Vectis Birder
Itchy feet
As I a only working in a part-time temping capacity, I get a fair bit of spare time to do what I want to do, and that obviously includes birding. Ok, I go birding whatever the weather, but today was so glorious it was a shame to waste it just hanging around the city.
A few miles east of Southampton, on the road towards Gosport, lies Titchfield Haven, a Hampshire County Council-owned nature reserve. It actually lies to the south of the village of Titchfield, in the village of Hill Head, on the shores of the Solent. The reserve lies at the mouth of the Meon River and is a superb place for birds, even in the summer months.
I drove down via the M27, leaving the motorway at Junction 9 (Segensworth) and headed for Titchfield.
Once there, I parked, paid my fee and headed for the Meonshore Hide (on the South Scrape), after watching 7 Oystercatchers flying out from the reserve over the Solent. The hide had quite a few other birders inside, all seemingly retired - I was easily the youngest there, by far, and I am in my mid-thirties!
I spent a couple of hours in the hide and there was a good amount of birds of various species:
Black-Tailed Godwit: plenty - I lost count!
Bar-tailed Godwit: 1
Common Tern: their numbers must have been in the low hundreds.
Roseate Tern: these have been at the Haven for some time now, and someone reported 7 the other day, but I only saw one today.
Common Sandpiper: 1
Green Sandpiper: 1
Lapwing: 2
Avocets: 4
Woodpigeon: 11
Moorhens
Coots
Dunlin: 17
Ringed Plover: 1
Sandwich Tern: again there were a few of these, but not in the numbers that the Common Terns were.
Shelduck: 2
Spotted Redshank: 1
Grey Heron: 1
Buzzard: 1
Oystercatcher: at least 7
Black Headed Gull
Common Gull
I did miss a couple of good birds though: A Black Tern that landed at the reserve, but then flew off out over the Solent again and a Wood Sandpiper.
I did see a small passerine that I did not recognise. It landed on top of a bramble thicket and had a grey head, pale yellow breast and brown upperparts. Sadly, as it was none too close, I did not get a great view and could not see any feather detail on the tail, or any bill detail, etc. It flew with a dipping flight and was on it's jack jones - no other birds were with it. Any ideas? I cannot seem to find it in Collins, although admittedly I have not had a thorough look as of yet!
Entry to the reserve costs £3.30 and I consider it to be excellent value for money. I am not sure about public transport there - I have never seen a bus in the vicinity of the place and there isn't a rail station nearby - but there is plenty of parking (free parking at that - always good!) and the place is within cycling distance of Lee-on-the-Solent. The reserve is open from 0930 - 1700 Wednesday to Sunday and their website can be found at www.hants.gov.uk/countryside/titchfield. It is always well worth a visit.
A few miles east of Southampton, on the road towards Gosport, lies Titchfield Haven, a Hampshire County Council-owned nature reserve. It actually lies to the south of the village of Titchfield, in the village of Hill Head, on the shores of the Solent. The reserve lies at the mouth of the Meon River and is a superb place for birds, even in the summer months.
I drove down via the M27, leaving the motorway at Junction 9 (Segensworth) and headed for Titchfield.
Once there, I parked, paid my fee and headed for the Meonshore Hide (on the South Scrape), after watching 7 Oystercatchers flying out from the reserve over the Solent. The hide had quite a few other birders inside, all seemingly retired - I was easily the youngest there, by far, and I am in my mid-thirties!
I spent a couple of hours in the hide and there was a good amount of birds of various species:
Black-Tailed Godwit: plenty - I lost count!
Bar-tailed Godwit: 1
Common Tern: their numbers must have been in the low hundreds.
Roseate Tern: these have been at the Haven for some time now, and someone reported 7 the other day, but I only saw one today.
Common Sandpiper: 1
Green Sandpiper: 1
Lapwing: 2
Avocets: 4
Woodpigeon: 11
Moorhens
Coots
Dunlin: 17
Ringed Plover: 1
Sandwich Tern: again there were a few of these, but not in the numbers that the Common Terns were.
Shelduck: 2
Spotted Redshank: 1
Grey Heron: 1
Buzzard: 1
Oystercatcher: at least 7
Black Headed Gull
Common Gull
I did miss a couple of good birds though: A Black Tern that landed at the reserve, but then flew off out over the Solent again and a Wood Sandpiper.
I did see a small passerine that I did not recognise. It landed on top of a bramble thicket and had a grey head, pale yellow breast and brown upperparts. Sadly, as it was none too close, I did not get a great view and could not see any feather detail on the tail, or any bill detail, etc. It flew with a dipping flight and was on it's jack jones - no other birds were with it. Any ideas? I cannot seem to find it in Collins, although admittedly I have not had a thorough look as of yet!
Entry to the reserve costs £3.30 and I consider it to be excellent value for money. I am not sure about public transport there - I have never seen a bus in the vicinity of the place and there isn't a rail station nearby - but there is plenty of parking (free parking at that - always good!) and the place is within cycling distance of Lee-on-the-Solent. The reserve is open from 0930 - 1700 Wednesday to Sunday and their website can be found at www.hants.gov.uk/countryside/titchfield. It is always well worth a visit.
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