Today is Your Day, Just Look at The Colourful Road

It was midweek and I was working in the workshop when I got word of an extremely rare bird that had dropped into The Haven just down the road.
I had so much work to be getting on with but I couldn't turn up the chance of only my second sighting of a Common Crane.
I grabbed the binoculars and camera and jumped into the van hoping desperately it would stick around. I got to the visitor centre, signed in and dashed to the Meadow hide where the best place to see it would be. It was still there albeit at quite a distance away.
Then it flew up and circled a few times before dropping out of sight.

It was put up again by a passing Marsh Harrier and flew back onto the fields in front of me.

I decided to get a little closer so headed north towards the Knights Bank hide. It was packed in there understandably, so I stood outside from where I spied a male Kestrel that proved a nice distraction.

The Crane was showing a little closer now. Word had it, that it was a female that had been bred at Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetland Trust and was 4 years old. It is part of their breeding and reintroduction programme and is ringed and has a satellite tracker too.
Cranes were lost in the wild here around 400 years ago due to over hunting and land drainage.
It's wonderful to see them back. Last time I saw them was Hickling Broad in Norfolk a couple of years ago. 

All the time I focused on the Crane, Kes kept circling as if to say hey you, I'm beautiful too!

It was past lunchtime and I really needed to get back to work. I dropped into Walk(a)way pond to look for water voles but none showed this time. A parting shot at a Blue Tit and I headed off home and happy.

My next scheduled walk was into the New Forest once more. So many great places to visit there with different things to see.
I had been out on Friday night in Poole to see a gig and had stayed overnight in the van. Being near the forest it was a great starting point and I had agreed to meet Chris at Blashford Lakes.
Formally gravel pits now turned over to nature and a place we always visit this time of year.

We initially met at Harbridge just up the road. A rare White Fronted Goose had been seen on the levels here by the river. It wasn't showing so we headed back to Blashford.

It was still early so we tried one of the hides by Ibsley Water which is a massive lake. It was open. The first thing to greet us as we entered was a Cormorant sat on the fencing in the lake.
There were many duck here too. This is a female Pochard

The males were out a courting!

This Little Grebe had it's Summer plumage in place. Signs of Spring were evident all around.

Even a Grey Wagtail put in an appearance on the bank next to us.

We decided on the next hide and as we ventured along the path there were Long tailed Tits constantly calling and flitting around us.

From the Lapwing hide there were good views of more displaying ducks. These are Goldeneye and a favourite of mine. They have a wonderful courting display as they point their heads to the sky and snap their necks back onto their tail. Anything to impress the ladies!

Wing flapping is another common display too.

Next up was the Tern hide and as we traversed the path towards it two Bullfinch did their best at portrait avoidance yet again. The male here was the best I could manage.

The Tern hide was unusually empty for a Saturday, normally you have to fight for a seat.
There were many Goosander around and I just managed one shot of a couple that flew past the window. Part of the Sawbill family of ducks they breed on inland rivers in Spring but frequent lakes in numbers in Autumn and Winter.

Tufted ducks are here in numbers too. They remind me of my childhood watching them on the lakes around Laleham in Surrey along with displaying Great Crested Grebes.

Time to move on. The second part of our visit to Blashford consists of more lakes but in a more forested area which in turn gives rise to a whole new spectrum of species.
Near the visitor centre is the woodland hide which what it lacks in opening windows it gains in species diversity and calmness deep within the trees.
One species of fungi that stands out like a sore thumb is the Scarlet Elf Cup.

There are many seed feeders put out for the birds here. They love it and arrive in numbers. Goldfinch

Long Tailed Tit

They have a unique way of feeding that Chris pointed out to me some time ago. One leg dangling whilst grasping and eating a seed. It proceeded to do this right in front of me...

Although Reed Bunting breed in reed beds they have adapted to come to feeders in winter. I've had one or two on my feeders in the garden in the past, so next time you think you might have a sparrow in your garden, look twice, it might just be a female- here - or a male below

There were many Chaffinch around. One close relative that can be mistaken for it is the Brambling. So again, look twice in Winter, you may have one or two turn up as I have had in the past. Easily confused but you can see the difference when the two are together...

This male Brambling has more orange shading than the pink male Chaffinch with a darker hood but the females can be a little harder to tell apart.

And then there is the Siskin. Much smaller and daintier than a Greenfinch.
There was also a Lesser Redpoll around too but it wouldn't appear when I sat at a vacant open window. Shame, as it was a stunning male in full breeding plumage with red head and breast.

