03/01/2022-Blog 1 of 2: Riverside Park and Woolston
There has been a Black Redstart at a building site around Woolston sewage works lately which we decided to go and try to see today, we didn’t see it. We called into nearby Riverside Park on the way a walk there a key part of our week off in January last year. Soon upon arrival here it was great to spot the charming Black Swans that are frequent sights here. We got some lovely intimate sights of five of these birds, seeing their delicious looking plumage and hearing their exotic call seeing some at a jetty area where there is always a feeding frenzy with Mute Swans, Black-headed Gulls and Feral Pigeons. It was interesting seeing both species of swans having pecks at each other, including the Black Swan having a go at the larger mute. I always enjoy seeing these birds here and it was a fun time today. I took the third picture in this photoset of a Black Swan, fifth and sixth of them with Mute Swan in shot too, ninth of a Black Swan and fourth of a Mute Swan.
On a small walk along the River Itchen here which looked full and feisty with wind creating some interesting little waves I took the first, second, seventh and eighth pictures in this photoset of views here, we saw a decent few more species and got the bonus of seeing a Fox on grass the other side of the river and skulking into foliage. A smashing moment with this adorable mammal, a third species for my mammal year list so far and one of my favourites. Considering I only saw my first of 2021 less than a month ago at Pennington in December it felt really good seeing this one a memorable moment today. It was nice to see some mistletoe in trees here, some nice orange in trees mixing well with bits of reedbed in scenery and some pretty clouds. I have noticed a lot of empty bird nests in trees lately after I saw someone mention them on social media which has been nice.
It was the nice gentleman we spoke to on Saturday at the Titchfield Canal path who we’d seen out before who first told us about the Black Redstart, we may well try again for it but it was nice to be at this spot and realise how close it is to a walk we do at Weston Shore. It was nice to see some sow-thistle I believe, horseweed, dock and in flower ragwort around here. I haven’t done a wildlife sightings summary for the Woolston part of our bank holiday Monday as I don’t recall seeing too many birds other than some gulls, Herring which it was nice to hear the evocative seaside call of too and possible Great Black-backed Gull. It was nice to see into the sea and see an unexpected reedbed here too. I took the tenth and final picture in this photoset of a view from here. With the set up of the day with doing two posts as I had a lot to describe and the amount of pictures I took at each location, its the rare occasion that every photo I took at Riverside Park and Woolston is in this photoset. I did take a couple before leaving in the back garden of some bits of buds and the yellow flowers in a hanging basket that are still going very strong in the back garden which I tweeted on Dans_Pictures tonight.
Wildlife Sightings Summary for Riverside Park: My first Fox of the year, Black Swan, Mute Swan, Moorhen, Little Grebes and Cormorants sat on a structure two birds I’ve started the year well for, Mallard, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Feral Pigeon, Starling heard and seen well and two nice Pied Wagtails well.
My next post about two other places we visited today shall be up shortly.