Birds in Langstone Harbour: the old Oyster Beds & Farlington Marshes Reserves. 23.01.22

Unlike my trip to Langstone Harbour on Monday, see: Birds in Langstone Harbour: the old Oyster Beds & Kench Reserves. 17.01.22 when is was cold but sunny all day, on Saturday Langstone Harbour was cold and very overcast. I had planned to meet two birding friends at Farlington Marshes. Because the trains are unreliable at present, due to shortage of drivers as a result of covid self-isolation, I got to Brighton station two hours earlier than the train I intended to catch, in case of cancellations. In fact there were no cancellations in the morning, so I got to Havant with two hours spare; so I took the bus to the top of Hayling Island and spent 90 minutes there before getting the bus back to Havant to meet my friends at Farlington.

Birds seen:

Langstone Bridge/Oyster Beds: Brent Geese, a Greenshank, Redshanks, Curlew, Oystercatchers, Black-Tailed Godwits, Little Grebes, Red-Breasted Mergansers; Mallards, Shovelers, Little Egrets, Black-Headed Gulls, Starlings, a Robin, Magpies, Carrion Crows, Dunlin, a Wren, and a Rock Pipit

Farlington Marshes: Brent Geese, Canada Geese, Redshanks, a Greenshank, Oystercatchers, Black-Tailed Godwits. Lapwing, Shelducks, Teal, Pintails, Wigeon, Mallards, Red-Breasted Mergansers, Coots, Moorhens, Little Grebes, Little Egrets, a Grey Heron, Black-Headed Gulls; Herring Gulls, Carrion Crows, a Kingfisher, Magpies, Carrion Crows, Stonechats and a Marsh Harrier

Langstone Bridge/The Oyster Beds (West Hayling) Nature Reserve

Red-Breasted Mergansers, in the channel that joins Langstone Harbour to Chichester Harbour

Mergansers flying off

Pintails

Shelducks

Black-Tailed Godwits on the shore at the top of Hayling Island, just south of the Mergansers.

Shelducks and Black-Tailed Godwits

Curlew and Dunlin

Dunlin

Greenshank surrounded by Redshanks in flight

Black-Tailed Godwits and Shovelers

Little Egrets flying over the Langstone Bridge

Brent Geese flying down to the shore at the top of Hayling Island

The road bridge (The Langstone Bridge) joining Hayling Island to the mainland at the of Langstone Harbour

The remains of the old rail bridge (Hayling Billy line)

Redshanks and Shovelers

enlarged and lightened:

Black-Tailed Godwits on shore of Hayling Island with Portsea Island in the background

Oystercatcher hiding in the seaweed

Redshank in flight

Robin

Curlew

Curlew and Little Egret

Redshank

Rock Pipit

Little Grebe

Oyster Statue

The Oyster Beds

Shelducks

Little Grebe

Back at the Langstone Bridge, waiting for the bus: Shelducks, Brent Geese and Shovelers

Red-Breasted Mergansers.

Brent Geese landing by the old railway bridge

Red-Breasted Mergansers

Farlington Marshes

Avocets, Brent Geese and a Herring Gull on The Lake

Female Stonechat

Brent Geese on the Lake

Male Stinechat

Brent Geese

Lapwings, Pintails, Teal and Shelducks on the Lake

Black-Tailed Godwit taking off from the Lake; Shovelers, Pintails, Teal and Lapwings behind.

Brent Geese and Avocets (ca. 40 in all, not all in view)

Little Egret

Brent Goose

Pintails on the Deeps

Brent Geese on the Deeps - Portsea in the background

Male Shoveler in the Deeps

Coot and Wigeon

Brent Geese flying over the Marshes

Black-Tailed Godwits off next to the path going to the reed beds (through the marshes)

Lots of Coots on the Stream

Mute Swans