We'd had our fill of the woodland hide and headed out into the carpet of daffodils that surrounded the hut.

Next up was the Ivy North hide. There had been reports of a Tawny Owl roosting during the day and right across the lake was a brown blob sat in a tree. Now I know this doesn't look much like anything but trust me, this is an Owl. Most probably a male as the female would be on eggs or hatchlings at the moment. Tawny Owls nest early in the year.

Out on the lake many Gadwall were around. An overlooked duck, this has really fine and detailed plumage.

 

It was now lunchtime and after a refuel at the cars we decided to try our luck in Harbridge again with a view to heading into the New Forest itself for the afternoon.

Looking across the levels at first didn't reveal much except a rather annoyed Herring Gull chasing off a Buzzard.

Then deep in the grass by the river I spied the elusive White Fronted Goose. It is a fairly rare sighting this far south. They can be seen in Kent and Gloucester near the Severn Estuary. There are two races. A Greenland race which has an orange bill and the Siberian race which has a pink bill. This is Siberian and will fly North soon to breed.

Next stop we decided was a place called Pipers Wait in the North East of the New Forest. I had been here late in the day a year ago and disturbed a roosting Short Eared Owl. How lucky would we be this time?
There is a dense canopy of mainly Beech and a few Oak trees here plus an edging of conifers.

The weather was blustery with occasional sun and showers. We didn't think we would see much until I spotted a raptor to the east gliding above the canopy. First thoughts were Buzzard but it was too small and faster. It was what we had secretly hoped for and a specialist raptor in this forest...a Goshawk!
It was the closest we had been to what is a very shy bird of prey. Once so rare you would be lucky to see one but doing incredibly well now despite their reticence.
We will return here in Spring to hopefully catch their display flights high above the trees at nearby Acres Down or maybe even here too?

It was now around 2.30pm and Chris put an option on the table. How about heading to Alresford Pond to see the Cattle Egret and Hen Harrier roost there?
It wasn't too far away and we seemed to have had our luck used up here so I agreed. Partly as I hadn't been to the pond and was curious to see it.
Alresford is historically Watercress country. Even the railway line that carries steam trains on a weekend is named after the delicious peppery salad leaf. Sometimes the watercress you eat might have been grown here.
The Cattle Egret proved elusive by the watercress beds so we dodged the traffic on the road to the viewing platform looking across the lake.
I was surprised how large the pond was. Water was low on some sections. It has an island in the middle and the edges are surrounded by reed bed.
Laping roosted on the exposed mud...

Lesser Black backed gulls patrolled in search of a meal

The sun was intermittent with showers still looming which changed the light often and gave some great opportunities for photography.

Noisy Canada Geese flew in just to make sure everyone new of their presence

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More Tufted Duck, this time with better light and great reflections to boot.

The constant changing light just tempted the camera every time no matter what bird passed by. A Coot in this shot.

After a brief shower the sun was out once more with the inevitable rainbow that followed. And what a rainbow it was. Talk about being in the right place at the right time, light against dark with the colours of the rainbow centre stage, just incredible!

An obliging Swan glided past just at the right time...

The Sun was setting and we both agreed to stay put for the hopeful roosting Harriers. Gunshot in the distance didn't instill much confidence however.
On the horizon we spotted a couple of Buzzard and a Red Kite too, but no Harrier yet.
As we stood there many more people had arrived in the hope of a good show. And as we stood kicking our feet and rubbing our hands for warmth, the thought shot across my mind that this would be a pretty good place for Barn Owl sightings. It must have been a sixth sense because minutes later one appeared on the opposite bank!
It's not called a Ghost Owl for nothing. Although the light was fading which made photography at distance very challenging, you can make out the distinct shape and colour of the bird.

Thankfully it made it's way a little closer until it literally flew right in front of us.

How lucky were we, just such an amazing bird and always a thrill to see?
We had almost forgotten the main reason we were here and it duly arrived moments after the Owl's appearance. A female Hen Harrier, although by this time the light was almost gone so you will have to trust me in the fact this is the said raptor.
She circled for a little, then dropped down into the reeds to roost for the night.
One of the best days I can remember. Some different places to visit and six raptors, some quite rare and unexpected.
That is the joy of nature. You can plan all you like of what you want to see but it has a habit of disappointing and astounding at every turn, after all it's not a Zoo and I wouldn't want it any other way!  

The title of this post is an excerpt taken from the poem 'The Rainbow Train' by Majd Al Deen