A couple of hours down Keyhaven saw me catch up with Hants bird 200 for the year. (201 with the Black Kite……Grumble Grumble Slasher).  I sea-watched for the first hour or so but c150 Gannets apart it was pretty quiet. The marshes were more fruitful. Around 200 Dunlin were spread across the lagoons of Keyhaven, Fishtail and Butts, the latter also still holding the moulting Curlew Sandpiper, bird 200. Ringed and Little Ringed were both present as were plenty of Black-tailed Godwits and Redshanks. Singles of Greenshank and Spotted Redshank were also seen. 14 moulting Eider were seen quite close to the Butts lagoon point. Whilst talking to Colin Allen we both noticed that a couple of the Dunlin on Butts were a good deal larger than those around. They both also showed a small supercillum stripe. I guess they are of a different race but the size difference with the other was quite marked. It was Colin who asked me to put a really close snap of the Curlew Sand on the blog. Well it’s definitely a Curlew Sand as for close………

Turnstone, Keyhaven Hbr, 17 Aug 2009

There were around 40 Turnstones feeding on the high tide line in the harbour. The majority still in good breeding plumage.

Curlew Sandpiper, Butts Lagoon, 17 Aug 2009, In there somewhere.

Eider, Keyhaven, 17 Aug 2009. Half a dozen of the 14 present offshore.

Steve Copsey