A trip down south

After not making the trip to see the Semipalmated Plover on Hayling Island last weekend, I decided to take the plunge and try for it this weekend instead.

It took well over two hours to reach Black Point on Hayling Island and I was certainly glad to arrive after a horrendous journey on the M3 where the visibility was practically zero due to torrential rain.  There were about 60 birders there already and I settled in at the end of the pack (not sure if a group of twitchers/birders can be defined as a pack) and sat down to wait for the tide to come in.  After an hour of waiting, you could visibly see the tide moving waders off the mudflats in the distance.  However, it then started raining and continued to do so with driving wind for the next hour which made it near on impossible to try and look at anything through bins or a scope.  Despite being cold and wet, it was nice to see the waders coming in and flocking together.  The roost gradually got bigger and bigger and contained a mix of Dunlin, Ringed Plovers, Grey Plovers and Sanderlings but by 4:30pm, with no sight of the Semipalmated Plover, I had had enough and decided to leave (many other birders had already left due to the conditions).  However, just as I was leaving, someone had spotted the Semipalmated Plover and I managed to obtain views of the bird through the scrum that then ensued.   I was too cold and wet though to bother to obtain a record shot and also every single piece of equipment seemed to have sand on it.

This morning after drying off my jeans and rucksack at my sister's house (who lives not that far away from Hayling Island), I set off for Mudeford Quay in Dorset where I obtained a brief view of the Roseate Tern there battling the wind.  I waited for another hour but could not find it again.  My next stop was then Sturt Pond at Milford to view a Red Breasted Goose associating with Brent Geese.  I wonder if it is the same bird that was with Brent Geese at Farlington Marshes last year?  I then decided to make my way back home with a stop at Beaulieu Road Station to see if I could find a Great Grey Shrike.  It always surprises me how small shrikes are but despite a good look around, I could not find the one which has been in that area for a few days.

As the wind was really beginning to get stronger, I decided to make my way home and made just one 10 mile detour in order to see my first Hoopoe (above) of the year (in the UK).