Marine Wildlife at SOC

The wildlife highlight of April was a Large Tortoiseshell butterfly, photographed at a private site near Lymington on 27th. This species is a very rare migrant to southern England, and the sighting is one of very few recent Hampshire records. A Red Admiral was also seen at the site on the same day, with both butterflies probably having recently emerged from hibernation.

Moth trapping at Pennington Marshes produced a migrant Silver-Y on 23rd, with other highlights including a Red Sword-grass (13th), Pale Pinion, Dotted Chestnut and Blossom Underwing.

The first three days of April were dominated by westerly winds and migrant birds were thin on the ground. In the Lymington-Hurst area two Firecrests and three Little Ringed Plovers were seen on 1st, and up to 63 Eider, six Water Pipits, four Slavonian Grebes and a Short-eared Owl lingered.

A switch to north-east winds on 4th produced some notable visible migration, with the first Yellow Wagtail, single Siskin and Brambling, five Pied/White Wagtails, 40 Linnets, 100 Woodpigeons and 500 Meadow Pipits arriving over Iley Point, and incoming raptors including a Marsh Harrier, two Buzzards and two Sparrowhawks. Single Bar-headed Goose and a Merlin were also seen, while the first Little Tern arrived at Normandy Lagoon the following day (5th). Another relatively quiet spell with westerly winds then followed, although several White Wagtails arrived on 7th and the Short-eared Owl flushed a Spoonbill from Keyhaven Lagoon the same day. Single Red Kite and Osprey flew over on 10th, the male Scaup reappeared at Normandy Lagoon, and the first Redstart, Whitethroat and Common Sandpiper were recorded.

The action really got going on 15th with an excellent sea-watch from Hurst in east winds. Totals of birds (mostly moving east) included single Avocet and Little Ringed Plover, two drake Garganey, two Black-throated Divers, two Barnacle Geese, two Arctic Skuas, five Velvet Scoters, five Manx Shearwaters, six Little Gulls, 50 Dunlin, 85 Whimbrel and 110 Common Scoters. On the marshes, new arrivals included single Grasshopper, Reed and Sedge Warblers and two drake Garganey (one of which was one of the Hurst birds). Visible migration included five Yellow Wagtails, 45 Linnets and 150 Meadow Pipits moving north.

A return to westerly winds saw an Osprey arrive (16th) followed by a Marsh Harrier (17th) and two more Grasshopper Warblers. A trip to the Needles Headland on 18th saw a Tree Pipit, 11 Yellow Wagtails, 85 Woodpigeons, 100 Meadow Pipits and 110 Swallows overhead, with a Great Skua moving east offshore. Back in Hampshire, a Curlew Sandpiper was seen briefly at Keyhaven on 20th and a good total of 17 Pale-bellied Brent Geese passed Hurst.

A further burst of easterly winds from 21st triggered a major rush of migrants, and the next four days produced an amazing variety of birds. Sea-watching on 21st from Hurst remarkably produced two different Spoonbills flying over (a 1st summer moving west and a 3rd summer arriving from the Isle of Wight before heading east), as well as single Avocet, Great Skua, Red-throated Diver and Arctic Tern, three Arctic Skuas, four Black Terns, four Razorbills, six Manx Shearwaters, 12 Velvet Scoters, 27 Little Gulls, 145 Whimbrel, 145 Common Terns and 165 Sandwich Terns. Incoming migrants included single Hobby, Merlin and Kestrel, and five Yellow Wagtails.

The following day (22nd) saw ideal fall conditions, with a light north-east wind overnight and murky weather at dawn. A trip to the Needles Headland was very productive, and the totals recorded there included single Pied and Spotted Flycatcher, Grasshopper Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, two Wood Warblers, two Ring Ouzels, two Siskins, three Whinchats, five Garden Warblers, five Tree Pipits, nine Redpolls, six Redstarts, 11 Yellow Wagtails, 15 Wheatears, 17 Blackcaps, 65 Whitethroats and 125 Willow Warblers. Other oddities included a Great Spotted Woodpecker, seven migrant Collared Doves and 77 Woodpigeons overhead. Offshore, a group of 13 Manx Shearwaters moved east, while back at Hurst a Short-eared Owl arrived in off the sea, two Pomarine Skuas moved east and a summer-plumaged Red-necked Grebe was sat on the sea.

On 23rd, another Black-throated Diver and 12 Little Gulls moved off Hurst, but the highlight was a total of 37 Arctic Terns passing east in addition to 135 Common Terns. Two Yellow Wagtails and 100 Goldfinches arrived in off the sea. The following day (24th) was slightly foggy and many migrants were apparently disoriented by the conditions. Yet another Spoonbill (this time a 2nd summer) flew east over Hurst, with other highlights there including a Little Ringed Plover, three Great, four Pomarine and ten Arctic Skuas, four Shags, five Little Gulls, 13 Fulmars, 50 Arctic Terns, 65 Dunlin, 65 Gannets, 85 Whimbrel, 120 Common Terns and 525 Bar-tailed Godwits moving east. The regular Short-eared Owl remained on the marshes and a late Firecrest was there.

Hurst continued to provide most of the highlights towards the end of the month, with a drake Long-tailed Duck, one Pomarine and two Great Skuas (25th), 15 Manx Shearwaters (26th), and seven Manx Shearwaters and a Velvet Scoter (27th). On the latter date, an early Wood Sandpiper flew over Keyhaven. Finally, there were further sightings of single Manx Shearwater from Hurst on 29th, and a Velvet Scoter and an Arctic Tern there on 30th.

Other wildlife included single Grey and Common Seals off Keyhaven/Pennington Marshes on several dates during the month, and a Pipistrelle Bat picked up from a road on 23rd that appeared to be unharmed.