Birding in black and white at Titchfield Haven

Over the course of the weekend I have made a couple of visits to the Haven, for no other reason than to enjoy the present spectacle of breeding gulls and waders. There is also the long-staying Greater Yellowlegs which is always worth a look if its showing, but I don't tend to seek it out if its not. As well as the breeding birds there are always plenty of other species on hand and this weekend there were Dunlin, Black-tailed Godwit, Oystercatcher, Redshank and a couple of marauding Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Single Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint have also been seen this week and over the weekend, but I didn't manage to catch up with either.

Whilst walking around it was evident that the majority of the birds I was watching were mainly black and white, well at least it appeared like that, so I thought I would theme this post on them. My first species is Pied Avocet. This year is providing to be a good one for Avocets, with at least 14 nests on the south scrape. This species has to be a favourite of many a birder; they are elegant and very distinctive with their black and white markings. The upturned bill is perhaps the most distinctive feature, perfectly designed for sweeping from left to right as they feed. They are often feeding just in front of the hides giving excellent views and the first chicks of they year on the south scrape were a welcome sight, let's hope the evade the Lesser Black-backs.

Pied Avocet - There are at least 14 pairs on the scrape this year and truly black and white bird

Another Pied Avocet

The Black-headed Gull colony at the Haven is doing very well, I haven't bothered to count them but there are loads. Within the colony there are a couple of pairs of Mediterranean Gulls and it is this species that is my next black and white species. The hood on a Med gull is jet black and contrasts with the white neck and underparts, there is of course the light grey back/mantle, but I won't dwell on that. The image below clearly shows the brown hood of the Black-headed Gull in comparison with the black hood of the Med, somebody clearly got it wrong when they named Black-headed Gull.

Adult Mediterranean Gulls (one sitting on the nest behind the other). Its jet black hood contrasts with the white neck and underparts as opposed to the Black-headed Gulls with their brown hoods - who on earth came up with Black-headed for this species

A Northern Lapwing was feeding, whilst protecting its two chicks just in front of the hide on the north scrape. Another distinctive species with its dark olive green back but black bib, crown and face mask, so this is my next black and white species. Its crest is also black and curls up in the opposite direction to the Avocet and is longer on the male. 

Lapwing - ok not really black and white, but more dark olive green and white, but it does have black on it!

My next species was Greater Yellowlegs, not a black and white species at all really, more grey and white, but has showed so well this weekend that I just had to include some images. Now that it has come into some plumage there are some black centres to some of the feathers on the back, so I think I can just about get away with including it. The bird seems to have got into a bit of a pattern now, when the river is high it moves up to the Posbrook flood, but as more mud becomes exposed on the river it moves back down. Occasionally it visits the scrapes but those visits are more sporadic.

Greater Yellowlegs - Definitely not black and white, more grey and white, but is its summer plumage it does have black centres to feathers on the mantle

Greater Yellowlegs

As I left the reserve and headed back to my car I noticed the almost resident Black Swan in the harbour. An all black bird, except that is for the red bill, but when sat next to a Mute Swan there was a very black and white scene. There were two Black Swans when I was at the Haven the other day, I don't think anyone has any idea where they have come from but they are an interesting addition to the harbours avifauna.

Two Swans, one Black and one White (Black Swan and Mute Swan)

The Return of the Greater Yellowlegs

I was working my way around Botley Wood this morning looking for spring migrants when news broke that the, or another Greater Yellowlegs at Titchfield Haven. This time, instead of being along the canal path the bird was at the bottom end of the River Meon, and was visible from the road. I was keen to see the bird again but opted to finish off my circuit of Botley Wood before heading off. 

There appeared to be very little evidence of spring bird wise, other than the usual species that have been present the last few weeks. Eventually I did manage to track down a Willow Warbler, evidence that just maybe spring is on the way.

I arrived at the Haven and the Greater Yellowlegs was performing very well feeding with a couple of Black-tailed Godwits. It was feeding on the edge of the reeds and would occasionally take flight, calling frequently. At one point it was being harassed by a Redshank, which proved too much for it and it headed into the south scrape. I quickly went and got a ticket and headed into the reserve.

Greater Yellowlegs with Black-tailed Godwit

Views from the south scrape hide were initially very close, but by the time I got there it had moved further from the hide. It was still quite flighty initially, but finally settled down and began to preen. The question on everybody's lips was where has this bird been since it was last seen, assuming that is that its the same bird. Had it really been in the Meon Valley somewhere? It seems unlikely that that is the case since the area is so well watched, but you never know.

Greater Yellowlegs (left) with Black-tailed Godwits

Greater Yellowlegs in flight

Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs (left) Redshank (Right)

Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs

Greater Yellowlegs, Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

This morning I set off early to meet Chris at Gosport Wildgrounds to try and catch more crests. Things were going quite well, in that we had caught one new Firecrest and three Goldcrests, when news broke of a possible Greater Yellowlegs, that had been found by Dan Houghton on the flood north of the Haven. We were on the verge of finishing up anyway, so decided the nip along to have a look. The bird was initially located on an area of standing water known as the Posbrook Flood, which is located along the canal path rather than in the Haven itself. There are three main areas of water, the Posbrook Flood is the southernmost flood, the northernmost flood is known as the Bridge Street Flood, I don't think the middle area has a name.

When I arrived the bird was tucked into a grass tussock, behind a couple of Pintail and a Black-tailed Godwit on the far side of the flood. It was spending most of its time asleep, and mostly out of view and as such the ID had not been confirmed. After about 15 minutes, it began moving around and began showing features that suggested that the bird was indeed a Greater Yellowlegs, and the second record for Hampshire. We were all being very cautious with calling the bird as a Greater given its extreme rarity and likely confusion with Lesser Yellowlegs, especially given that Lesser Yellowlegs have become such a regular feature of late with birds wintering in Hampshire last winter and this winter in Sussex and Cornwall.

The bird was gradually becoming more active and after a while it started to call. The call was, what I can only describe as being very reminiscent of Greenshank, a three syllable call, which is described in the Collins Bird Guide as peu-peu-pew, which in my view was pretty accurate. After a while the bird flew north up the valley and began feeding with Black-tailed Godwits and Lapwing. It was now possible to compare the size of this bird with the other species directly, and the long, slightly up-turned bill became very apparent.

Unfortunately the bird was pretty distant most of the time, it was giving great scope views, but it was not really possible to get any decent photos, but I did manage a few record shots. The series of shots below were taken when it was feeding on the Bridge Street Flood and hopefully give a good indication of the bird's size when compared with the other nearby species, Lapwing, Teal and Black-tailed Godwit. The final photo also shows the long, slightly upturned bill as opposed to the shot needle-tipped bill of a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Great Yellowlegs with Lapwing

Greater Yellowlegs with Lapwing

Greater Yellowlegs - with Black-tailed Godwits

Greater Yellowlegs with Black-tailed Godwit - note the long upturned bill

Massive congratulations to Dan for finding this bird and for getting the news out so quickly, a very well deserved find.