Untitled Document

HOME	My recent UK bird trips This is a personal record of bird trips with notes on the main birds of interest Go to New page of 2022 trips Back to BIRD main page Back to snapshots of European birds Back to my earlier set of bird reserve pictures etc To change size of pictures Clk Control and +/-

		Nikon 7100 SLR camera with Sigma 18-300mm or 150-500mm lens
		Pennington with Komal May16th 2018	Farlington October 9th 2018	Pennington October 24th 2018
	Pictures of Birding holidays in UK		Pennington February 27th 2019	Pennington with Josh March 27th 2019
	Pennington May 13th with Liz		Pennington February 6th 2020	Pennington Sept 17 2020
	Pennington with Liz April 12th - 14th 2021[1st time after the 2nd covid lockdown]		Pennington June 13-15th 2021 with Liz and Hugh
	Pennington February 10th 2022		Pennington February 7th 2023

Pennington marshes 6th February 2020
My earliest stay overnight ar Hurst View campsite. Mix of sun and cloud with light wind. mid afternoon and midmorning. After weeks of heavy rain all paths, fields and lagoons were near flooded. Flocks of Brent and Canada geese. Complete list: Woodpigeon, crow, magpie, blackbird, song thrush, robin,chaffinch, goldfinch, greenfinch, linnet, dunnock, stonechat, skylark (pair), stonechat (female), pied wagtails, swan, canada geese, brent geese, shelduck, cormorant, red breasted merganser, goldeneye, mallard, shoveller, widgeon (very many), teal, great crested grebe (immature at sea with goldeneye), tufted duck, coot, moorhen, redshank, dunlin, ringed plover, turnstone, lapwing, avocet, oystercatcher, herring gull, black headed gull.

Distant dunlin and ringed plover

Canada geese next to campsite	A lonely little egret

One of very many whistling widgeon	Fishing cormorant

Pintail	Redshank pondering on the meaning of teal

A comfortable flock of feeding widgeon	Nice flock of lapwing. Some seemed to be pairing up over the meadowland

Remarkable to see Red breasted merganser on the inshore waters. They seem to be ignoring each other but then gave in

Beautiful bird	A wind-facing flock of brent geese

I can't resist redshank

Goldeneyes out on the sea	My first good view of a goldenye

This little egret was vibrating its foot to stir up food i guess	Brent geese

Cormorant ignored by sleepy oystercatchers	just nice peaceful picture

remale stonechat Singing dunnock

Another favourite - the turnstones


Farewell flypast of Brent geese
Pennington 24th October 2018 I stayed overnight on the last warm sunny days of the year at Hurst View campsite, large flocks of Canada geese in adjacent field offering frequent flypasts. Except for the main lagoons everwhere was very dry. Mallard, Shovellers, Teal, Tufted duck, Shelduck, Little grebes, Moorhens, Canada geese, Brent geese. Grey heron, Little Egrets, Meadow pipits, gulls, Cormorants, Redshank, Golden plovers (few), Lapwing (many), Black tailed godwit (few)

View from my camper van. Distand Canada geese coming to join their friends in the adjacent field (above). In the morning I provided hot tea for the real campers.

Brent geese (dark bellied form) arrived to join us for winter from Siberia

I can't resist taking their pciures (Brent geese)	Canada goose

Flock of Lapwing on far side of the lagoon

Distant birds in the lagoon. A sleeping Golden plover at the top with sleepy Lapwing and a pair shoveler with a teal in front

Black headed gull in full winter plumage	Cormorant flying over my camper van

Little Egret	Lapwing

My favourite picture of Little Egret

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Farlington Marshes October 9th Full sun. slight breeze. 10.3-12.30. Canada geese and Brent geese. Said to be some pintail.. Meadow pipits, Female kestrel. Marsh harrier. On island in harbour 15 little egrets, loads of oystercatchers and a few grey plover. Also many knot. In lagoon big flocks of dunlin and blk tail godwits. Nice pics and video of singing linnet. Heard Cetti’s warbler.

On this island were 13 Little Egrets and large numbers of Oystercatchers

Distant flock of Bar-tailed Godwits	Knot

Distant flock of Dunlin

Heron accompanied by flock of Dunlin (Bomber + fighter escort)	Flock of Knot) on distant island

Flock of knot in lagoon. Help please	Beautiful Moorhen; it would be more admired if less common I guess

Linnet. It was near a female linnet singing (I did not know the female sings)	Meadow Pipit.
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Pennington Marshes May 16th 2018 Camped at Hurst View with Komal, a friend I first met in Tirupati, India, when he was an engineering student; some of these pictures are for him - to remind him of all the birds we saw
Komal, a shivering ornithologist	Back at campsite, warming up

Shelduck

Rare Spoonbills There were three together on the lagoon


Buzzard	Avocets on island in lagoon

Little Tern, distinguished by small size and yellow beak

Common Tern

Oystercatcher	Black headed gull

Chafffinch	Goldfinch

Meadow Pipit	Little Egret

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Pennington marshes February 27th 2019 Camped overnight at Hurst View campsite. Hot and sunny. High tide in afternoon; low tide in following morning. Irritating dog walkers down on the 'beach instead of on paths and also aloowing rampaging dogs in the field among the pre-mating lapwings. Many widgeon and shoveller, Shelduck, Brent and Canada geese, Black-tailed godwit, dunlin, turnstone, ringed plover. A few redshank, curlew, grey plover.

