The return of the Beast from the East had been suggested in the forecast. In the end we didn’t get the snow that was anticipated but it was certainly cold. I dusted off my pocket warmers, topped them up with lighter fluid and headed out.

First stop was the Reedy Ditch to check for any Hawfinches leaving a possible roost site, no luck unfortunately although the ringed Marsh Tit was still around. A group of around 10 Mediterranean Gulls were bathing on the shore next to MM’s. A single 1^st winter bird and the rest were adults. Otherwise, the sea looked quiet.

Mediterranean Gulls

Eventually I tracked down the four Slavonian Grebes, they were very distant, almost around the corner to the east. Over the next 45 minutes, however, they drifted on the falling tide gradually moving west until they were directly opposite me and fairly close in shore.

Slavonian Grebes

A male Red-breasted Merganser flew east, he obviously turned the corner into the river as I later saw him close in off the sailing club. A gorgeous bird and much rarer than they used to be, especially here.

Red-breasted Merganser

A Golden Plover gave its plaintiff whistle somewhere overhead but I couldn’t track it down. All day I saw large groups of Lapwings displaced by the cold weather but there were no Golden Plover amongst them. In the distance, almost all of the way to Lepe, I picked up one of the Pale-bellied Brents with its white flanks gleaming in the low winter sun.

Shin-high ice spikes had formed into incredible stalagmite-like features around the edge of JV island and perhaps as a result a dense group of 30 Coot were jostling together on the grass by the edge. Nearby there were 72 Shoveler on the ice free north-eastern corner of B Water.

I saw all five thrushes today including 2 Fieldfare and 4 Mistle Thrush. The biggest numbers were of Redwing with at least 120. There were also migrant Song Thrushes flying high in groups, not their most familiar behaviour and so I may have miscounted a small number of them as Redwing although there were at least 25 Song Thrush feeding together in one field.

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.

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.