A lone Great Black-backed Gull flying over the rocks in front of Southsea Castle. Despite a difficult search for the Purple Sandpipers, they were not to be seen today.
The weather this morning did not look that great, but I was determined to take my dogs for a good walk this morning and so after filling the car up with petrol, I took a drive down to Southsea Castle to see if I could find anything of note. A strong southerly wind was coming in off the Solent and rain was forecast this afternoon. I was well wrapped up against the cold as the temperature was hovering around the 8 degree centigrade mark, but it felt a lot colder in the wind.
Southsea Castle, Southsea:
One of two Oystercatchers were seen on the rocks below the promenade.
The strong onshore wind did not help viewing the rocks below from the new promenade as I searched in vain for the Purple Sandpipers. True, there has only been a handful on show this week, but a good long walk from in front of the Castle up to the old Blue Reef Aquarium building produced only a couple of Oystercatchers, several Black-headed Gulls and a single Great Black-backed Gull, with nothing whatsoever on the choppy sea. A Razorbill and Great Northern Diver had been seen off here recently this week, but nothing like that today.
A strong onshore wind was crashing the waves against the rocks on a dull overcast morning.
I was annoyed to see a lot of dog mess on the new promenade and with a lot of dog owners not having their dogs on leads was quite shocking. OK, they all behaved, but there is always the danger of one rogue dog that could turn nasty. Surely, there should be a law against dogs off leads here? Never mind, the dogs had a good walk and so I decided to try my luck by the harbour entrance at Eastney.
Harbour Entrance, Eastney:
Black-headed Gulls huddled up against the strong southerly wind in Lock Lake.
Sadly, though the sea in Langstone Harbour and the Harbour entrance looked less choppy, the only bird on the water was a distant Cormorant when I got out of the car to check the area. The tide was out within Lock Lake off the spit and waders present were distant Oystercatchers and a few Redshank on the mudflats. I checked the nearest Gulls for a possible Med Gull, but all I could find were Black-headed and Common Gulls on the mudflats. So that was the sole content of my birding this morning and so I headed off home.
A lone Redshank searching for food on the mudflats.
My Garden:
Incredibly, despite the grim weather with drizzly rain now falling and the wind howling, both the female Black Redstart and male Blackcap were present again; the former was perched in the tree behind my garden and the latter was still singing deep within my neighbours tree!
In Hampshire today:
The rough seas in the Solent produced a Gannet, Kittiwake, 2 Common Scoters and a couple of Shags of Barton on Sea this morning. Up to 6 Glossy Ibis were still on the Bridge Street Floods this morning and a flock of 20 Fieldfare were over the Meadows further south. A female type Scaup was on Sinah Warren, Hayling Island, today. Could it have been the bird Andy Fisher and I saw on New Years Day off Budds Farm?
One of the Glossy Ibis at the Bridge Street Floods yesterday. Photo by Emma Parkes.
The Great Grey Shrike posed nicely on the heath near Bishop's Dyke.
My goal this weekend was to hopefully see the wintering Great Grey Shrike back at the Beaulieu Road area in the New Forest as well as what else this fabulous place has to offer. The weather played its part by being simply glorious. OK, it was very cold with a heavy frost on the heath and most of the large puddles were frozen over, but an unbroken clear blue sky overhead was what winter birding is all about. The large iced over puddles brought back memories of walking my two boys here many, many years ago. A melancholy moment.
After this location, we were to finish off the day around Blashford Lakes, which also produced a good variety of birds. A total of 8 new bird species for the year were added to my year list today, though it did include a few ‘heards’, of which no doubt I will actually see later in the year.
Cowplain Marsh:
On arrival at Andy Fisher’s house, as I stepped out of the car, my first Siskin of the year flew over my head and headed off westbound. A good start to the day (a Common Buzzard flew over the A3 on the drive up) and a Redwing was calling in nearby woodland. I had already bought a coffee from the local Tesco and some grub for the day before I arrived at Andy’s house and armed with a pile of bird Magazines and leftover Gousto veg, I made my way into Andy’s house to pick up both himself and Geoff.
