Sunday 12th February 2012.

My first Marsh Harrier of the year. This lovely female bird was also seen yesterday on the islands in the harbour.

I was hoping to meet my father at the entrance gate this morning at Farlington Marshes but an early morning phone call from ‘Pa’ informed me that my mum wasn’t well and therefore he had to cancel. Nevertheless, he said he would keep me informed as I made my way down to the reserve. It was a bitterly cold morning with temperatures well below freezing but at least the car park in front of the entrance was empty as I grabbed all my birding gear, wrapped myself up in hat and gloves etc, then put Scruff on his lead and made my way around the reserve.

One can just see the Kingfisher just left of the Avocet in the channel.

Despite being overcast, there was a heavy frost on the ground and every puddle or small pond was completely frozen. It was low tide within Langstone Harbour but it was occupied by good numbers of both Brent Geese and waders, notably the Lapwing which were quite close to the seawall. As I passed the Bushes area, a large bird caught my eye flying over the reed beds by the Stream. On closer inspection, it was my first Marsh Harrier of the year, the probable female seen yesterday flying over the islands within Langstone Harbour by my friend Geoff Farwell while on his WEBs Count.

Lapwings were abundant around the reserve.

Buoyed on by that good sighting, I made my way to the benches by the frozen Lake. Within the small creek in the harbour, by the Sluice, a good congregation of wildfowl included Teal, Pintail and Wigeon. Several waders were present which included a fine Avocet wading in the creek. A Kingfisher exploded into view from seemingly nowhere then flew off west along the creek and then over the mudflats. Dunlin, Grey Plover and Curlew were plentiful along with Redshank while smaller numbers of Black-tailed Godwits were seen nearer Langstone Bridge.

The Brent Geese showed well by the footpath.

Back on the Lake, the distinctive call of a Bearded Tit was heard and it didn’t take long for the birds to show. Within the nearest reed beds, I saw one bird land on a reed which only just took its weight. Two more birds flew over the same reed bed but was quickly lost to view. Overhead, Shoveler and Teal flew past but never settled.

These Dunlin were feeding by the harbour wall near the Deeps.

Carrying on around the sea wall, a flock of Skylarks took off in front of me and landed near some Meadow Pipits and Lapwing adjacent to the main path. Thankfully, I had the chance to have a cup of coffee from the small flask I took with me today. So, while slurping on hot coffee, I checked out the harbour channel looking south and picked up decent numbers of both Mergansers and Goldeneye swimming on the water. Brent Geese, yet again, were in large numbers feeding on the mudflats.

Wildfowl resting on the ice on the Deeps.

The Deeps was virtually frozen over though a small ice free patch was available, several duck species and a Grey Plover made the most of it. A large flock of Dunlin was seen quite close to the sea wall which gave me a good photo opportunity, until a dog walker with two growling large dogs passed by and put all the waders up! The north-east fields held a huge number of Brent Geese grazing on the grass and allowed me a very close view of these delightful Geese, though I couldn’t find anything different amongst them.

These Black-tailed Godwit showed well by the Stream.

The Stream near the Info Centre was virtually ice free and therefore a good variety of duck was present here. Teal were in good numbers along with a large flock of Canada Geese which held an albino bird. Up to four Black-tailed Godwits were present here feeding in the grass as I passed by. The walk back to the car was rather uneventful but having had a look on Birdguides on my iphone, the Sandy Point Snow Buntings were on show again this morning. Was it to be third time lucky?

Finally, I got to see the Snow Buntings and they even got close enough to take a close up of this delightful bird.

On reaching Sandy Point around 11am, I passed a fellow birder along the footpath who told me the birds were showing well by the Lifeboat Station. On reaching there, a fellow birder then told me that the birds were flushed literally five minutes before I arrived! I was gutted to say the least, so I took a walk further north to check the salt marsh in case they were there but drew a blank.

Three of the four beauties.

I then decided to wait where the birds were seen last and hopefully they might return. I set up the scope and scanned the harbour entrance and quickly picked up two Razorbills swimming quietly on the very calm water. At least eight Great Crested Grebes were swimming on the water and several flocks of Mergansers flew in and out of the harbour entrance. A lone Sanderling flew along the shoreline heading south out of the harbour.

One of the Razorbills on the sea off Sandy Point.

After 20 minutes or so, I decided to call it a day and then I bumped into a lady birder from Essex who was asking me about the local bird life here. On looking back to where the Buntings were, in flew the Snow Buntings, all four of them, then landed on their favourtie patch just north of the Lifeboat Station. So, retracing my steps, I then got very good close views of the birds searching for food on the shingle and managed to reel off some rather nice photos of the birds.

Another view of the Snow Bunting. This one eating a seed.

John Goodall was pleased to get his first Great White Egret of the year on the Great Deeps, Thorney Island today, while Geoff Farwell went birdtracking at Longwood Warren where he had 28 Golden Plovers, 2 Stonechats, a Raven, Marsh Tit and a Reed Bunting.