Larks in the mist again

 

A mornings birding that turned into a full day with Paul and Ephraim. No real plan for today so we headed off to Thursley Common as both Paul and Ephraim were both keen to jam in on "my Woodlarks". Dreary misty weather but not raining. A walk along the boardwalk and over towards "shrike hill". No sight or sound of Woodlark to begin with but a pair of Stonechat showed well. Then after a few minutes we could hear Woodlark singing. Then one showed well perched in a dead tree in the murk. After this we enjoyed several views of Woodlark either perched up, in display flight or foraging on the ground. As there was no sign of the Great-grey Shrike and the fact that it was not raining (nearly but not quite!). We decided to go down to Farlington Marshes. A Kingfisher on the boardwalk added a welcome splash of colour to our walk back to the car. On arrival at Farlington we headed off along the sea wall towards a field where several hundred Brent Geese were grazing. Luckily for us the Red-breasted Goose was with the Brents and showing well. So encouraged by our success with the Red-breasted Goose we headed over to Warblington in search of Glossy Ibis. On the walk from the Geese to the car park Pintail, Black-tailed Godwit and a distant Black-necked Grebe were noted.  

At Warblington we spent some time looking for the Glossy Ibis. There seems to be several cemeteries in Warblington! Anyway, we eventually found the Glossy Ibis feeding in a field at the back of a newish graveyard.

By now we were on a roll and not only that the weather had improved with hints of blue sky and even a small amount of sunshine. We took a gamble and headed for Acres Down. We were hoping to see Goshawk. On arrival the weather was still quite good but not exactly Goshawk weather. On our walk from the car park towards the "raptor watchpoint" we spoke to some birders who had seen 3 Goshawks from the watchpoint. On arrival at the watchpoint we scanned the surrounding woodland. No sign of any Goshawk but we did notice a massive dark rain cloud. You guessed it this big rain cloud was soon right over us! We headed for the woods hoping that the rain might move off but in fact it just got heavier. On our woodland walk we managed; Mistle Thrush, Treecreeper, Marsh Tit, Coal Tit. As the weather had taken a turn for the worst we decided to head for home.

Pics below; Woodlark at Thursley Common, Red-breasted Goose and Black-tailed Godwit with lots of bling!. The Godwit not the Goose! At Farlington Marshes, Glossy Ibis at Warblington.