Lymington and Normandy Marshes

A cloudy and windy morning. Highlights were Slavonian Grebe, Long-tailed Duck and Kingfisher.

After seeing Pied Wagtails, Carrion Crows and Black-headed Gulls in the car park we set off along the coast path. A Little Egret gave close views as it fed b the waterside and a Kingfisher shot past us. It was also nice to see a few House Sparrows in bushes near some buildings.
We got to the sea wall and had the sea on one side of the path and Normandy Marsh on the other side. The place was full of birds. On Normandy Marsh, lots of Teal were closest, but other ducks on the water included Wigeon, Pintail, Shoveler, a few Goldeneye including a male, Red-breasted Merganser and Shelduck. There were also a few Little Grebe and Canada Geese and waders included several Lapwing and Redshank and a Greenshank with a few Curlew. There was a little exposed mud on the sea side of the path and here we saw Brent Geese, Grey Plover and Dunlin feeding. As we watched all this a couple of Stonechat sat on nearby fences. We set off along the coast path again and disturbed another Kingfisher that flew along the ditch beside Normandy Marsh. We turned a corner and came to the sea with the Isle of Wight in the background. As we walked along we spotted a grebe and were very pleased to see it was a Slavonian Grebe. A little further on and we saw another bird on the sea fairly close by. We were even more pleased to see it was a male Long-tailed Duck. Further searches of the sea found another Slavonian Grebe, Red-breasted mergansers, Great-crested Grebes and, a long way offshore, one Common Scoter.
We walked round the rest of Normandy Marsh and saw one island was packed with Dunlin and Ringed Plover, while the island behind had a Turnstone and a Greenshank. As we walked along to Eight Acre Pond we saw a few more Turnstone on the shore and a third Kingfisher flew past. Just before we turned away from the coast we saw a Kestrel fly past and a Rock Pipit alongside the ditch we were walking along.
We returned along Normandy Lane and had great views of a field with 30 Curlew and lots of Lapwing, Woodpigeon, Starling and a Meadow Pipit. Further along we found a tit flock with many Long-tailed Tit, a few Blue Tit and a Goldcrest, while a pair of Great-spotted Woodpecker chased each other in nearby trees.
Simon Curson