Shatterford, Beaulieu Road, Bishops Dyke and Denny Wood, New Forest:
A frosty and icy footpath awaited us on our way to view the Shrike.
The long drive to the New Forest was pleasant enough as we arrived at a near empty car park around 9.20am. Some passing birders making their way back to the car park kindly told us that they had seen the Great Grey Shrike earlier and pointed out from where the bird was last located. Making our way to the first Railway Bridge so we could view from both sides of the heath, on our way there, we heard a Crossbill flying over and on reaching the Bridge itself, two superb Crossbills landed in tree nearby, but I could not get a clear photo of the birds with all the branches in the way. I was to get better luck later in the day. A Bullfinch was heard and eventually seen flying over the railway line, which gave Andy another ‘year-tick’.
It was very scenic but perfect birding weather here at Bealieu Road this morning and below, the Conifers that held several Crossbills at Shatterford car park.
Also, a Raven, possibly two birds, was seen high up in one of the Conifers by the Railway Line and quietly ‘cronking’. Nice to see such a showy bird too. Once on the bridge, we looked over the heath looking towards the Pigs Bush area and then Andy found the Great Grey Shrike perched on a tall Alder tree, sitting nicely for us as I set up my scope to get a better view. The bird sat there for some time as another couple of birders joined us to view the bird. It then flew further south to perch on another Alder and then totally disappeared. However, we found the bird again as we walked south into Bishops Dyke, also perched on a small tree, but this time a lot closer than our first views of this gorgeous bird.
Above and below, the Raven was seen 'cronking' by the railway line.
Geoff mentioned the stark fact that there were hardly any passerines on the heath (though I did hear a Meadow Pipit call nearby) and was probably due to the fact that the Shrike had probably eaten them all! It was seen eating a Dunnock earlier in the week and what with the ground so hard and frozen, I should imagine that its only food source would be small birds?
Above, another photo of the showy Raven and below, our first sighting of the Great Grey Shrike of the morning.
Above, we were lucky as the Shrike was getting closer and closer.
Walking west through Bishop’s Dyke, all was very quiet at first, Though the distinctive calls of Crossbills overhead had us searching the sky and we found at least two birds perched up in one of the Conifers. Only a female bird showed well and the other was deep within cover, but this allowed me to grab a few photos of this delightful finch. A Marsh Tit was heard briefly deep within the woodland and a Common Buzzard was seen perched near the big pond which was now obviously frozen over.
Above and below, this female Crossbill showed nicely on top of a tall conifer in Bishop's Dyke.
Above, a Common Buzzard was by the large frozen pool in Bishop's Dyke. Below, we came across many Robins and this one managed to catch a sizable Caterpiller.
Above, this obliging Wren was close by within Denny Wood.
It was fairly quiet walking from Bishop’s Dyke to Denny Wood as we negotiated the wet and soggy footpath to the woodland. More Crossbills were heard and a few Siskins too, but viewing them proved difficult in the bright sunshine. We had a coffee break at the edge of the woodland where we heard both Treecreeper and Nuthatch (first of the year) and another Marsh Tit called briefly (also another first for the year). After a nice break, we headed around the perimeter of the woodland taking in sightings of Stock Doves, Redwings, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Goldcrest and a pair of Mistle Thrushes. There were a lot of thrushes on the woodland floor, searching the fallen leaves for a possible worm or two, but sadly, no finches were seen among them.
This male Crossbill was picking out seeds from this pine cone in Shatterford car park.
The walk back to Shatterford car park was near birdless, but we did see a male Kestrel flying low over the heath heading towards the Bishop’s Dyke area. On reaching the car park, there were a lot of birders and ‘toggers’ looking up into the Conifers and sure enough, we kind of knew they were looking at Crossbills. I found a gorgeous male bird sitting out in the open in one of the conifers, picking off seeds from the pine cones in the bright sunshine (see photos) that got a lot of attention from the ‘toggers’.
Ibsley Water, Blashford Lakes:
This was the closest Goldeneye that was in front of the Tern Hide during our stay there.
