Normandy Marsh is the first lagoon you come to if you walk from Lymington’s Haven Boat Yard towards Keyhaven on the Keyhaven-Lymington Nature Reserve. This is a large lagoon and attracts a large number of overwintering birds, and is worth a visit for the photographer during good winter days. Even if not going around the whole reserve. Additionally the yacht marina provides opportunities for landscape and abstract boat photography. Views
Otmoor RSPB nature reserve is only about 15-20 minutes away from Oxford, hosting mainly wildfowl, ducks & waders, on a wetland & reedbed habitat. You may also see several different types of birds of prey, such as Red Kites, and is host to large number of starlings in the winter. I recommend both obtaining directions before setting off to the reserve as it is not signposted, and taking food &
Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve near Haven is run by Hampshire County Council and is open Weds-Sundays. There is a charge for visiting the reserve itself which now has 8 bird hides which overlook reedbeds and fields. There are two sides to walk round, one is a boardwalk through trees, the other a mostly gravel path. Parking is free on the nearby shoreline. The reserve is a breeding ground in Summer
Anderwood is a Forestry Commission Car Park in the New Forest, just off the A35 near Lyndhurst, Hampshire. The car park is of reasonable size off a short gravel track. There are bookable barbeque facilities there – so can occasionally be busy. Photographically the woodlands nearby are probably best in the Autumn, when the seasonal colours are out and there is also a variety of fungi to photograph. There are
Radipole Nature Reserve is an RSPB reservein the centre of Weymouth, Dorest. The reserve is a wetland with lots of reedbeds that provide shelter for a variety of birds, including Bearded Tits and Cetti Warblers. Recent improvements to the walkways and the Visitor Centre have been made in 2012. The walkways allow the photographer to overlook and access more of the reeds than in the past. A hide which is
Blashford Lakes is a Hampshire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve just North of Ringwood. The reserve overlooks two large lakes with 5 hides that view them, and it also has another woodland hide, and two other lakes without hides on them. The reserve is open all year round except for Christmas Eve and Day. The reserve car parls are open from 09:00 to 16:30. The reserve is known for having Bitterns
Early September is a fairly quiet time for photographing birds, as many of the migrants have left, and we await the winter migrants arrival. Still it was worth a venture out to Blashford Lakes again, though I did not see the reported Little Stint or Osprey, these three all year round residents of the reserve were worth watching and photographing. First a Great Crested Grebe. And from the same hide,
I spent a couple of afternoons at Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve on the late August Bank Holiday, one in reasonably sunny weather, the other far more overcast. On the first afternoon there were good views of a Common Sandpiper outside the Tern Hide. Further around the reserve, at the aptly named Lapwing Hide, there were a number of lapwings nearby. Finally from the first day was this flying gull. On
When birds come close to the front of the Tern Hide at Blashford Lakes, then nice large images can be taken of the them. This was the case today as a Lapwing patrolled the gravel outside of the hide. The wind blowing its head feathers into a punk like appearance. Also close to the shore was a Little Grebe – swimming along next to the gravel.
On a recent visit to Blashford Lakes Nature Reserve, I had the pleasure to watch and photograph some Common Terns feeding their youngsters at close range. Viewing them from the aptly named Tern Hide overlooking Ibsley Water, the young terns perched on posts only a few feet from the windows. Here is a profile picture of one of the juvenilles sitting on one of said posts. I was also fortunate
