Change of scene

Sunday saw me heading east over the border to Hampshire, Keyhaven Marshes to be precise. This is a great stretch of coastal lagoons and saltmarsh which has attracted some fine rarities over the years, and I have some fond memories of visiting here. Memorably, I chanced my arm to twitch a Lesser Sand Plover just two days before my eldest son was born. Fortunately, he didn't arrive early. The year before I saw my first Stilt Sandpiper here, and since then I have also caught up with Baird's Sandpiper and Semipalmated Sandpiper on the pools behind the seawall.

Long-billed Dowitcher: #225 for my photo yearlist

The Dowitcher on the deck

Kinder light than in the above flight shot

This was as close as the Dowitcher came while feeding, and it was always facing away unfortunately

With such a track record for American waders, the recent arrival of a Long-billed Dowitcher, one of our commoner trans-Atlantic visitors, was not a huge surprise. Needing to travel a bit further at this stage of the year to add to my photo year list gave me a good excuse to reacquaint myself with the area. Half a dozen Bearded Tits were pinging manically around the reedbed as soon as I stepped out of the car - a promising start.

Bearded Tit - male

Bearded Tit - female

The small flock would fly around before landing back in the reedbed

Here the male in flight

A short amble down the seawall to Keyhaven Lagoon brought the Dowitcher within view, and, when it woke up and moved from behind some other waders, within camera range. Grey Plover, Knot, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Lapwing and Dunlin kept it company.

Black-tailed Godwit

Another Blackwit in winter plumage

Dunlin on the shore

Lapwing on the pools behind the seawall

My photos weren't terribly satisfying so I stuck around. It took an age for the Dowitcher to move, and I had returned to the car for lunch when it returned to the saltmarsh. This was enough to tempt me back and despite patiently waiting for a few more hours, the closest I got was when it flew over my head to commute between the lagoon and the saltmarsh.

Greenshank: why couldn't the Dowitcher show like this?

Greenshank in flight

The distinctive black armpit of Grey Plover

Grey Plovers on Keyhaven Lagoon

So, while the Dowitcher didn't quite perform as hoped, it was a still a day well spent on a fine stretch of the south coast. The Isle of Wight provides a dramatic backdrop across the Solent, and with so much good habitat there is always a sense of promise at Keyhaven. I'm sure I will be back again soon.

Meadow Pipit

Meadow Pipit

Stonechat - a male

Hurst Castle and Lighthouse from Keyhaven

Male Bearded Tit

More Park Life

The 1st winter Long-billed Dowitcher was still present on Poole Park Lake early this morning, with Black-tailed Godwit (bottom picture) also showing well on the edge of the lake:

Park life

Following up on a report of a Long-billed Dowitcher in my local park in Poole last night, I was unable to locate it during a flying visit on the way to work this morning - though several Black-tailed Godwit and Redshank were present on the mud where the park lake would normally be.

The more observant Steve Smith had better luck later and was kind enough to let me know that the bird had returned. I was able to get back from work in time to find the Dowitcher tip-toeing through drink cartons and fag packets on the margins of the lake, just a few yards out from the edge. Many photos were deleted due to this unfortunate detritus - these pictures were rescued only by savage cropping. An amazing record for this location, putting the regular Black Swan's nose seriously out of joint...

And another American wader...

...but in Dorset this time, with the return of the Long-billed Dowitcher to Lodmoor RSPB. Although very overcast, the bird showed well in fornt of the shelter and got involved in a bit of argy-bargy with one of the local Snipe. The Dowitcher won. A pair of Scaup at the other end of the reserve were good to see (bottom picture). The male's dark green head and pale back, and the white shield at the base of the sleeping brown female's bill, can just about be see in this photo. News of a Pallas's Warbler on Portland tempted me across the Fleet and Chesil Beach, but I had no luck in finding it during a 2 hour search.