After grabbing some more food from the local garage, we then drove to the Tern Hide to consume our well earned lunch and check out what Ibsley Water had to offer. We were pleased to find the White-fronted Geese grazing on the embankment near the Lapwing Hide. A total of 8 birds were present, though some were hidden by vegetation and it wasn't till something spooked them that a total count was made.
Above, a Grey Wagtail passing the Tern Hide and below, a male Peregrine soaring over Ibsley Water.
A big section of the lake was frozen in front of the Tern Hide and so most of the wildfowl were at the northern end of the lake as expected. A Black-necked Grebe was seen earlier this morning in front of the Goosander Hide, but despite a lengthy search throughout my stay here, we did not see the bird. However, at least ten Goosanders were present among the many other wildfowl and also at least the same number of Goldeneye too. I found at least two Green Sandpipers at the northern end of the lake, searching for food along the shoreline and a Grey Wagtail obligingly was searching for food along the shoreline in front of the Tern Hide.
Above, the hundreds of Gulls scattered when the Peregrine flew over and below, some of the 8 Russian White-fronted Geese over on the embankment.
Above, a pair of Mallard swam close to the ice in front of the Tern Hide.
Raptors were abundant today here from the Tern Hide. A male Marsh Harrier was seen flying over the lake several times and even perched up in one of the Willows to the north of the lake. Both Red Kite and Common Buzzard flew over and a male Peregrine scattered all the Geese and many Gulls as it sailed high overhead. All very entertaining, however, there was a very cold breeze coming into the hide from the open windows (it was too cold for Andy who went outside to sit in the warm sunshine!) and so, Geoff and I made our way out to join him. Andy was talking to fellow Hampshire birder, Gary Fennemore, who kindly told us that he saw the female Red-crested Pochard on nearby Rockford Lake this morning and gave us directions on where to look.
Rockford Lake, Blashford:
Our first Great White Egret of the year flying over Rockford Lake.
Gary had said that it took at least half an hour to find the bird as a lot of Rockford Lake had frozen over and all the wildfowl were gathered together on the remaining free water that was available. Sadly, despite many sweeps through the scope through the hundreds of various ducks present, I could not find the female Red-crested Pochard, but among the many ducks present that included Mallard, Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler, Pintail, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Wigeon; there were at least 25 Goosanders among them! Up to 6 Great Crested Grebes swam among them and on the ice itself, a large gathering of Gulls (Herring, Lesser Black-backed and Black-headed Gulls) were packed together.
This male Goldcrest was searching for insects among the vegetation by Rockford Lake.
While I was busy searching through the wildfowl, the guys were keeping an eye out for any other interesting birds and that included our first Great White Egret of the year. Apparently, a Grey Heron took a dislike to it and chased it off from probably a good fishing spot. A Kingfisher landed close by, but for one reason or another, my camera would not focus on the bird properly on it and so a poor record photo of the bird was the best I could do. I saw probably the same bird on the other side of the lake perched up over the water several times. A Water Rail was a nice surprise as it flew from one small clump of reeds to another right in front of us and a male Goldcrest was searching for food along the perimeter fence some 6 feet away from both Andy and myself.
Above and below, Geoff had found a few Redpolls in the Alders nearby.
Geoff had gone on walkabout, mostly to keep warm as by now, even my toes were getting extremely cold! He came back to tell us that he had found a small flock of Redpolls in a nearby tree. So we all went off to view the birds that were feeding on seeds in a Silver Birch tree to add another species to our year list. Excellent stuff. Sadly, no sighting of the Red-crested Pochard, but a good variety of birds here at Rockford Lake.
The Great Grey Shrike near Bishop's Dyke this morning.
On the way back home, a female Sparrowhawk flew over the motorway to make it our 6th raptor of the day to round off a good day's birding.
The female Black Redstart in the neighbours garden, spending its third week here.
There was a good total of species in Pembroke Road today and thankfully, the rain had not arrived on my first shift there this morning which helped to locate a lot of species either flying over or around the Holm Oaks or the Sycamore trees. However, on my second shift this afternoon, it all changed as wind and rain came in from the oncoming Storm Goretti (named by the French, apparently) and apart from the usual Pigeons, Gulls and Crows, both Cormorant and a Great Black-backed Gull were added to my day total. On a positive note, the female Black Redstart was back in the gardens by my house again today.
Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:
Up to 15 species were recorded today, or should I say this morning, which the pick of the best included a brief view of a Redwing that quickly flew into a nearby garden and out of sight. Small flocks of Brent Geese were flying eastbound towards Southsea Common (at least a 100+ there when I drove past) and I really must pull over and check them out. There was a ‘light-belled’ Brent Goose last winter among the ‘dark-bellied’.
Once again, the House Sparrows were in good voice in the hedgerow by the Bowling Green and a Great Tit was in full song somewhere in the Holm Oaks. A male Blackbird was seen picking off the berries of the Yucca Tree closeby when I parked up and a Greenfinch passed by overhead and headed off south.
My Garden:
The female Black Redstart showing well in my neighbours tree from the back of my garden.
When I got back from my first shift, I let my dogs out into the back garden and when I saw the male Blackcap again picking off some of the berries on my Cotoneaster plant, I rushed back indoors to grab my camera. Unfortunately, the bird never showed up again, though I could hear it singing in a nearby garden. One day, I just might get lucky and get a photo of the bird!
Another rear view of the female Black Redstart and to add a splash of colour to a dull day, this Blue Tit was in the same tree.
While checking out the other birds in the area that included a couple of Blue Tits and a male Blackbird, out popped the female Black Redstart again. This time, she was high up in the tall tree in my neighbours garden and then seen again in a tree further north in someone's garden of which she posed nicely for me. Happy with grabbing a few decent photos of the bird, I went back indoors to make a cup of coffee. I did have another look in the rain later in the afternoon after my second shift and saw the bird again flitting about in my neighbours garden.
In Hampshire today:
Water Pipit. Photo by Pete Appleton.
There were three Tundra Bean Geese still at Keyhaven Marshes this morning along with 15 Russian White-fronted Geese; probably all the same birds we saw last Saturday. At Eastoke, on Hayling Island, there was a female Black Redstart on the roof of a house and two Great Northern Divers and 9 Common Scoter on the sea. Southsea Castle held some interesting species that included 3 Purple Sandpipers, Guillemot, Black Redstart, Great Northern Diver, Shag and a Peregrine, while up to 6 Glossy Ibis were at the Bridge Street Floods, Titchfield and the drake Ferruginous Duck was in Duck Bay on the Reserve. Once again, the Great Grey Shrike was reported in the Shatterford area in the New Forest as well as a male Hen-Harrier.
On the subject of that Hen-Harrier sighting, I remember when in my teens and 'twenties', I used to see this species here on a regular basis at this site and even the Great Grey Shrike used to regularly winter here too and to see a Common Buzzard was extra special too! I remember getting two trains to get to Beaulieu Road Station to spend the day exploring this part of the New Forest, even if it was pouring with rain and saw next to nothing! The good old days?
A wintry morning in Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth this morning.
The cold weather continued here in the south over the past few days, but we have narrowly avoided any significant snowfall, but back to working in Pembroke Road this week, what with the windchill, it was below freezing again for the past two mornings! OK, there has been near unbroken sunshine over the past couple of days, but that freezing wind was grim.
There are still some superb birds in Hampshire if one has the time off to ‘tick-off’ for the year, but for me, it's back to checking the birds while I am working in Pembroke Road and already, there have been a few nice birds seen already here. The male Blackcap is still ‘sub-singing’ in my back garden both yesterday and this morning, but no sign of the female Black Redstart yet this week. The last time I saw it was last Sunday.
Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:
Yesterday, despite the freezing temperatures, I got up to 13 species for the day on my shifts within Pembroke Road. There was a good number of Brent Geese passing eastbound high over and were most likely joining the flock on Southsea Common, which I saw on the way home. A Cormorant was seen circling near Curtain Moat and a flock of three Mute Swans were seen heading towards Portsmouth Harbour late in the afternoon.
