the water. A Great White Egret was near the reeds in the further lagoon along with many more resting ducks but too distant and dark to identify. A Cormorant took off and disappeared away over the marsh and on the sea side a lone Redshank feeding at the water's edge.
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| Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis |
Birds seen:
Brent Goose, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Mallard, Pintail, Pheasant, Cormorant, Little Egret, Heron, Great White Egret, Moorhen, Coot, Curlew, Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Stonechat, Cetti's Warbler, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, Snow Bunting.
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| Snow Bunting Plectrophenax nivalis |
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