Titchfield harbour & nature reserve.
Good Morning.
Grey Heron waking for the day ahead!
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!
Marsh Harrier.
Kingfisher.
A female Kingfisher at Titchfield Haven National Nature Reserve. The female bird is identified by her orange lower beak. Despite the poor light, I was happy with today’s pictures.
Tiny!
Walking the old toll path on Titchfield Canal, I spotted this little bird. Goldcrests are the UK’s smallest birds. With an average weight of 6 grams (the equivalent of about six paperclips!)
Water Rail.
This Water Rail is making a dash from cover in the reeds. Although they are usually secretive, they are often heard but rarely seen. Today. I was lucky to see this bird break cover.
Focus on Ringed Plovers
Over the past few weeks, the number of Ringed Plovers resting on the spit at Meon Shore has been increasing. This post is concentrating on this small wader.
Ringed plovers are described as small and dumpy wading birds with orange legs and a black and white head and breast pattern. They can be seen foraging for small invertebrates and crustaceans in a characteristic “stand and watch, run, peck” pattern.
UK numbers ; breeding birds 5,450+ pairs; wintering 42,500 birds
The birds group up beach and will fly together in small flocks.
Note in the last picture, a Dunlin has tagged on!
Glossy Ibis.
I have been seeing one or two Glossy Ibis at Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve for a couple of weeks. Today, I was able to get some pictures as they came closer to where I was watching from.
Looking at reports on the news and online, there has been a huge influx of Glossy Ibis across Britain and Ireland, with large flocks appearing across a wide area.
The arrival breaks all modern records for the species, which has been increasing across Western Europe in recent years. They bred in Britain for the first time in 2022.
In early September, a minimum of 605 Ibis were recorded across Britain and Ireland.
Hover.
Kestrel hunting over Titchfield Haven this morning.
Continued Reflections from my World. 