|
 Whether
you’re a hardcore twitcher or someone who
doesn’t know their crows from their curlews
the Island’s birdlife is genuinely fascinating.
Walking along one of the estuaries and stumbling
across a pair of hunting peregrines may raise the
heart beat for a few or simply provide an example
of nature at its finest to others.
I’m in my mid-twenties and
previously believed bird watching was something for
50-somethings with beards and green wheelies, although
after a ‘research’ trip out with Mike
Waterhouse (Shalfleet
Estuary Safaris) at Newtown I found myself develop
a strange draw to the Island’s estuaries. To
be honest until winter 2005 I could only just about
identify a black bird in my garden, I even committed
a big faux pas when helping Mike with the development
of his safaris business; I was commenting on the
promotional artwork and said ‘can’t we
find anything more exciting than a duck for the front
page?’ Mikes response was ‘Steve, that’s
a ‘Pintail’, one of the jewels in the
crown of the Island’s wintering residents’…oops…I’ll
get my coat!
 So
anyhow after this initial setback off I trundled
to the bookshop to get a book on birds, bought a
micro-pair of binoculars (not wanting to give myself
away) and set off to discover some of the wilder
sides of the Isle of Wight. So for the next few months
I spent my evenings, mornings and weekends traipsing
around the Island’s estuaries looking for…well
I wasn’t quite sure? What I did find was an
enormous range of birdlife, Oystercatchers, Godwits,
Redshanks, Peregrines, Buzzards, Black-headed Gulls,
Little Egrets, Grey-Herons, Cormorants, Shelduck,
Brent & Canada Geese and what has become my favourite
winter resident the Curlew. Flapping around on the
estuary, squawking (well more of a whistle/shriek)
at everything insight, it’s surely king of
the mud!
For those with a more professional
approach the Island’s diverse landscape types
lead to an abundance of species. The dominant feature
of the Island is the ridge of chalk downs running
west to east, from the Needles to Culver Cliff, with
another group in the south around Ventnor. There
are numerous copses and thickets, plus mixed plantations
above Brook and Brighstone. Some of the regular species
are Nightjar, Woodcocks, Long-eared Owl, Lesser Spotted
Woodpecker & Firecrest.
The two ends of this ridge of chalk
form high cliffs that are populated, especially on
and near the Needles, by various seabirds. Some of
their nesting ledges can be seen from the cliff-top,
but care is needed. In the case of several  interesting
species – Fulmar, Cormorant, Shag, Lesser and
Great Black-backed Gulls, Guillemot and Razorbill-
these cliffs mark the eastern limit of breeding (or
at least of regular breeding) along the south coast
of Britain. Freshwater Bay, a short break in the
chalk near the western end, is sometimes resorted
to for shelter from severe weather. Cormorants, Shags & Gulls
all can be seen.
The Island’s three main rivers
all drain to the north – the Medina in the
centre, and the two others, both confusingly named
the Yar, at either end (Newtown really only a creek).
The estuaries of the two Yars can offer a wide variety
of visiting species (mainly ducks and waders) and
a few nesters, but much of Brading Marsh (a reclaimed
part of the former estuary of the eastern Yar) is
private. At the Medina estuary you will find many
species of waders & oystercatchers, swans & ducks.
The area most likely to be worth
a visit at any season of the year is that around
Newtown River and Marsh, on the Island’s Northwest
coast. The nesting species include Shelduck, Oystercatcher
and Black-headed Gull and occasionally Sandwich and
Common Terns. Also often present during the summer
are numbers of non-breeding waders, including Grey
plover, Dunlin, Knot and Black-tailed Godwit. At
other times there is a wider variety of species,
mainly ducks in winter and waders in the migration
seasons.
St Catherine’s Point, at the
southern extremity of the Island, attracts considerable
notice, largely on account of the birds that can
be found resting there, usually after migrating during
an overcast night.
For
those a little more hardcore then there are a number
of hides located around the Island’s estuaries
and Wetlands, Wight Nature Fund have
a number of sites around the Island and have a bird
hides at Alverstone Mead Nature Reserve (including
solar powered hearing loop) and at Mill Copse on
the western Yar. The National Trust has
a superb solar-powered two-level structure at Newtown
next to the bird reserve and Gull Island. The RSPB
have a reserve at Brading and this also has hide
facilities.
For a really detailed guide to the
Island’s birdlife checkout Derek Hale’s
website, HERE,
which provides a comprehensive guide to the best
locations and an up-to-the-minute posting of pictures
and sitings.
|
