A picture {or afilm says a 1000 words!}
Why is a Turnstone called a Turnstone?
the Solent & Southampton Water,
Changes.
The Brent Geese have left and are heading north to their breeding grounds. Most of the Sanderlings have also left. With the shift in season, the return of Terns is due on our shores.
I did spot two Sandlings who may have decided to remain here this year.
Fun in the Mud .
Hampshire Fire & Rescue mud rescue training on the mud flats at Calshot Point this morning. Mud rescues are undertaken by several agencies in the UK. Fire Service, The Coastguard and The RNLI.
We stumbled across this training exercise and took up a vantage point to watch.
Watching, it becomes evident how hard work walking through the mud is, with each step requiring immense effort as feet sink into the thick, slippery mud.
Turnstone.
A couple of hours watching Turnstone around the harbour at Titchfield,
Kittiwake.
“Nests on seaside cliffs, often among auks and Northern Fulmar.” This bird, in non-breeding plumage, was in a flock of Black-headed Gulls at Titchfield Haven on Tuesday, a relatively rare sight for us on the Hampshire coast.
Resting place.
The tide was exceptionally high yesterday, with strong winds in the Solent, so the water in Titchfield Haven was also very high, flooding many of the small islands where the birds roost.
These Lapwings were competing for a place on these wooden posts.
Island D is missing!
Stormy.
Recovered from the Deep.
The Mary Rose was Henry VIII, flagship, built in 1511. She famously sank in the Solent in 1545 in full view of Southsea Castle. She took most of her crew of 500 souls with her. She was rediscovered in 1971 and raised in 1982. The part of the wreck that had become buried in the silt survived, and thousands of recovered Tudor artefacts, including personal items and weapons, were recovered.
In 1982, at the age of 22, I watched the raising operation of the Mary Rose live on TV with my grandfather. I remember his comment at the time. “What a waste of money to get a load of firewood off the seabed”!
The museum in Portsmouth Dockyard demonstrates that the salvage of the Mary Rose was a unique opportunity to snapshot into Tudor history. Over 19000 artefacts, along with the remains of the ship and crew, were recovered from the wreck site.
Archaeologists recovered 137 whole longbows and 172 part bows. There were also 3,500 arrows. Before the recovery of the Mary Rose, there were just 5 surviving longbows from medieval England known to exist.
link to the Museum,
Morning light.
1st light on the Hamble River Sunday morning.
Curlew and Spotted Redshank.
Short fims.
Hamble River bird films.
Continued Reflections from my World. 