Some Shape of Beauty Moves Away the Pall

It's seems like a age since I've been out for a proper walk. I did manage an hour or so at Titchfield Haven near the end of January at sunset, which produced the most brazen Fox that walked past me as if I wasn't there. It clearly had somewhere intentional to go.
The light as with the Sun was very low by this stage so I only managed a few shots. I had walked up the nearby cliffs at Brownwich to get a better view across the Solent to see if I could spot the  reported Long Tailed Duck and Scaup that had been seen feeding offshore. Niente, on this occasion.  

I walked back to the van and took a final shot towards Fawley power station across the water just as the Sun had set.

Wherever I am, my personal radar is always set to the sounds and sights of the natural surroundings.
I was working at The Mill House in Bedhampton which is an 18th Century Grade 2 listed property and is famous for the last place of stay in this country of the poet John Keats in 1820. He finished his poem 'The Eve of St Agnes' here in 1819 and moved abroad where he died in Rome in 1821 of tuberculosis.
The whole house has a real atmosphere about it. To the front is the canal that once powered the water wheel and behind it the river, which is tidal and feeds itself into Langstone harbour. 

I set up my tools ready for the job I was to complete that day. I had made a door which was to replace a rotten one to the conservatory of the house.
I had brought my binoculars and camera just in case. Just different tools for a different job!
I walked to the rear of the house by the wall that borders the river and waited with my coffee to hand.
The tide was out so the river was low which exposed the banks and stones.
I soon found a kingfisher as it zipped past me and perched some way upstream. A poor shot but the best I could get at distance.
Along the exposed shore I picked out a Common Sandpiper feeding.
Along the rooftops a Grey Wagtail too.
It was time to get some work done, after all it was the reason I was there. Every so often though a pair of Kingfisher would speed past me. Just too quick for me to put down my mallet and chisel and pick up my camera! 

Fast forward a couple of weeks and I had a full day off on a Saturday. I arranged to meet Chris at Titchfield Haven.
It was flat calm and quite cool. Ideal conditions to see what was about on the sea.
It was still rather dark as the sun hadn't quite risen. A Little Grebe fed in the bay of the reserve.

We decided to head a little way up to the cliffs at Brownwich to get a better view across the Solent.
This is a very busy shipping channel and one container ship slipped up Southampton Water to the container port.

Shelduck flew into the reserve

The lovely little Sanderling, a favourite of ours were still zipping around and feeding on the shore as they have been for a while.

The view from the cliffs is an ideal vantage point.
In the distance we picked out the rare sea birds. Six Scaup, a couple of Velvet Scoter and a Long Tailed Duck were present but too distant for credible photos.

I concentrated on closer to shore. The monochrome stillness gave good photo opportunities.
These two Oystercatcher...

and some more sea ducks, the Eider, flew close enough to us for some nice views.

Brent Geese have a large presence all along the coast here in winter. Their call sounds like someone gargling whilst trying to say hello!

The Little Gull that has been here for some weeks was still present and flew down to the shore beneath us. It's usual spot has been the field just in from the cliffs, searching for food in the ploughed ground.

We decided to grab our backpacks from the cars and walk the shore to Warsash a few miles West. The view down Titchfield Haven nature reserve as we left was a typical winter scene.

The Sanderling continued to feed along the shore as we walked the long stretch of beach.

There is always a constant flow of birds across the sea. The Brent Geese drew the lens up again.

There was grey cloud in the East while the sun shone through a hazy southern sky that gave the calm sea a strange silvery grey glow.   

Halfway point is Solent Breezes Holiday Park and by now the sun was taking precedence.  

The tide was at it's lowest ebb and more Sanderling took advantage of the bounty of the exposed shore.

They are so well camouflaged against the mud.

Grey Plover were here too. Their favourite game is statues. Even when they feed they walk a little, freeze, pick at the ground then repeat. This is a common trait in other Plover species too.

We reached the scrapes, scrub and fields that edge the shore at Warsash. It is quite hard going walking a stony beach and our limbs were feeling it. We stopped for lunch opposite the scrapes and as we refuelled, the Brent Geese feeding in the adjacent fields were spooked by something and took off in front of us. 

Out on the scrapes the male Teal are in full breeding plumage and have started courting the females, or in this case the female. I just love their courtship dance. The males raise their heads in an arc, flick them back and push their tails up into the air.

We reached the sluice gates at Warsash, the reed beds behind these looked beautiful in the now dazzling sunlight, but they didn't contain the Bearded Tits we were hoping for, so we began our slow stony crunch back to The Haven.

Dartford Warblers frequent the gorse here but we couldn't locate any. This Dunnock still looked pretty in the sunshine.

Then Chris's eagle eyes spotted a Fox sunning itself in the shelter of the gorse. They have a couple of dens here so it was possibly the reason the Geese were spooked.

By now the day was getting so warm we could have walked back in T shirts, shame as we had thermals top to toe!
The views across to Calshot were just jaw dropping and we tried so hard to capture the colours we saw. 

Out on the sea there are many Great Crested Grebe looking elegant on such a pleasant day.

Everything was right with the world and on a glorious days like this even the animals seem to think so too...

We dodged inland for a while to see if the Little Owl was about at Beam Cottage. It wasn't but we caught up with a Goldcrest that is usually so hard to pin down for a portrait, but this time I nailed it!

Back to the shore the tide was rising fast and the shore at Solent Breezes is impassable at high tide and means a lengthy detour inland.We managed to get past after a scramble around rocks..phew!
The Turnstones gathered on the slipway as we passed by.

Our limbs were now feeling it and we still had the length of this beach to go. Whose idea was it to do this walk anyway?

More Brent Geese overhead from the fields above headed towards the Haven

We decided to head up the path to the cliffs to make it easier walking. As we came to the first field we saw a Buzzard minding it's own business looking for food. A Carrion Crow had joined it but not to help, it just didn't want it there.

And decided on a face - off !

From the cliffs, rafts of Great Crested Grebes floated offshore

We reached the harbour at last. More Turnstone sat enjoying the calm conditions

We still had an hour to spare so decided to pop into the East side of the Reserve.
My ongoing attempts at capturing the colourful Bullfinch were just that as this male kept well away from a decent shot. One day it will happen....

The Meadow hide gives good views up the valley and it's usual to find a Marsh Harrier or two, hunting over the reeds.
We were in luck. An immature male was distant but great to see.

It eats ducks so these Teal weren't staying around

It was 4pm and the reserve closed. Outside at the harbour bridge a single Pochard floated around with some Tufted Duck. The Pochard has been red listed and it's numbers are dropping rapidly. There used to be many here in winter but it's lucky to see one these days.

As we headed back to the vehicles we saw the enigmatic Sanderling on the shore calling us over for some more photos. We duly obliged...

It had been a hard slog walking the beach but a good soak in the bath later and looking back over the photos of the day eased the joint pain and gave me the urge to go back for more....

The title of this post is a line taken from the poem 'A Thing of Beauty' (Endymion) by John Keats