Keyhaven on New Years Day

The weather was sunny! Highlights were Kingfisher, 2 Peregrines, 2 Greenshank, Golden Plover and Knot.

16 of us met in the car park opposite the Gunn Inn at Keyhaven. As we waited in the car park the first bird species we saw was Brent Goose – a flock flew over. Avon Flash (just over the road from the car park) was quieter than usual. We saw Teal, Black-headed Gulls and Coot. It was low tide and the harbour had many birds – Brent Geese, Redshank, a Moorhen, Turnstones and a few Black-tailed Godwit. As we got to the reed-fringed pool opposite the harbour Dennis had already found a Kingfisher on the telegraph wires above the water. It sat there for a while giving good views before diving into the water and flying off. The pool had a Little Grebe and some Mallard – pretty quiet.
We walked around the harbour edge. A few Redshank and Grey Plover showed quite close by with Oystercatchers and Shelduck further out and a few Little Grebes in the channels. Dennis found 2 Peregrines sitting on a broken tree stump on the mudflats. As we walked round we got pretty good views of them. Then Tracy found 2 female Red-breasted Merganser in a channel on the mudflats.
We took the new path through the bushes that has good views over the wet marshy fields. Here a Redshank and a Greenshank were feeding.
At the first large lagoon, Keyhaven Lagoon, there were quite a few birds as usual. Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler, Gadwall, Pintail, Lapwing, Black-headed Gulls, Herons, Little Egrets and a Stonechat on some nearby Gorse. On the sea there was a Great-crested Grebe quite a long way off. We walked on to Fishtail Lagoon and saw more ducks, Brent Geese, Lapwing and another Greenshank. In the distance a large flock of Golden Plover flew around for a while and a Kestrel flew by.
We walked back and past the Gun Inn to look at the mudflats nearer Hurst Spit. There were many Black-tailed Godwit with a few Dunlin and 3 Knot. It was nice to compare the Dunlins and Knot. There was also a few Oystercatcher and Turnstone and a Stonechat in the field behind us. We then went into the Gun Inn for a New Years Day drink.