The Isle of Wight - Day 1

The Isle of Wight as a birding destination rarely registers on the radar.  It's location on the southern edge of the UK makes it a prime spot for migratory birds.  It's not a place I'd ever been birding so thought I'd give it a try.  No expectations - just head-off on some nice walks and see what I see.

It is a fabulous place, away from the crowded town that is.  Settling in a modest chalet on the edge of St. Lawrence, the coastal path was a short five minute walk where inky seas and splendid coastal views beheld the few that ventured away from the riff-raff.

So it started - morning walks, afternoon walks, evening walks, concentrating on my new 'local-patch' producing some nice common migrants and getting some fresh sea air into the lungs.

Heading out from Portsmouth on a Wightlink ferry with the same sense anticipation as heading abroad.   The skies over the mainland were in a right old mood.

It was a pedestrian start strolling along the coastal path with very few people around familiarising myself with the area during the last quarter of daylight.

A group of around 25 Yellow Wagtail were flying back and forth - agitated by something and rarely settling.  A single Lesser Whitethroat popped out of the blackthorn.  A couple of Gannet passed by on the sea and a dozen Swift appeared over the headland heading south to even warmer climes.  Of course, the views were magnificent.