Trip reports

TRIP TO KEYHAVEN & PENNINGTON MARSHES - Saturday May 2nd 2009

Saturday, 2 May 2009

17 members met on a dry, sunny and breezy day for our regular visit to this always enjoyable coastal site. The pool by the car park was found to hold a pair of common terns, shelduck and great crested grebe, with a pair of mating kestrels in an adjacent conifer. One member spotted a cetti's warbler in the nearby reedbeds and the first of many singing common whitethroats was observed here. A very distant little owl in a barn was scoped courtesy of another birder. A black tailed godwit, with some damage both to its left leg and scapulars, and 4 turnstone, 2 in breeding plumage, were our first waders of the day. Shortly after joining the coastal footpath, a very tame female wheatear entertained us, before several whimbrel were encountered, with a single curlew present for comparison. A few oystercatchers and redshank also gave good views. The gorse was in full flower, and although no Dartford warblers were seen, linnets and common whitethroats perched prominently. Keyhaven lagoon contained a spotted redshank in superb summer plumage - black with white spangled wings; a pair of little terns and a pair of common terns, plus a single drake shoveler. Several distant swifts were recorded. Best bird on Fishtail was a dozing greenshank. 4 grey plovers, still in winter plumage and 7 dunlins in summer garb flew into the mudflats as we paused for lunch.

12 members stayed for the post lunch session, which had us searching unsuccessfully for the summering eider flock. Instead, 2 sandwich terns flew west at range and a distant female common scoter was scoped on the Solent. Heading inland, the first of 3 lesser whitethroats recorded was "beating the bounds", singing and regularly perching up for short periods - most unlike this normally skulking warbler. 2 little ringed plovers were then discovered, one in particular allowing us to look closely at the relevant field marks, with the yellow eye-ring particularly prominent. The pond beyond the landfill site contained, as always, some tufted ducks, with up to 8 sand martins coming in to drink.

Some good butterflies were also enjoyed, in particular, green hairstreak and small copper, but also brimstone, peacock and speckled wood.

Other species recorded :- Little Grebe (2 separate adults, one feeding a youngster), Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose (1 of unknown origin), Mallard, Gadwall, Teal (1 pair), Buzzard (3 distant soaring birds and 1 perched), Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing (several displaying birds), BH Gull, GBB Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Skylark, Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren (h), Dunnock, Robin (h), Blackbird, Reed Warbler (h), Willow Warbler (1 seen by some feeding quietly in a pathside hawthorn), Chiffchaff(h), Blue Tit, Great Tit, LT Tit (pair), Starling (4), Magpie, Crow, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Reed Bunting. (70 species)

Reported by Steve Oakes