Pictures (from left to right, top to bottom)
Grey Wagtail (C.Bates), Reed Bunting (C.Bates), Stonechat (C.Bates), (Whitethroat), Snipe (Raniero Massoli-Novelli), Mute Swan (C.Bates), Moorhen (C.Bates), Dunnock (C.Bates), Sedge Warbler (C.Bates).

HANTSWEB AWARDS 2004
Itchenbirds receives special mention
See bottom of page for more details

Please e-mail with your recent sightings, historical records or anything else interesting - itchenbirds@yahoo.co.uk

The Itchen River rises at its source (SU588273) near the village of Cheriton, Hampshire and along its 27 mile length incorporates many tributaries until finally discharging into Southampton Water. The Itchen between Winchester and Southampton contains the Itchen Navigation, a canal excavated and embanked on the floodplain of the Itchen to allow cargoes to reach Winchester from Southampton. The coming of the railway lessened its importance and assured its demise.
A typical chalk river, the Itchen is recognized as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) for its fen meadows, flood pasture and swamp habitats. The SSSI status recognizes significant populations of many important species including the nationally rare Southern Damselfly and White Clawed Crayfish as well as notifications for Otter, Water Vole, Bullhead, Brook Lamprey, Atlantic Salmon and the assemblage of breeding birds including Tufted Duck, Pochard, Shoveler, Lapwing, Redshank, Snipe, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and Cetti’s Warbler.
The Itchen also provides areas of ideal riparian vegetation for river birds including Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Reed Bunting, Little Grebe, Coot, Moorhen, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Mute Swan, Grey Heron and Water Rail. Green and Common Sandpipers use the rivers margins as they move through on passage. Cormorants and Little Egret are now increasingly being seen along the river.
I hope this site will reflect the special birds of the Itchen River. It is not intended to be a complete reference of the all the birds found there, more to relate to the birds that are there because the river is there.
There will be a strong bias towards the area that I visit regularly and know best - from the Itchen Valley Country Park SU4616 to Brambridge SU4710. I would love to hear from anybody who covers other areas.
The site is always expanding, the Recent Sightings page is usually current with most records seldom more than a few days old.

Special thanks to Alain Fosse, Paul Burrows, Andy Bright and Raniero Massoli-Novelli who gave kind permission for the use of their photographs on this website. You can view more of their superb pictures by selecting their names on the links page.