Normandy Marshes
In the middle of the coldest week for some time it did not look very hopeful for our visit to Normandy Marshes at the weekend. However the snow and ice gradually cleared through the week giving way to rain on the Saturday and Sunday dawned as a bright sunny day without any wind; an ideal birdwatching day. Normandy Marshes are accessible through the marina at Lymington and after being housebound for much of the week a great number of people seemed to be intent on enjoying the good weather. Birdwatchers, dog walkers, cyclists and just plain walkers made the coastal paths like a town centre at Christmas.
The elevated paths along the sea defences not only provide good views over the sea and marshes they have the benefit of separating the people from the wildlife and the birds are quite content to ignore all the human activity. A Small Egret was seen at the start of the walk feeding in one of the shallow lagoons. The Egret stands in water up to a few inches below its body and shuffles its feet to disturb the mud thereby releasing small creatures which it stabs with its beak before swallowing. You begin to realise why the Egret has bright yellow feet and black legs since with black feet it would surely stab itself and by natural selection these birds would have all died out.
A whistling sound drew our attention to the Wigeon which are by far the most numerous duck at the moment with Teal not far behind. A group of Shellduck and Cormorants were interspersed with the Gulls, mainly black headed with the occasional Greater black backed gull. On the water Tufted duck and Little Grebes could be seen with the rarer Pintails. In the grassland several Curlew had gathered and round the edges of the water Redshank, Heron, Turnstone and Ringed Plover wandered about looking for food.
One of the advantages of walking in the countryside in the winter on a bright sunny day is the quality of the sunlight. In the summer the sun is directly overhead but in the winter the sun shines at a much smaller inclination and hence through a greater depth of atmosphere. This gives the light a more diffuse quality but the small angle can pick out greater detail on low ground features. A good example of this was the group of four Goldeneye that were on the surface of the second lagoon. Goldeneye are not often seen and are usually a small speck on the surface of the sea but on this occasion they were quite close on the lagoon and lit from behind us by the sun. We were able to see the black and white markings on the two male birds very clearly and when the sunlight caught their black heads they shone with a bottle green iridescence that was quite impressive.
In the middle of the coldest week for some time it did not look very hopeful for our visit to Normandy Marshes at the weekend. However the snow and ice gradually cleared through the week giving way to rain on the Saturday and Sunday dawned as a bright sunny day without any wind; an ideal birdwatching day. Normandy Marshes are accessible through the marina at Lymington and after being housebound for much of the week a great number of people seemed to be intent on enjoying the good weather. Birdwatchers, dog walkers, cyclists and just plain walkers made the coastal paths like a town centre at Christmas.
The elevated paths along the sea defences not only provide good views over the sea and marshes they have the benefit of separating the people from the wildlife and the birds are quite content to ignore all the human activity. A Small Egret was seen at the start of the walk feeding in one of the shallow lagoons. The Egret stands in water up to a few inches below its body and shuffles its feet to disturb the mud thereby releasing small creatures which it stabs with its beak before swallowing. You begin to realise why the Egret has bright yellow feet and black legs since with black feet it would surely stab itself and by natural selection these birds would have all died out.
A whistling sound drew our attention to the Wigeon which are by far the most numerous duck at the moment with Teal not far behind. A group of Shellduck and Cormorants were interspersed with the Gulls, mainly black headed with the occasional Greater black backed gull. On the water Tufted duck and Little Grebes could be seen with the rarer Pintails. In the grassland several Curlew had gathered and round the edges of the water Redshank, Heron, Turnstone and Ringed Plover wandered about looking for food.
One of the advantages of walking in the countryside in the winter on a bright sunny day is the quality of the sunlight. In the summer the sun is directly overhead but in the winter the sun shines at a much smaller inclination and hence through a greater depth of atmosphere. This gives the light a more diffuse quality but the small angle can pick out greater detail on low ground features. A good example of this was the group of four Goldeneye that were on the surface of the second lagoon. Goldeneye are not often seen and are usually a small speck on the surface of the sea but on this occasion they were quite close on the lagoon and lit from behind us by the sun. We were able to see the black and white markings on the two male birds very clearly and when the sunlight caught their black heads they shone with a bottle green iridescence that was quite impressive.
The plumage of the male Goldeneye is at its best at this time of year because of the breeding season and we were particularly fortunate to see the mating display of the male birds. The Goldeneye extends its neck and head as high as it can by stretching and treading water before falling back to its normal position. This is followed by the bird throwing its head backwards towards its tail where it stays with its beak pointing to the sky for some time before repeating the whole procedure again.
One of the islands in the lagoon had a large flock of Dunlin with two Swans all resting during the warm daylight. A few Oystercatchers, Grey Plovers and Godwit were also seen. One or two Lapwing were on the ground but quite large flocks were seen passing over the reserve. A single Avocet was seen with its head tucked under its wing and standing on one pale blue leg.
After lunch we returned to the marina along Normandy lane on the landward side of the reserve. One field of short grassland had a mixed flock of Redwing and Fieldfares as well as a few Lapwing and Curlew. Redwing is something of a misnomer as the wing is not red. The red is on the flanks and is not easy to see when the bird is at rest as the wing covers most if not all of the red patch. The best means of identification is probably the bold eyebrow stripe which often looks more like a punk hairstyle. The birds are quite shy of man and when approached they fly as a flock to the nearest tree and then move after a few seconds when you have just found them in your binoculars.
Normandy Marshes is well worth a visit particularly on a bright winter’s day but don’t expect to be on your own.
The next outdoor meeting is to Blashford Lakes. Meet at the Oak Road car park Dibden Purlieu at 10am on 21st February 2010. Non members welcome at no charge.
The next indoor meeting is ‘A Hampshire Chronicle’ by G.Ponting at St Andrews Hall Dibden Purlieu. Talk starts at 7.30pm on 22nd February 2010. A small charge is made for non members.
Contact the secretary on 023 80893803 for membership details.
