Birds and nature - another walk round Rye Harbour nature reserve from Winchelsea Beach and back via Castle Water - 20th April 2026

I saw this white horse standing patiently in a field when I set off from Winchelsea Beach

Male Pheasant lurking by a garden hedge

Sedge Warbler well disguised in the branches of a tree

Shelduck standing in shallow water at the Salt Pool

Female Stonechat standing on top of a post at the edge of the Salt Pool

Linnet perching on the wire fence

Two Avocets stretching their wings

Group of Avocets having a meeting in a shallow scrape

Two Bar-tailed Godwits - one in winter plumage and the other in summer plumage - arrived in the scrape

The Avocets checked out the Bar-tailed Godwits

then left them to it!

The Spotted Redshank in summer plumage was at the far side of the Salt Pool

Common Whitethroat on a bare-branched shrub

Oystercatchers on one of the little islands at Flat Beach

Groups of Sandwich Terns on islands in the shallow water of Flat Beach

Four Whimbrels were in the grass at the other side of the water - viewed from Gooders hide

Suddenly the Sandwich Terns took to the air

then landed again

I left the reserve to walk along the road to the Castle Water entrance - on the way along the road I saw a Goldfinch near the top of a tree

Speckled Wood butterfly on the footpath

Pied Wagtail in the grass near Castle Water

Rabbit sitting underneath a tree

I was happy to see a small group of Yellow Wagtails in a field by Castle Water

Cormorant drying its wings in front of Halpin hide at Castle Water

Oystercatcher on rocks in front of the Halpin hide

I left the reserve at one of the exits near to Harbour Farm and came across a large duck pond - with a few Mallards - on one of the side roads leading to the main road between Rye and Winchelsea Beach

Great Wisteria plant in flower on a house overlooking the duck pond

 

Photos from a boat trip round Poole Harbour and an afternoon wander to Ham Common Viewpoint - 8th October 2025

On the morning of Wednesday, 8th October, I went on a Birds of Poole Harbour boat trip

Two juvenile Sandwich Terns were standing on a pink buoy

We passed Rockley Holiday Park, where I was spending a few days in a mobile home

Then we came across an adult Sandwich Tern standing on a green marker

A Sika deer stared at us as we cruised past

There was a group of six Sika deer in the distance

Tranquil scene on the river Piddle

I did not manage to photograph any birds here, but got more photos of the Sika deer when we turned round to go back to Poole Harbour

Three Mute Swans were sailing along the water along the edge of a reedbed

Behind them was a post on which a distant Marsh Harrier was perching

Also, on the other side of the water, an equally distant White-tailed Eagle was perching on an upright branch at the edge of the Arne peninsular

We passed another Sandwich Tern perching on a white buoy

There were lots of Oystercatchers standing on a small island in Brownsea lagoon

There were Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew and Spoonbills with the Oystercatchers in the lagoon

It was a misty view back to Poole as it had just begun to drizzle!

View across the lagoon to the church almost hidden in the woodland on Brownsea Island

Avocets standing on one of the little islands in the lagoon

A row of Black-tailed Godwits in the lagoon with one of the old bird hides in the distance

View of the new Lookout, which is fairly near the landing area on Brownsea Island

The Lookout, with Brownsea castle in the distance

After the boat trip, in the afternoon, I went for a wander round Ham Common

There are allegedly Dartford Warblers on Ham Common, but they were hiding and I only found this rather large version

Looking across the harbour from the Ham Common viewpoint

I then found another Dartford Warbler!

The Little Egret was still searching for fish at Rockley Park beach

I discovered an owl in a tree next to my neighbour's mobile home

The owl was in the tree on the left-hand side of the brown home and there was another one on the roof!

I was staying in the mobile home on the right-hand side