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Late this afternoon, I took my dog, ‘Scruff’, for a walk around the west side of Thorney. It was a gorgeous day with little wind and the tide within Emsworth Harbour was ebbing. With only a couple of days to go before August, it was really my last chance to get a few more month ticks and the good news was, was that I got three more.
Arriving around 4pm, a quick look in the Pony Field revealed at least forty plus Black-tailed Godwits resting by the small pools, but no other waders were present except for around twenty Lapwings. A good number of Gulls were present within the field but no Meds could be seen.
Walking along the footpath heading to the western wall, the familiar song of a Turtle Dove was heard and the bird was seen well perched on an overhead wire. Unfortunately, I didn’t bring my camera along which I was to regret as the afternoon wore on. A quick look in the harbour revealed a single Greenshank (month tick) amongst the Redshank along the shoreline, though a couple more birds were seen later along the walk. No sign of any Spotshanks though, as Barry Collins had one earlier last week. The Little Deeps held a pair of Gadwall (month tick) at the far end of the pool while closer were several Tufted Ducks. I passed a couple of walkers along the way and they said they might have seen a Wheatear further along the footpath. As I neared the Great Deeps, an immature Wheatear (month tick) popped up and flew over into the harbour. The bird was seen well on the return trip and another bird joined it. At one stage, my dog began chasing the birds! The Great Deeps was rather quiet, though a Common Whitethroat popped out and flew into a small bush. Several Little Egrets were resting on the shoreline and a couple of Meadow Pipits showed well perching on the fence posts.
The walk back produced a few surprises. A Sedge Warbler popped out of the reeds opposite the Little Deeps and stared at Scruff for some time while giving its scolding alarm call. The bird then flew across the footpath and flew into the reedbeds. A Dartford Warbler was heard calling deep within gorse, south of the Little Deeps but never revealed itself. Several Pied Wagtails and Linnets were showing well though. The Bearded Tits were heard near the copse within reeds but again, never revealed themselves. Grumble! Walking back along the footpath, the Turtle Dove was joined by at least several hundred Starlings on the overhead wires and what a noise they made.
Rarities of late included a Madeiran Petrel seen 6 miles off the Scillies on a pelagic trip! While Buff breasted Sandpipers and White rumped Sandpipers have also been seen in the country. An elusive Roller reappeared yesterday in a site within Wales too!
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