On the drive down W Lane I paused at BW House to watch a male Kestrel who was perched on the Dovecote, they are nesting here. I headed to MM’s Pools but a Marsh Harrier beat me to it and as a result there were few birds around when I arrived, only a Little Egret enjoying the early morning sun.

Next stop was Gt Marsh and Gv Marsh. Linnets were everywhere. I saw my first Dartford Warbler for two weeks, it was a male in the Ringing Area and a pair of Bullfinches showed well nearby including a ringed bird which Graham first trapped four years ago.

Highlight of the day was a Cuckoo calling at 6:45am. It called again at 7:15am but not again all day. It reminds you of the benefit of heading out early.  Greenfinches aren’t particularly common here but they showed well today and a Whitethroat was singing constantly but moving between song posts in the gorse and scrub adjoining Gt Marsh.

An Avocet wearing yellow flag AX was with 19 other Avocets, down from the 36 I had seen on Thursday although I later saw another eight on DL’O scrape. AX was last seen at Titchfield Haven in July last year. It was ringed as a chick at Gt Marsh in the summer of 2018 and at 3 years old it is now mature enough to breed.

Our Peregrine monitoring was from 8am to 11am and passed without issues. A Sparrowhawk flew over the river towards Exbury and a Whimbrel was close by in a marshy creek.

Once we’d finished we headed to the hides and on the way found another five Whimbrel feeding in the Wedge Field. In the warmer weather there were more butterflies on the wing with fresh Speckled Woods, a Peacock and a couple of Large Whites. Several Buff-tailed Bumblebees were also looking for nesting holes.

The Reed Warbler at B Water gate was singing constantly but again failed to show for a photograph, maybe next time. The juvenile Russian White-fronted Goose was still present on Venner Island with a pair of Wigeon lingering and a pair of Pochard perhaps thinking about breeding. I wonder if the juvenile White-front may stay here for the summer. I know that Roseate Terns, for example, stay on their wintering grounds in Ghana during their first summer before heading north to breed when they are two years old.

A Chiffchaff jumped out in front of us giving excellent views. You can see the short primary extension (obviously shorter than the tertial length) which is a good ID feature separating this short range migrant from the longer range Willow Warblers (who have longer wings)

I checked the AudioMoths and thankfully both were still flashing green meaning that the batteries had lasted and everything was still working. It may well be, however, that there will be few Nathusius Pipistrelle records given the colder weather we’ve had. I reset the timer, inserted new batteries and new SD cards. I was just about to head to Lepe to sort out the AudioMoth there when I heard that there was an issue at G Island with paddle boarders sunbathing very close to the Peregrine nest.

I headed back and arrived to hear that the intruders hadn’t heard the Loud Haler siren and also didn’t hear the shouts. The Harbour Master was called but they aren’t insured to go out on the Solent and as the paddle boarders were on the seaward side of G Island there was nothing they could do. Thankfully they left after about 30 minutes.

While we were chatting near the Warden’s Hut I heard the classic rippling call of several Whimbrel and looked up to see 45 heading east in a classic goose like V-formation, an impressive sight.

A male Shelduck was head throwing in display on NP and a female Pochard swam low hugging the reed bed. Shelduck will certainly breed here and the Pochard may try although not many do in Hampshire.

There was a further increase in Avocet numbers with 36 now on G Marsh. They included the 7 year old who was ringed as a chick at NO and which I saw here on the 1^st April. A pair of very vocal Redshank were running around in a courtship chase.  

Pochard, Redshank and Egyptian Geese

On Venner South a huge flock of 141 Mediterranean Gulls, mostly adults, were resting on the grass. There were perhaps 250 in the general area and local breeding for some of them seems likely. In 1968 G Island was the first place where Mediterranean Gulls bred in the UK.

A pair of Little Grebes came very close to us in B Water hide and with the sun still low behind us the colours were intense. I caught the male while singing, the babbling trill that is part of the soundtrack to spring at NO.

The Marsh Harriers were actively displaying and repeatedly dropping into the base of the reeds near the trees which border the northern side of B Water. This is the same place that I saw a male and female carrying nesting material last week. At one stage two female types tussled mid-air.

