Winter 2020/2021 – Page 2 – Birding with a Sketchbook

Saturday 6th February 2021

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At just after 7am and as I was about to get to the right turn next to St Leonard’s Barn a Barn Owl suddenly flew alongside the car and kept pace with me for a hundred yards or so, we exchanged eye contact for a moment, an excellent start to the day.

By the time I got to the Reedy Ditch it was clear just how dense the fog was. A Firecrest appeared close by and a female Goshawk was giving a single note call from the small wood to the south. A Hawfinch called as it went over but I didn’t see it, it does seem very likely that there is a roost nearby.

The fog didn’t really lift properly until 11am which meant a lot of hanging around waiting. Once things cleared I headed off to the hides. A very distant first year Sparrowhawk sporting white back markings was sat on a post in the distance towards De L’Orne and there was a record count of 18 Spoonbills on the scrape.

Lapwing, Marsh Harrier and Sparrowhawk

Another peak count for me was 42 Shelduck split equally between a group on the scrape and the rest dotted along the estuary. Meadow Pipits were calling regularly and I eventually found 25 of them together in a tree. The wintering Greenshank touched down on the flood water near the cattle field bridge.

As I headed to the beach a Dartford Warbler was calling but I didn’t see it despite the warm sunshine and light wind. A slightly unexpected find was a first year Peregrine sat on the shingle beach distantly from MM’s, surprising because the regular pair failed to breed last year due to disturbance. A group of four noisy Magpies headed over NP hide, the biggest group I’ve seen here.

Atlantic Grey Seal and Roe Deer photos by Ian Williamson

It was around midday and the fog had now disappeared and it was fairly warm. I decided to look for one of the White-tailed Eagles on the Isle of Wight and within a few minutes I found a ‘flying barn door’ circling around the top of the main mast. Not a truly wild bird but exciting nonetheless.

At the Reedy Ditch I wasn’t quite ready with the camera as the Russian White-fronted Geese came over the car at 4pm heading towards the roost at P Shore. I managed a brief shot as they were heading away.

Brent Geese, Russian White-fronted Geese and Greylag Geese

Also heading to roost were five Little Egrets on the island at JV and as the sun dipped below the horizon I picked out two Black-tailed Godwits in amongst the wheeling Lapwing flocks.

Tuesday 2nd February 2021

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I hoped to get another look at the Glossy Ibis today and improve my own photos.

It was cold, grey and windy. The forecast said that there was only a 1% chance of rain yet I needed to retreat to the car to escape it. At just after sunrise 16 Little Egrets, probably part of a roosting party from Sowley Pond, arrived from the west. As they got to the Reedy Ditch they split up into three separate groups. A Goshawk appeared briefly just south of the two linked wooded areas where I believe they nest.

It’s likely that there is a Hawfinch roost site just south of here and so I was checking every flying passerine, there weren’t many in the poor weather and every finch was a Chaffinch.

It was now well after 8am and on the previous two mornings the ibis had appeared by now. It became clear that it was feeding elsewhere or had left altogether. There was no sign on any of the three occasions I spent time in the Reedy Ditch or JV areas.

Bullfinch, Buzzard and Goldcrest photos by Ian Williamson

In the fields alongside the walking trail a group of 25 Pied Wagtails flicked around nervously in the grass while 15 Redwing moved along the base of the hedge behind them. There were at least 50 Knot in the wader roost from the sailing club and a Water Rail flew across in front of the car as I drove past S Hide.

I stopped briefly at P Shore where the four Russian White-fronted Geese were still present near the Farm Buildings.

the 3 adult Russian White-fronted Geese (juvenile out of picture)

January 2021, Winter 2020/2021

Sunday 31st January 2021

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I was still in bed when I noticed a phone message reporting that a Glossy Ibis had been seen at the Reedy Ditch. It had flown in at 8:15am and was seen walking the edge of the reed bed before disappearing behind brambles. It wasn’t seen again by 9am. I had decided not to go to NO today as we had a 2:30pm zoom call for Mum’s birthday. With the ibis news, however, I decided that I would head down for a few hours and I arrived at the reedy ditch at 11am. There was no sign.

Over the next 90 minutes I walked up and down the road to get as many viewing angles as possible. I also checked the adjoining fields and at 12:30pm, with rain threatening, I watched another bird coming in and was thrilled to see the classic ibis profile. It drifted off south losing height behind the trees. I sprinted back to the layby to try and see it again but there was no sign.

Glossy Ibis

I presumed that it had dropped into the wet fields towards P Shore but 15 minutes later I was pleased to see it again in the grass near the reedy ditch gate.

There has been a wintering Glossy Ibis at Stanpit but given the fact that the Stanpit bird was seen at 10am today this must be second bird. I left at 1pm with the rain falling steadily.

Ian visited the next morning and the Glossy Ibis arrived from its roost, probably around B Water and JV, at just before 8am. After dropping down behind a hedge it then magically re-appeared in an adjacent field only 15 yards away. It remained settled in this area posing for frame filling photos.

Glossy Ibis photos by Ian Williamson

January 2021, Winter 2020/2021

Friday 29th January 2021

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From the Reedy Ditch, in the half light, seven Little Egrets flew over from their roost to the west heading towards JV. The weather was worse than forecast with strong winds and rain clearing slowly. The wind was westerly and so the sailing club would provide perfect shelter, I headed there first.

I prefer a rising mid tide to watch from the point, at a height of 3m the waders are grouping together on the remaining islands and most are mid-channel. This means that they are at a closer range than they will be at higher tide when they move further away to G Island and to the Inchmery and Lepe side. On the remaining islands around 30 Knot jostled with the Grey Plover and Dunlin.

There were five large groups of Dark-bellied Brent Geese and I was pleased to see that one of the Pale-bellied Brent Geese was in the closest group. I found the first hrota on the 29^th December and today was the fourth time I’ve seen at least one of them but today my photos were slightly better as the birds were closer.

Pale-bellied Brent Goose

From the sailing club I could see that two Slavonian Grebes were directly opposite the cottages and were very close in shore huddling closely together in the shelter of the natural bay. In the same direction a female Merlin was also sheltering in the lee of one of the weathered trees which are dotted along the shingle spit. Adam had mentioned that the Merlins have moved further west, to G Marsh and P Shore, to escape the Peregrines, and this may be why I hadn’t seen any between 4^th November and 23^rd January.

He also told me about a Barn Owl roost site. He asked me to keep the precise location quiet and so I won’t disclose it here. I managed to see one of the owls exactly where Adam had said, a patch tick for me. Nearby I picked up a calling Marsh Tit wearing a metal ring on its right leg while a Goshawk was calling from the main group of trees back towards the entry gate.

Long-tailed Tit and Marsh Tit

I finished by checking the geese flock at the top of P Lane. The brents were fairly close but unfortunately the Pale-bellied Brent Goose was right at the back of the flock. For the third consecutive time at this location I heard a Crossbill calling overhead.