Whooping it up at Blashford Lakes
24 November 2008
The weekend at Blashford Lakes saw all the regular birds on show, including the drake Long-tailed Duck on Ibsley Water. Other regulars included the 2 Black-necked Grebes, Green Sandpiper, Yellow-legged Gulls and a slight increase in the numbers of wildfowl such as Wigeon and Goldeneye. However the best was saved until the very end of the day on Sunday when 3 Whooper Swans were reported from Rockford Lake, which was also playing host to the Great White Egret and several Little Egrets.
The Whooper Swan is a real rarity in Hampshire as most of them winter in N. England, Scotland and Ireland. The birds that come to Britain are almost all from Iceland and this is almost certainly where these three came from. Sunday was a day of strong NW winds with squalls and I suspect these birds overshot their destination and were reorientating when they stopped off for a rest at Blashford. This is backed up by the fact that they left overnight , no doubt heading to their intended destination. The picture shows the three swans, it was almost dark when it was taken so the quality is not the best. With further cold weather predicted who knows what might turn up in the next few days.
Bob Chapman, Reserves Officer Blashford Lakes
