Baffins Pond

I have always thought of Boxing Day as a day to be out in the fresh air, anything to relieve the stultifying effects of an over indulgence in rich food and the banal unimaginative products on the television. There must be an inverse law in the fact that the more television channels you have available there is less to watch.

So, not too early this morning, I made my way to Baffins Pond in Portsmouth. Russ Tofts had made a Christmas Day posting on HOS that two Water Rails were present along with a bonus Chiffchaff. Earlier in the year the Water Rails had proved very obliging and given the amount of rain we have had recently, the park paths were more inviting than the muddy bridle paths of Sussex and I can't resist Rallus aquaticus.

I used to fish Baffins back in the 1960's when it was just an uninspiring concrete bowl - what a difference today. Someone with a bit of foresight has added several areas where willow, rush and reed have been able to grow, providing a haven for wildlife in the middle of the city. Good numbers of Tufted Ducks are present along with a few Shovelers and some Mallards of mixed parentage. Mute Swans, a Grey Heron, Coots and Moorhens together with a host of Black-headed Gulls were the supporting cast.

Sure enough, I found a Water Rail but it was somewhat reluctant to pose in the open, lots of people enjoying the sunshine might just have deterred it. The Chiffchaff had found a companion and both were feeding in the reedbed in front of me, one even managed some weak calls. Thanks for the sighting report Russ - a pleasant morning birding



Plenty of Tufteds.......

.....expecting to be fed.

The occasional Shoveler

The ever present Grey Heron

Glossy Ibis

Standing on the North Wall at Pagham on a warm sunny morning, a light southerly breeze at our backs,  all we needed was some exotic bird to liven up the proceedings. Sure enough Martin picked up an incoming Glossy Ibis and managed to capture it in flight prior to it landing at the rear of Breech Pool. The bird remained for at least 15 minutes, time enough to obtain some record shots of a fairly distant subject. Then off it went, climbing rapidly and heading north. I optimistically predicted that the bird would return and lo and behold after about an hour it landed only feet from its previous location, remaining an even shorter time than before.



 

Glossy Ibis gives the impression of being a large bird - not so.

Almost unmistakeable in flight

Apart from the GI the pool was fairly quiet, a lone Shoveler, a single female Pintail, a Ruff and the usual Wigeon and Teal. Oddly enough no Snipe to be seen on the pool though we were treated to a flyby just before we left.

On arrival we had been greeted by a Grey Heron standing sentinel by the sluice, a Magpie stood watch whilst we were there and as we left a pair of Collared Doves watched us go.

A Knock-kneed Bent-necked Hernshaw

 

 

 

 

 

A short visit to the triangle in Peppering Barn Lane gave us excellent views of several Red Kites and a Kestrel, a covey of a dozen Grey Partridges provided the flyby.