This morning, I was blessed with a superb male Peregrine flying low over the road, heading west over the houses and in this excellent light, I could see all the plumage details of the fastest bird in the world. A cracking start to the day. There was a constant stream of flocks of Brent Geese heading eastbound to Southsea Common during my first shift and another Cormorant was again seen flying east.
The House Sparrows were in good voice within the hedgerow by the Bowling Green all morning and both Great Tit and Dunnock were heard calling. A Jay flew in and landed in the tall Poplar tree opposite where I stood; my first one of the year here at this site. Again, I got up to 13 species here this morning, but that was all to my total today as on my afternoon shift in Pembroke Road, all was quiet and horribly cold too!
In Hampshire today:
One of the Glossy Ibis at the Bridge Street Floods today. Photo by Steve Laycock.
Three White-fronted Geese, an adult and two immature birds. were on Farlington Marshes again this morning, which is turning out to be a good winter for these scarce geese in Hampshire. The Great Grey Shrike was still near Shatterford again this morning along with a few Crossbills and back at the Bridge Street Floods, there were 3 Glossy Ibis and a Water Pipit showing well in the bright sunshine. Birding pal Andy Fisher had the day off and managed to connect with a Great Northern Diver and a Razorbill in the harbour entrance at Sandy Point, Hayling Island.
The Water Pipit at the Bridge Street Floods. Photo by Steve Laycock.
I took this photo of a Common Buzzard with a Magpie at Budds Farm around 5 years ago as it flashed up on my Facebook Account today. I'm quite pleased with this.
We had a flurry of snow overnight and though it was a light dusting in Southsea, the temperatures early this morning were below freezing. On top of that, one part of the Eastern Road is shut to southbound traffic which caused very long delays in Portsmouth for many commuting motorists, including my good self who was travelling to Halfords at Ocean Park.
Sanderling at Hill Head roosting in the sunshine at Hill Head. Sadly, some irresponsible so-called birders were taking photos of these birds from just feet away from them. This photo was taken from some distance away. Photo by Emma Parkes.
So today, the only bird of note for me today was the singing Blackcap in my garden when I eventually got back home. I did have a good look for the Black Redstart, but no sign of the bird within the ten minutes I was in the garden. However, the sound of that singing Blackcap was lovely to hear and I do hope it survives this very cold snap we are experiencing and the Black Redstart.
In Hampshire today:
This Black Redstart photo was taken by Emma Parkes recently at Lee-on-Solent. It made one of the best photos taken on Birdguides this week. Well done Emma.
Off the Oysterbeds today, the Red-necked Grebe was seen again along with one Black-necked Grebe,Scaup, Slavonian Grebe, Great Northern Diver, Long-tailed Duck and also a Merlin over the Reserve. In the New Forest, the Great Grey Shrike was showing well at Shatterford and a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was in the vicinity too. At Titchfield Haven Canal Path, up to 6 Glossy Ibis were at the Bridge Street Floods as well as a Water Pipit. Though very cold, a good day to be out birding if you have the day off or retired!
A couple more of Emma Parkes photos. Above, a Feral Pigeon being fired out of a Canon by Southsea Castle! Below, a fine portrait of a drake Pintail at Pennington Marshes.
The Great Grey Shrike near Shatterford today. It had caught and was eating a Dunnock. Film footage by Simon Colenutt.
The four Tundra Bean Geese at Pennington Marshes with Brent and Grey Lags.
It was back to birding with Geoff and Andy today and also meeting up with both Matt and Emma Parkes. Our destinations for today were going to be Pennington Marshes, Blashford Lakes and to round the day off, Blackgutter Bottom in the New Forest. The weather today was near perfect, with unbroken sunshine all day, though very cold, but mostly little wind. Another 15 species were added to my year list and best of all, I saw my first ‘Hampshire’ Tundra Bean Geese!
Pennington Marshes and the surrounding area, nr Lymington:
Oystercatchers flying over the Reserve.
