The Swan's Nest......

Wednesday 14th May 2008

I do love this time of year, especially when the weathers good, and thankfully, this May we have had lots of good weather.


reflections of a black headed gull

We went to Keyhaven on Saturday morning, it was such a nice experience. Hardly anyone about..... which was fine by me. We weren’t looking for anything in particular. To tell the truth, I was happy just to be out walking by the sea, and if we saw some nice birds, well that would be a bonus.


keyhaven quay

It's not just the birds though.... This time of year you can’t help but notice the bright yellow gorse, all along the edge of the pathway, and lots of other wild flowers and grasses too.

forget-me-not

A Swan was sitting on it’s nest not far from the pathway. I was watching her, when she climbed down, revealing one egg. I had to laugh, she was only off the nest one minute, when her mate arrived and appeared to tell her off for leaving the egg.



We did find one bird for the year list, a Spoonbill on Keyhaven lagoon. Further along we saw, a Little Ringed Plover, some Shellducks, Reed Buntings, Whitethroats, Common and Little terns.....and heard some Cetti's and Sedge Warblers.


New Forest pony with foal

136. spoonbill

Keyhaven in the mist......

Friday 14th March 2008

One bird I always love to hear is a Cetti’s warbler.....and there always seems to be one near the reed bed at Keyhaven. Today was no exception.....I was no sooner out of the car when I heard it....sweet, sweet music to my ears. I wish I could live near a reed bed, full of cettis, reed and sedge warblers......that would be paradise for me.

Typical of the Cettis to let me hear it, but not let me see it... I went to get the binoculars to have a look for it, and that’s when I realised I had made a mistake!! I had picked up the wrong bag from home. Instead of a bag with the camera, binoculars and a few other bits and pieces.... I had picked up Ian’s work bag, with an empty coffee flask and a half eaten sarnie!!! Just as well I have a good sense of humour.....unfortunately Ian does not!!!!

So we set out in silence, to walk the sea wall to Pennington marshes, and hopefully see some birds. Five minutes later the rain started......it was going to be one of those days!! At least I had a hood on my jacket...........Poor Ian, his raincoat was in the bag, which was in our house, a forty-five minute drive away!!! Oh well, it was only a bit of drizzle so we carried on....

Despite the weather, it was a very enjoyable walk.....hardly another person in sight, just the sights and sounds of the birds....

mergansers
reed buntings
spotted redshanks
whimbrel
black-tailed godwits
shovelers (lots)
pintail
teal
mallards
oystercatchers
lapwings
great crested grebes
shelducks
curlew
meadow pipits
various gulls
greenshank
crows
blackbirds


We noticed the dead tree by the jetty (keyhaven side) had been blown down, probably in the storm earlier in the week, and was broken up and washed up on the defence wall. Looks like the Peregrine will have to find somewhere else to sit.....

Walking back to the car via the inland road, the weather became very misty and murky....... Ian said, all we needed was a Barn Owl to complete the scene. No sooner had he uttered those words, when just like magic, a Barn Owl appeared in the field beside us!! We watched as it flew along the edge of the field, across the gravel path and out of sight......

I was so delighted, a beautiful Barn Owl to add to the year list..

109. greenshank
110. barn owl

Merlin......

Wednesday 30th January 2008

Managed a few hours at Keyhaven on Sunday, our first trip there this year. We walked from Keyhaven to just past the jetty at Pennington, and back via the inland road.


lapwing

There were lots of birds.......including a Kingfisher, Dartford Warbler and some Spotted Redshanks. The highlight for me was a Merlin, sitting in a dead tree near the jetty, where the Peregrine usually sits.


stonechat

All in all we saw forty four species, and have five new birds for the year list...

87. reed bunting
88. dartford warbler
89. merlin
90. red-breasted merganser
91. spotted redshank

Birthday......

Wednesday 7th November 2007

It's my birthday today and we went birding in Keyhaven again!!


Mallard

Weather wise it was totally different to Sunday, much colder and cloudier. Pretty much the same birds as on Sunday....except I noticed a couple of pintail which I had missed then. I also saw a Peregrine in a dead tree close to the Solent, and watched it for ten minutes or so before it flew off. Saw some Great Crested Grebes but no Black-necked.

After lunch we headed to Eyeworth Pond to see the Mandarin Ducks. Here are a couple of pics....





There were also lots of woodland birds.....fallow deer, ponies and not forgetting the pigs who decided to join us at the pond!!

All in all a good day out.....

October Sunshine

Saturday 6th - Sunday 7th October 2007

I spent most of the weekend at Keyhaven and Milford-on-Sea. The weather was absolutely fabulous for October.... dry, sunny and pleasantly warm and the autumn colours were stunning.


Autumn colours - Keyhaven

It was nice to see some ducks back on the lagoons......wigeon, teal, shoveler, also a little grebe, lots of black-tailed godwits and a few little stint.


teal duck hiding in reeds


little grebe also known as dabchick


small copper



sunday walkers at Milford-on-Sea


black-headed gull

The Wheel of Life

Sunday 26th August 2007


dragonfly mating wheel


The wheel of life keeps turning and today I became a Great Aunt for the first time - so Congratulations to my niece L-J her hubby Paul and their new born baby daughter.

I didn't go very far today as my laptop is playing up again and I spent most of the day reading through books I really don't understand!! My nephew usually sorts out any computer problems for me but I thought I would give him a break and try my best to sort it myself (fingers crossed).

Yesterday we went down to Keyhaven again and here are some of the sights seen on our walk.



the walk from Keyhaven to Pennington with the Isle of Wight in the distance.


curlew


little egrets


cows taking a dip!


brambles


dragonfly

Wheatears at Keyhaven

Friday 24th August 2007

What a difference a day makes, that cold wind of yesterday had departed and in it's place was a dry, warm and from time to time sunny day, but why did I feel a bit confused? Oh yes......it was a Bank Holiday weekend, good weather? surely I must be dreaming?



No, I wasn't dreaming it really was a nice day so after a hospital appointment we headed down to Keyhaven arriving there around 2pm and we even managed to park for free!



What can I tell you about Keyhaven that I haven't already said before. It is one of my favourite places to go birding but it is also a nice place to walk or just to be.

Something happens there, the people have smiles on their faces and they say Hello or Good Afternoon and the birders are just the best. We were only out of the car five minutes when a lady birder came over to tell us where to find some Wheatears and Winchats, very nice of her to do that.


grey heron

We spent hours down there, we walked the seawall to Pennington and back again. We just took our time checking out all the lagoons along the way and there were lots of lovely birds to see.


wheatear

The best bird for me was the Wheatear as I had never seen one before and we had a pair of them flying up and down the lane in front of us, then behind us then walking on the path with us, very friendly birds. Unfortunately we didn't see the Winchat, but sure you can't have everything can you?



135. wheatear

All things bright and beautiful.....

Saturday May 5th 2007

May, my favourite month is here already and a lovely sunny Saturday just perfect for a day at Keyhaven down on the coast .

We were free all day which meant we could take our time and just enjoy the walk and the sights and sounds.

The birds were in abundance especially Whitethroats popping up all along the inland road.


whitethroat


lapwing

There was also an abundance of Wall Brown Butterflies.


wall brown butterfly

Then as we walked down to the coast there was quite a racket and a Common Tern appeared right over my head shouting as if to make sure I knew he was there. We watched him diving in and out of the water a few times and then another one appeared.



Lovely birds and the first ones we have seen this year.



109. common tern