Discovery - Mike Oldfield

STILL CLEARING THE JANUARY POSTS - FINAL ONE TOMORROW.

Christchurch Priory was always a 'clue' but in fact I had no pin-point idea exactly where Priory Marsh was, or how to access it, except for somewhere close to Stanpit. It wasn't really the best day to find out, given the recent floods and impending rain, but with a potential addition to the Year List anything goes.

Not everything airborne was Avian but some regulars here
were quickly seen such as

REDSHANK

CURLEW

(Dark-bellied) BRENT GEESE

MALLARD

MAGPIE

One of the Horses employed to keep vegetation cropped, which
thought might hamper my progress being scared of them.

LITTLE EGRET

c48 MEADOW PIPIT

SEA KING

GREENFINCH

LITTLE EGRET
all fluffed up!

As
CHRISTCHURCH PRIORY
opened up to full view I luckily came across this lovely lady

CORRIN
a fellow birder who said I was on the right track but could offer
a little direction. Taking the time to walk me there we encountered

SONG THRUSH
and she alerted me to c5

CHIFFCHAFF+
she had found earlier.

We also watched this Coxed Four heading out for a training session.

Great views from this raised elevation across STANPIT MARSH
to a distant HENGISTBURY HEAD.

and then through good directions

PRIORY MARSH and soon the

WATER PIPIT*

and for comparison the far more common
MEADOW PIPIT
(both images from Wiki for illustration).
On the way back I visited the pine trees where Corrin had logged

 GOLDCREST

and had suspected
FIRECREST+
(a brighter coloured bird than that above complete with white eye-stripe)
These are the smallest breeding birds to grace our country.
PS - neither did I draw these lovely illustrations.

SOGGY, MUDDIED, COLD and as Happy as a SANDBOY!

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