Birding by Train to IOW

We have had a grand day out on a birdwatching trip. It was the first of a series, devised for our local RSPB group, by my husband, which he is  calling "Birding by Train". Today we went by train from Winchester to Lymington, picking up a friend, P, in Southampton, en route. Then we took the WightLink  ferry to Yarmouth. Before  we had even left Lymington  we had spotted a Kingfisher and a Little Egret in a  shallow pool by the ferry terminal. 
Once  on the Island  we walked along the route of an old railway line, beside the  eastern shore of the  Western Yar river, towards Freshwater. My main photo is taken looking back towards Yarmouth, across the marshy shoreline of the  Yar estuary. We saw lots of different   birds here including Curlew, Lapwing, Black Tailed Godwit, Little  Egret, Redshank, Teal , Wigeon and Oystercatcher. We then walked through a more wooded area where we spotted Blue, Longtailed, and Blue tits, Cetti's warbler and Robin. 
We turned around at the  causeway near Afton in order to be back at Yarmouth in time  for the 5pm ferry. As we neared Yarmouth we spotted another  Kingfisher by a little  stream.
We had only  walked about 6 miles but had seen about forty bird species during the day. 
The extra is the view from the homeward-bound ferry, approaching Lymington, and looking eastwards  towards Portsmouth,  over Boldre Foreshore Nature Reserve. 
Once home, we had a very quick turnaround  to get out again for the monthly Uke Jam!       

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