birds and birdwatch,

Easter walk.

/ Andy Finnegan / 4 Comments

Easter Saturday walk from Gosport Life Boat Station to Gilkicker point past fort Gilkicker.

The lifeboat of the Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service is independent from RNLI. The lifeboat was being launched for an exercise as we arrived at the carpark.

Fort Gilkicker is a one of the historic Palmerston forts around Portsmouth Harbour. Gilkicker was started around 1853. Built at the eastern end of Stokes Bay, Gosport, Hampshire England to dominate the key anchorage of Spithead.

Some birdlife from Gilkicker Point.

Greenfinch.

Dartford Warbler.

Camera collection.

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A few pictures that I took while walking in the New Forest to collect our Badger sett trail cameras which had been out in the forest for a week.

A juvenile Fallow deer Buck. He will be a magnificent beast in a few years.

A small herd of juvenile Fallow deer hinds.

It was nice to see a Grey wagtail they are a relatively rare bird with a population of just 38,000 breeding pairs in the UK. They are, subsequently, classified as Red Status bird due to this low number.

Tufties.

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Some more views of Tufted Ducks – these were on the old mill pond at Bishop’s Waltham near Winchester.

The drakes are black and white with a golden eye and sport a tuft. The hens are more camouflaged and brown in colour.

As kids, we called Tufted ducks Tufties.

On the water.

/ Andy Finnegan / 2 Comments

Another visit for an hour on a wet Friday morning to a local Lakeside park with the aim of watching the resident Grebes, it was nice to see 6 birds in 3 pairs so I am hopeful there will be some nests this year.

A local radio-controlled yacht group were sailing their pond yachts on one of the lakes, this quiet past-time does not conflict with the life on the water.

Tufted Ducks are smaller than the mallard. They have a small crest although you can not see it in my photographs.

Graylag geese seem very at home with the visitors and allow you to get close to them.