Geoff was doing the driving today and picked me up around 8.15am, it was a smooth ride all the way down to Lower Drayton Lane in Pennington. Even the new part of the motorway was completed a day early between Fareham and Whiteley, which was incredible. On the way there, we took the Ashurst route to get to Lyndhurst and from the front passenger seat, I saw a Mistle Thrush flying over to begin my first ‘year-tick’ of the day. I also had a possible Lesser Spotted Woodpecker flying over, but I wasn’t totally sure and so did not add the bird to my year list.
At least 6 White-fronts among the Canada Geese in this photo.
We arrived around 9am and saw both Matt and Emma walking to the bend in the road where to view the Tundra Bean Geese. After parking in the small car park, we eventually joined them, but not before picking out more new birds for our year list that included around 100+ Golden Plover, a couple of Egyptian Geese and several Grey Lag Geese. Most of the pools were frozen over and a heavy frost was on the grass. Close to the road, a Common Snipe was seen along with several Lapwing and Geoff had a brief view of a Raven passing behind the sea wall of which the rest of us had missed. We then met fellow ‘Lazee Birder’ Andy Tew and he told us the Bean Geese had not been seen and said he was going to try an area in fields behind the Balancing Ponds of which we all followed later.
Two of the White-fronted Geese in fields near the Balancing Ponds.
While scanning the fields, we saw a flock of four 'Grey' geese flying in and landing in the field behind where the Golden Plovers were and though they could of potentially been the Bean Geese and were most likely the birds, we decided to walk the very long footpath to where a flock of White-fronted Geese were supposed to be as the Tundra Bean Geese liked to associate with them.
The lone Barnacle Goose within the same flock of Geese.
The long walk had us making our way through some woodland adjacent to the footpath and within her, there were two Treecreepers on show (another ‘year-tick’) and Emma saw a Bullfinch land in some tall trees beside the footpath. No-one else saw the bird but we did hear it and as I can count ‘heards’ on my year list, it was another addition as was the Fieldfare we all heard and only Andy saw it!
Three of the White-fronts among the Canada Geese.
On exiting the small wood, we walked the long path to where the Geese had been seen. On our way there, at least two Marsh Harriers and a Common Buzzard were seen and a large flock of Meadow Pipits arose from the neighboring field as we passed. Over in the fields to the east, there was a large skein of Brent, Canada and Grey Lag Geese grazing on the short grass, but no sign of the Tundra Bean Geese among them. When we reached an area where the Geese were on the opposite side of the footpath, a good scan among them produced 12 White-fronted Geese and a Barnacle Goose among the many Canada and Brent Geese and in this perfect light, I managed to grab a nice array of photos and film footage of the White-fronts.
The White-fronted Geese among many other Geese this morning.
Happy with the ‘Goose chase’ we decided to walk back and this time, we headed to the sea wall and walked back east. Matt told us that Birdguides had informed him that the Tundra Bean Geese had been found and were in fields near the Jetty back at Pennington Marshes. So the very long walk had begun again, but not before seeing a superb array of birds and many more ‘year-ticks’! A small group of Turnstone were below the seawall, foraging among the flotsam and jetsam washed up by the tide and in the distance, resting on one of the islands, I found a nice group of around 8 Spoonbills roosting among around 20+ Curlew. That saved us a trip to Normandy Marshes for sure!
Above, Turnstone were scurrying around below the seawall and below, a showy Rock Pipit also below the seawall.
Above, a pair of Reed Buntings below the seawall and below, the eight Spoonbills among the Curlew on one of the small islands.
The tide was slowly going out and on the shoreline, we found a pair of Reed Buntings searching for seeds and an obliging Rock Pipit was also searching for food very close to where we stood. As we neared the jetty, a small party of four Great Crested Grebes swam on the sea close by and another was a little further east. A very kind chap told us that the Tundra Bean Geese were still present with other Geese and it didn't take long to find the four Tundra Bean Geese grazing in a field with Canada, Brent and Greylags. My very first ‘Hampshire’ birds. The last time I saw this species was at Welney WWT, in Cambridgeshire several years ago with my wife. Behind us, out on the sea, we found the lone Slavonian Grebe swimming some distance out, but showing well through the scope.
