Isle of Wight Birds - Part 2

Since my last post about the bird life of the Isle of Wight (see here), Jayne and I have managed to see a few more species, and get a few more nice views of species previously reported.

New species seen were; Dartford Warbler (1 on Tennyson Down), Gannet ( 1 adult that flew past Ventnor Beach), Kingfisher (1 from the hide at Newtown NNR), Curlew (2 flying over the saltmarsh at Newtown NNR), Wheatear (3 juveniles on Tennyson Down) and House and Sand Martin (both seen in Bembridge, the first over the pub, and the second species over the beach).

Along with these new species, we also enjoyed good views of some other species. Highlights were a fishing Little Egret  seen on two occasions in Bembridge Harbour. 2 Greenshanks were also seen here on Friday 12th, up from the single bird seen earlier in the holiday.

Little Egret

After the sight of 2 Ravens flying high over Afton Down on 31st July, we enjoyed excellent views of 2 (possibly a pair?)  at The Needles. Both birds were flying around the New Battery for most of our visit, and eventually came down to grab some picnic left overs from the floor, before landing on a metal mast. Great views!

Ravens (look at those beaks!)

Also seen on Tennyson Down were Stonechats, including at least 3 juveniles.

The last bird of note has to be the juvenile Mediterranean Gull that was kind enough to land on the beach at Bembridge just in front of me, and stayed long enough for a photo.

Mediterranean Gull

Bembridge and St Helen's Duver

The first time we visited the Isle of Wight we stayed in Bembridge, and enjoyed many walks along the harbour and St Helen's Duver. During our stay this year, we visited several times, spending time on the beach and also walking across the causeway/wall that separates Bembridge Harbour and the Old Mill Ponds.

This causeway is particularly good for viewing the birds, and we managed to spot Sandwich Terns, Greenshank (2 on the Ponds on 12th), Oystercatcher (1 on 12th), Little Egret, Swallow, Carrion Crow, Great-spotted Woodpecker (heard), Green Woodpecker (heard), Linnet (heard), Goldfinch (heard), Herring, Black-headed, Great Black-Backed and Mediterranean Gull.

As most readers know, I particularly like "Med" Gulls (sorry Jayne!!), and this year I was very lucky to see not only several adult birds (3 or 4 at least), but also got very lucky with a  juvenile bird that landed briefly on the beach allowing me this photo. This is my first ever sighting of this species in this plumage- lovely!

Mediterranean Gull (juvenile plumage)

I also managed to get a few nice shots of a Little Egret that was fishing in the harbour.

Little Egret