Lepe

7 Dec - I managed to combine a family visit with a morning trip to Lepe country park on the Hampshire coast, a new site for me, on the western mouth of the Solent. A sunny calm morning, and the Lesser Yellowlegs (2) still present on the pools at Stansore point where it has been for several weeks and looks set to winter. An elegant bird as always, needle-sharp bill, smart grey-brown plumage and bright yellow legs. Also on the pools - Redshank for comparison, Black-tailed Godwits, Snipe, Turnstone, Grey Plover, Curlew and Dunlin. The adjacent sea produced close views of a pair of Long-tailed Ducks (7-8), a male Red-breasted Merganser, and 4 Eider, and the shoreline flocks of noisy Brent Geese (4-6), Little Egret (3), and waders including Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Curlew and Grey Plover. Photos JM except for the shot of the Yellowlegs.