Keyhaven, Acres down and calshot

Great day in Hants today, leaving the house just after 7am we headed to Hurst for a sea watch.

Not much to start with but the little terns and common terns kept us busy:

Shrimp anyone?

Then a dark phase Arctic Skua passed through the solent, great year tick and a lifer for Robbie and Rebekah. Not long after the arctic another Skua was spotted, rebekah and I commented on the tail length and the size – it turned out to be a Pomarine Skua!! Great start to the day and a lifer for Sam, Robbie and Rebekah although it was distant. Some Whimbrel came in off as well.

Walking around the marshes at Keyhaven we saw many species, one of the highlights being lesser whitethroat (lifer for Robbie and Sam), rubbish photos I know:

Also on the non-bird front there was a rather large female adder:

And a little closer..

Chasing the common whitethroats about was getting annoying with no good pics, until one befriended us and we got very close indeed:

Many little egrets as usual:

Lots of black tailed godwits and a few bar-tails. There was a lovely summer plum turnstone and nearby a little ringed plover.

One male Wheatear put in an appearance which was nice.

An unseasonable barnacle goose, presumed plastic..

From here we went to Acres down in hope of seeing a wood warbler.

Picking up on call first we located one male, hearing approximately 3. Lovely birds and I will have to try and get a pic at some point.

Also here a strange feather from a mythical bird….any ideas?

A few other day list ticks here as well.

We then decided to go and try to see the groppers and nightingales at calshot.

No sign of either to start with but another male Wheatear on the beach was a nice start.

As it got a little later they started to call, with at least 4 male nightingales singing. We finally got our eyes on one and here is a rubbish record:

No groppers but I could hear a med gull in the hoard of black heads attacking a plowed field..

Stonechats seem to be a little more approachable at the mo..

Shelduck:

Great 11 hours in the field and now I’m shattered!

85 species for the day and 177 for the year.

Dan