Marsh Harriers

While in B Water hide I watched the White-tailed Eagle lift up into view over the Gins. I first saw it in this general area two weeks ago but this time it was much closer. On Tuesday it had spent most of the day on the ground near the Royal Southampton Yacht Club, roughly in the direction we were looking. This bird is a 2019 released male.

White-tailed Eagle

There was no obvious arrival of migrants with unchanged numbers of Sedge Warblers, Reed Warblers, Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs. The juvenile Russian White-fronted Goose was still on JV Island with the Barnacle Goose resting only a few yards away.

Barnacle Goose and Russian White-fronted Goose photos by Ian Williamson

A lingering group of 8 Great Crested Grebes floated off shore from MMs house. The Egyptian Goose pair shepherded their eight chicks into the reeds at the back of the Reedy Ditch and a smart White Wagtail was new on the Warren Flash side of the ditch.

White Wagtail

Ian texted me at just after 10am to say that there was a Barnacle Goose on Venner. They are a declining feral resident with up to 30 or so wandering in Hampshire and nearby counties. This is the first one to be seen at NO since I started visiting. Sarah and I were due to go out for a drive to Stewarts Garden Centre in Christchurch and so I suggested we detoured via NO first.

We arrived an hour later, I made my down the walking trail to find Ian and Clay at the start of the Boardwalk Field. Ian’s scope was trained ready on the sleeping Barnacle Goose. It immediately woke up and took to the water to swim around JV Island before getting out to feed on the edge of the Wigeon Fields.

Barnacle Goose

I headed back to the car and just before getting back to the road I noticed a couple of Swallows on the wires. I managed a ‘flight’ shot just as one of them lifted off.

Swallow

There was still another patch tick waiting for me back at the parking area. Ian and Sarah had heard several Whimbrel calling while I was watching the goose. Thankfully another called loudly soon after I arrived back at the car and I watched it lift up from the saltings before heading purposefully east. My camera was off but thankfully I had just enough time to boot it up, switch to continuous auto tracking and get a few flight shots.

Whimbrel

Four pairs of Shelduck were flying around NP Marsh. Hearing them calling to each other is a treat. The male closely pursues the female with an amazing discordant whistling call with the female calling ‘gagagaga’ back to him. You only here it when they’re close and they seem to fly around endlessly calling to each other.

Alan texted me to say that he had found a Little Ringed Plover on DL’O scrape, perhaps Joost’s bird from yesterday. He said it was displaying. Ten minutes later I was in DL’O hide and watching it, distantly, throwing its breast forward, head towards the ground and with its tail held high behind. It also appeared to be nest scraping. It will be interesting to see if it hangs around. Nearby Phillip F has been watching two displaying birds at Lepe and Adam is planning a shingle island out from DL’O hide which would be ideal for Little Ringed Plover.

On the other side of the hides I noticed the 1^st year Russian White-fronted Goose with Greylags on B Water just out from NFOC hide. I wonder if it will attempt to follow the adult birds back to Russia, I last saw them almost a month ago.

Around the edge of JV a mixed group of small gulls fed actively, at least 25 of them were Mediterranean Gulls. Another six birds were on DL’O scrape. The birds on DL’O suffer from Great Black-backed Gull predation and menacingly an adult was stood nearby watching them. Earlier, on G Marsh, 21 Avocet were paired up ready for breeding with several of them already on the islands that Adam created a few years back. Two pairs of Pochard were on B Water. They occasionally breed here so I will keep an eye out for them.

There had been a definite increase in Swallow numbers with birds lingering over B Water, at least 20 with a single House Martin amongst them. A quick sea-watch produced a patch tick, a Sanderling heading east. I haven’t seen any all winter, the best chance is no doubt during passage. A summer plumaged Great Crested Grebe also lingered off shore.

Great Crested Grebe photo by Ian Williamson and Ringed Plover

I’d seen two different Red Kites around B Water over the last week and today I watched two together heading over towards Inchmery. They could be the same two individuals but it’s equally likely they are new birds passing through.

Linnet and Meadow Pipit

I did my Peregrine monitoring with Dad and Dimitri. Not long into the session the two adult Peregrines saw off a young Goshawk who was sat on the ground in the middle of the island probably quite close to the nest. We watched high speed dives from the male with the young Goshawk throwing its talons up to meet the diving Peregrine. The female joined the male and together they drove off the interloper. I’d seen this brown immature Goshawk a few weeks ago patrolling over G Island.