While thousands of birds spend the winter on the Solent coast, others, known as passage migrants, are just passing through.
They use the Solent like a service station, stopping briefly to refuel before continuing their long journeys to breeding or wintering grounds. These short stays are crucial, providing the energy needed to complete their migrations successfully.
Most passage migrants, like the osprey pictured above, consistently return to the same coastal areas each year, taking advantage of the many food-rich habitats across the Solent. Others are far more elusive and appear only briefly in small numbers.
The best time to catch sight of these seasonal visitors is during their spring and autumn migrations – from March to May, and then from July to October – as they travel between nesting and overwintering grounds.
Here are a few of Ranger Richie’s top picks to spot during spring and autumn migrations along the Solent:
Whimbrel
Often mistaken for curlews, whimbrels are about a third smaller, with a shorter, straighter bill and a distinctive striped crown. Take a look at our feature on the differences between curlews and whimbrels to tell them apart.
Most whimbrels spotted around the Solent are passing through to and from their overwintering grounds in Africa, with some of them reaching as far as South Africa.
📍 Best times to spot them:
Mid to late summer, especially around Langstone Harbour and Southampton Water.
Wheatear
Slightly larger than a robin, the wheatear is a smart-looking bird with a bold white rump and upright stance. Males sport grey backs, black wings, and a striking white eye stripe, while females are sandy brown with subtler markings. Both sexes show a soft orange blush on the breast.
Usually seen alone or in pairs, wheatears often perch on posts or rocks, making them easier to spot during migration.
The name wheatear comes from Old English, meaning “whitearse” – a nod to its bold white rump. These birds arrive in Britain from central Africa between March and May, heading to breeding grounds in eastern and northern Britain.
By August, they begin their return journey south across the Solent. Some wheatears nesting in Greenland make an astonishing 30-hour, 2,400 km non-stop flight across the North Atlantic to southern Europe or northern Africa, before continuing to their winter base in central Africa.
📍 Best times to spot them:
August and September, particularly across the New Forest and Southampton waters.
Osprey
The osprey is a large bird of prey that feeds almost exclusively on fish. From a distance, it might be mistaken for a gull, but up close, its features are unmistakable: dark brown upperparts, white underparts (mottled in females), and a white head with a bold brown eye stripe.
In flight, look for its strongly barred wings and distinctive dark ‘wrists’, which give it a unique angular wing shape.
Once extinct in the UK, the osprey is now a symbol of conservation success.
After being wiped out in the early 1900s, a single pair returned to Scotland in 1955. Thanks to round-the-clock monitoring by the RSPB, that pair bred successfully. Today, reintroduction efforts have led to breeding populations across Scotland, with a few pairs now nesting in England and Wales.
📍 Best times to spot them:
In the Solent, ospreys pass through on their way to West Africa, arriving from March and stopping again in August and September to refuel on fish. Prime spotting locations include:
- Newtown Harbour on the Isle of Wight
- Thorney Island, Chichester Harbour
- Coastal areas of the New Forest
- Southampton Water and Langstone Harbour
Since 2017, a project based in Poole Harbour has successfully restored a breeding population of ospreys to the south coast. These ospreys spend the winter in West Africa and return to their breeding grounds each summer. Find out more about the Birds of Poole Harbour project.
Curlew sandpiper
The curlew sandpiper is a small wader, similar in size to a dunlin, but with a longer neck and a finer, more downcurved bill. In summer plumage, it can be seen with brick-red underparts, a mottled brown back and a white rump. In non-breeding plumage however, they sport more subtle colours, consisting of dusky grey upperparts, white underparts, and a clean white eye stripe, again resembling a dunlin.
Often seen in small feeding flocks, this elegant migrant is a treat to spot during its passage through the Solent.
Breeding in Arctic Siberia and wintering in West Africa, the curlew sandpipers that are spotted across the Solent are making a crucial pit-stop during this impressive migratory journey.
📍 Best times to spot them:
Return migration begins mid-July to August, with juveniles sometimes spotted as late as October.
These birds favour safe, food-rich coastal areas, and are best seen at nature reserves like Lymington-Keyhaven and Farlington Marshes.
Wood sandpiper
Much smaller than a redshank, the wood sandpiper is a long-legged wader with a brown-and-white checkered back, streaked breast, and a white belly.
In closer detail, there is a long white eye stripe on the face and, while in flight, its white tail shows barring near the tip.
Its long yellow legs and fine bill lend it an elegant appearance.
Migrating from central and southern Africa, wood sandpipers begin arriving in the Solent in March, heading to breeding grounds in Scandinavia, Russia, and Siberia by late April and May.
📍 Best times to spot them:
Adults start their return journey from June to August, with juveniles following in September – some lingering as late as October.
They favour brackish pools and marshes, and are best spotted at Lymington-Keyhaven, Testwood Lakes (Totton) and Farlington Marshes.
The saltmarshes at Lymington-Keyhaven
Rarer visitors
While many passage migrants return year after year, the Solent also plays host to rarer visitors that appear less predictably.
In autumn 2024, a wryneck (a cryptically marked woodpecker to blend into tree bark) was seen at Titchfield Haven. Spring 2025 even brought a surprise influx of hoopoes, with their exotic crests and zebra-striped wings turning up in gardens and parks across the region.
Hoopoe
Wryneck
So, whether you’re scanning the coast or strolling through your local green space, keep your eyes peeled – you never know what might turn up during migration season.
