It was a glorious day on Saturday and a friend and I went to take a walk round the saltmarshes at Lymington which are part of the Hampshire Wildlife Trust reserves of Pennington and Keyhaven. We parked in the slipway carpark and the parking was free so that was a nice surprise. It seems that they only charge between March and October. It's a bit different from where we live. Here they would charge you to even think about parking your car! Enough of that cross-making issue though and back to our trip. We had a very nice lunch in the Mayflower Pub and then warmly wrapped in hats, scarves and gloves etc. we set off for our walk. I hadn't been there before and I really enjoyed it. We saw brent geese, little egrets, shoveler, teal, widgeon, dunlin, curlew, oystercatchers, black-taled godwit, ringed plover, redshanks, skylarks and two kingfishers. Brilliant!
Dunlin
Redshank
Little Egret
Black-tailed Godwit
Brent Geese in flight
After our walk we returned to the Mayflower for a coffee to warm us up and a delicious pastry to go with it then headed off home. It was a lovely day out and I can't wait to go again.
Best wishes
SB
There is something new to learn everyday...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/skylark58/
Lovely photos SB. I enjoyed your description of the day out and I almost felt I was there. I especially like the one of the redshank which you have captured beautifully.
TJ
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Tony
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Hi,
that's a great area for a walk in winter :) In Autumn it's better to concentrate on the pools between Keyhaven and Pennington :)
If you have 2 cars it's worth leaving one at Lymington and driving to Keyhaven and walking the shore on the seawall back. The Hampshire Ornithological website has details on the area.
Good hunting :)
S
For advice about Birding, Identification,field guides, binoculars, scopes, tripods, etc - put 'Birding Tips' into the search box
Thanks SB. Super photographs. I love to see waders and little egret. Sounds like an enjoyable birders walk.
Thanks folks for your nice comments. It was certainly a lovely way to spend an afternoon and it also gave me some much needed wader ID practice!
Wow! Brilliant photos SB. It sounds a lovely day out - I am sure you will be returning there before too long.
The necessity of bird-watching is a really good reason for avoiding all forms of housework.
The dust will still be there tomorrow - the birds may not be!
Sounds idyllic SB! Good birds, good food! :-) Thanks for sharing your day out and the great pics too!
"All weeds are flowers, once you get to know them" (Eeyore)
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