Above, Brent Geese arriving on Keyhaven Marshes and below, a selection of birds including Brent Goose, Teal, Redshank, Shoveler, Pintail and Black-headed Gulls.
Above, Teal, Pintail, Shoveler and a Redshank on Keyhaven Marshes. Below, a pair of Teal in the bright sunshine.
Above, this Redshank was very close to the seawall and totally unconcerned about our presence and below, the Needles over on the Isle of Wight.
Above and below, Great Crested Grebes on the sea.
Above, my first Raven of the year, and was joined by a Magpie.
Very happy we finally found the bird we were after, we made our way back to the car park, but not before some kind lady pointed out a Raven for us! The ‘icing on the cake’ here for another ‘year-tick’ added to my ever growing year list. Next stop, Blashford Lakes.
The four Tundra Bean Geese behind the main flock of Geese on Pennington Marshes.
Blashford Lakes, nr Ringwood:
A female Goosander flanked by a Lesser Black-backed Gull and Herring Gulls on the west side of Ibsley Water.
We had roughly two hours of daylight left by the time we reached the car park by the Tern Hide and so we were surprised to see only a few birders left in the Hide and therefore plenty of seats to sit and scan Ibsley Water. Most of the birds were some distance away and mostly at the northern end of the lake and along the eastern edge. Earlier, on arrival at the car park, I saw a pair of Red Kites and quickly pointed them out to Andy for yet another ‘year-tick’ for him. He was now getting very close to 100 species in Hampshire for the year and once I had found both a Green Sandpiper and Goosander, he had finally reached the magic 100. Those two species were also new for the year for me too and when both Matt and Emma finally arrived in the Tern Hide, they were quickly onto the birds too.
Above, a Common Snipe roosting on one of the spits with a diving female Tufted Duck. Below, a Fox was seen over on the west bank in search of something tasty.
Above, few things actually swam close to the Tern Hide as usual, but this female Tufted Duck did and below, one of the three Grey Wagtails near the Hide.
Above, this redhead Goosander was preening with Coots nearby.
Other notable birds seen were a small group of three Grey Wagtails of which one of them, a presumed male bird, was singing to its mate as it flew past! I heard this scenario a few weeks back by my house in Southsea. At least four Goldeneye were seen that included three drakes and a female bird and a pair of Common Buzzards were feeding on a carcass over on the west bank. At least 10 Goosanders were counted on Ibsley Water with most resting on the islands on the west bank. Gulls were now pouring onto the lake and with a very large raft of Lesser Black-backed Gulls now on the water, I had to have a good scan through them in case there was something rarer. Sadly not, but it was worth a try. As the sun was now starting to drop, it was certainly getting a lot colder and with the light breeze coming in through the window, it really was getting very cold. So we made the decision to head off to Blackgutter Bottom for Hen-harriers.
Blackgutter Bottom, New Forest:
A distant male Hen-harrier gliding over the ridge as dusk approached.
We were well togged up with warm weather gear and I even got my hand warmers on within my gloves to help combat the cold as we made our way to the viewpoint overlooking the ridge to the south. A few small birds passed over including both Linnet and Meadow Pipit and a probable Mistle Thrush was seen heading high over the heath heading east. There were some other birders present further to the west by the Gorse Bushes and then Andy gave the shout there was a large raptor on show.
Above, as the last rays of the sun departed, the 'Supermoon' came out over the heath (below).
To the south-east, we soon were onto our first Hen-harrier for the year and a superb male bird too. Then out of the blue, a female Merlin flew up and gave chase to the bird before flying back down and landing on a small bush. The Hen-harrier then flew back from where it came from and shortly afterwards, another male Hen-harrier was seen further to the west over the ridge in the distance. The bird was seen a couple of times afterwards drifting slowly along the top of the ridge in the distance to round off a superb day's birding.
The 'Supermoon' rising over the heath.
On our way back to the car, the ‘Supermoon’ rose low over the heath and it really did look amazing as we got back into the car and headed off home, but not before having a chap with fellow birder Pete Appleton, who was also watching the Harriers this afternoon. Even the planet Jupiter could be seen below the moon when we were driving along the motorway.