View from my van with my companion Brent Geese, visiting us from Eastern Siberia

Widgeon	Shoveller with good view of his shovel

PIntail	Teal

Canada goose. Picture as downloaded from camera then after photoshop found some more information

Turnstone	Five turnstone

My favourite - Redshank	Curlew

Black-tailed Godwits

Grey plover	Dunlin

Skylark	Shewing away the Brents to get back to my home

Farewell flypast

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. Camped at Hurst view campsite. Josh is a music student at Oxford University. Hor sun for two days. Brent geese still here. Very many shelduck. Not so many Godwits as February visit (above). No Dunlin or Ring Plover. No terns. More Redshank than previous. Warblers not yet arrived. Many Lapwing.

Brent Geese with the Needles plus lighthouse in distance. The geese will soon be setting for their breeding grounds in Siberia

Shelduck

Black headed gull

Widgeon	Shoveler

Teal	Little Egret

Tufted duck

Avocet (with Widgeon and Shoveler)

Curlew with Oystercatcher	Oystercatcher with Little Egret

Redshank	Black tailed Godwit

Turnstone (soon to fly home to breeding grounds)	Herring gull

Reed Bunting on reeds

Longtailed tit	Josh Asokan
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May 13th Pennington Marsh with Liz A sunny 2 days with very cold night. Quite breezy. Relatively few birds. Many Shelduck, Canada geese. 7 pairs of Avocet that all seemed to be nesting on the island. Oystercatchers, few Redshank, Mallard, Tufted duck, 2 Brent geese, usual gulls. No Terns, Heron or Little egret (except 14 roosting in a tree in the pond on the way to wonderful Chequers Inn). Many Whitethroat and Linnets.



Roe deer	Canada geese with chicks

Tufted duck. There were 4 pairs.	Mute Swan

Mummy Mallard with chicks	Shelduck

Brent goose left behind as all others have left for nesting grounds in Siberia	I guess this is a damaged (odd) Brent goose

Canada goose	Lapwing

Avocets




Oystercatchers

Dunnock or Hedge Sparrow	House Sparrow

Goldfinch	Fema;e Chaffinch

Linnet	Whitethroat


Mrs Anthony waving to the nesting Avocets	Home


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September 17th Pennington Marsh with Liz (Hurst View Campsite) We camped for a single night. They had opened up 2 extra fields as the demand was high because of the coronavirus problem. Hot and sunny. Not so many birds: Canada geese, heron, usual 3 gull species, kestrel, mallard, lapwig, a few isolated redshank and curlew, a single greenshank, small flocks of dunlin, turnstone and black tailed godwit, a few ringed plover, pied wagtails, sparrows, large flocks of starlings, woodpigeon, magpies, crows, robins, swallows.

Hurst View Campsite	Our main neighbours were a flock of pied wagtails

Canada geese; happy honking neighbours. A Flypast for Hurst Casle

Huge flock of starlings (a relatively small but wonderful murmuration)	The geese tried to join in

Dunlin on the edge of the lagoon	Young ringed plover on the island in the lagoon

Lapwings	Black tailed godwits preening

Black tailed godwit	Black tail of the godwit

Turnstone; one of a flock in their usual place on the shoreline near the concrete jetty	Geese at peace

The pictures below are of a solitary greenshank





Hurst Castle
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Top 17 Pennington

.........................	Pennington with Liz. April 12th - 14th 2021. 1st chance to go anywhere after lockdown.
TOP	For my record. Swan, Canada geese (very many - many nesting), Shelduck, Mallard, Pintail, Shoveler, Tufted duck, Teal, Widgeon (1), Coot, Moorhen, Cormorant, Grey lag goose. Little egret, Avocets (many some nesting), Oystercatchers, Lapwing, Redshank, Greenshank (1), Curlew (4), Black-tailed Godwit (4). Buzzard, Red kite. Carrion Crow, Jackdaw, Magpie, Woodpigeon. Lesser black backed gull, Herring gull, Blk headed gull, Common tern. Blackbird, Songthrush, Robin, Wren, Dunnock, Starling, Greenfinch, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Reed bunting, Skylark, Pied wagtail, Blue tit, Great tit, Long tailed tit, Swallow. Chiff Chaff, Cetti's warbler, Whitethroat, [heard only - Reed warbler, Sedge Warbler).

	Home with Liz searching for me	The hedges everywhee were overflowing with blackthorn - here with a greenfinch

	Swans on their next	An odd sight; swan with companion Greylag goose

	Greylag goose	Canada goose. Its nest was higher up the bank. Its egg had rolled down.

	Little Egret	Curlew in adjacent field

	Avocets

	Black-headed Gull	Black-tailed godwit.

	Redshank

	Oystercatcher	Waterside woodpigeon

	Coot	Lapwing

	Shoveler	Pintail

	Teal (male)	Tufted duck

	Greenfinch	Chaffinch

	Reedbunting	Goldfinch

	Dunnock	Songthrush

	Linnet	Cetti's Warbler. It was singing just before this picture

Top of this trip	Pheasants	Blackthorn
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.....................	Pennington 13th - 15th June 2021. With Liz and Hugh. Hurst view campsite. Very hot. Heat haze meant few good pictures.

	A rare hot sunny day in 2021	Buttercups galore

	Learning the Canada goose step	Oystercatchers with nesting avocet on lagoon island

	Avocet	Juvenile Avocets suggesting successful fledging this year

	Common Tern. Note orange/red beak.

	Sandwich Tern. Note large size and black beak.	Little Ringed Plover. Note black bill and yello eye ring.

	A rare thing; a shy goldfinch	Linnet (male)

	Linnet	Greenfinch

	Meadow pipit	Reed warbler

TOP	Whitethroat