Hythe

Monday 15th January 2007


oystercatcher

We were free this afternoon so went down to Hythe Marina. There were a couple of birders there, looking through scopes. One of them spotted a Red Throated Diver beside a green buoy. I looked towards the green buoy and yes I did see what looked to be a diver, but to be honest I couldn't really identify it myself so I won't be adding it to my list. Pity I don't have a scope though!

Then we saw our first tern of the year - a sandwich tern, just great, I love terns. There were lots of gulls down by the pier but I am hopeless with gulls and could only pick out a herring gull and a great black backed gull and black headed and a redshank.

At the marsh were curlews and oystercatchers and more gulls and on the grassy area beside the carpark we saw a pair of bullfinches.

We met a nice birder from Liverpool and were chatting about birds and Liverpool and somehow the conversation ended up being about the Isle of Man. I worked there one summer many many moons ago! I was 19 and worked in the Compton Hotel, Central Promenade, Douglas.   It was hard work, with only one evening off a week, but my friends and I had great fun. My brother goes over now and again  for the famous Isle of Man TT races.   But I haven't been back there since that summer.   I must try and get over again   one day.

40. sandwich tern
41. herring gull
42. great black-backed gull
43. oystercatcher
44. bullfinch
45. redshank

Hythe Marina

Sunday 7th January 2007

The weather was abysmal yesterday so instead of going birding we went into Southampton and bought a new pair of binoculars, Optricon 8x42. They are mainly for my husband as he is really getting into this birding lark now! I am hoping for a new pair of bins myself but I haven't found a pair I really like yet.

The first thing I noticed this morning was a Red Admiral butterfly outside my kitchen window. Then as I walked down the front path I noticed my wild geraniums were flowering.   I have never seen them in flower in January before!

Today we went looking for the Great Northern Divers on Southampton Water again, only this time we were at Hythe Marina. It was bitterly cold, not the kind of day to be hanging around. The nice thing about Southampton Water is that even if you don't see any interesting birds there is always something else to look at. Two cruise ships were in dock and the Red Funnel Ferries were coming and going to the Isle of Wight.

There is also a ferry from Hythe to Southampton and a little train takes you down Hythe pier to the ferry. I have always enjoyed my trips on the Hythe ferry especially on summer mornings.


the pier train for the Hythe - Southampton ferry

We were at the Marina for quite some time but apart from a Great Crested Grebe we hadn't noticed anything else.   We  were just about to call it a day when a razorbill popped up about two feet from where I was standing! What a good result. I have seen razorbills off Durlston in Dorset but this was a first for me in Hampshire! I was absolutely delighted and even managed to get a photo of it before it went back underwater again. That was it, I was freezing cold and happy to call it a day. Time to go home and light the fire!

27.razorbill