Thursday 1st January 2025.
A gorgeous, but very cold start to the day here at Southsea Castle.
So the race for the Fly / Pye Cup was on as both Andy Fisher and myself aim for the first one to see 100 bird species in Hampshire. It was birding from dawn to dusk and as Andy did the driving today, we kicked off at Southsea Castle in search of the Purple Sandpipers and finished off looking for the Little Owls at South Boarhunt. The weather was very kind to us with mostly sunshine throughout the day, though it was bitterly cold with temperatures barely above freezing, especially in that wind by the sea and harbour. Nevertheless, I think I achieved my highest total for a New Years Day birding with a very impressive 93 species (which also included a few ‘heard’ species.
Our race is on!
I was supposed to be picked up at around 7.45am, but I got a text from Andy that he was running late. So I checked my back garden before he arrived and kicked off the New Year with my first Herring Gulls, Blackbird, Blue Tit, Wood Pigeon and Pied Wagtail of the year. I am so hoping that the long-staying Black Redstart and Blackcap are around tomorrow to add to my year list. Fingers crossed.
Southsea Castle and the Solent:
The three Purple Sandpipers at Southsea Castle.
Once I paid for the Car Parking fee by using Ringo, we made our way to the new Promenade in front of Southsea Castle and began walking west, keeping a sharp eye out on the rocks below for the Purple Sandpipers. Though the sea was a bit choppy, we did find at least two Shags (both adults) on the water until they flew off west. We walked right up to the Blue Reef Aquarium building, but no sign whatsoever of the Purple Sandpipers, however we did pick up the following species: Feral Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Brent Goose, Black-headed Gull, Oystercatcher, Magpie, Mute Swan and Cormorant.
Above and below, Shags were a welcome addition to our year list.
Above, Brent Geese quickly were added and below, another photo of the Purple Sandpipers.
So we double-backed and made our way east along the promenade, again keeping an eye out on the rocks below (they can be very elusive if they are not searching for food). We had a quick pit stop by buying a couple of hot drinks from the van parked conveniently nearby and carried on along the promenade in front of the Castle. Then I found the birds. Three Purple Sandpipers were huddled together on the rocks asleep, but we had got our first target species of the New Year. Happy days. Next stop, Farlington Marshes.
Farlington Marshes & Langstone Harbour:
A partly frozen lake on Farlington Marshes.
On the way there, we were driving northbound up the Eastern Road, when something huge passed overhead. I pointed it out to Andy who also managed to see the bird and I realised that it was actually a White-tailed Eagle!!!! Andy had gone all through 2025 without seeing the species and now he has one on New Years Day! How mad is that? The same bird had been reported being seen earlier over Posbrook Floods, putting up all the birdlife below it in doing so. Sadly, that was the only sighting of it for us, but a superb addition to our day list.
Above, Greenfinches in the Brambles by the Bushes area and below, Goldfinches were present too.
Above, a small group of Pintail in Langstone Harbour and below, a large raft of Brent Geese also in the harbour.
When we arrived, we knew we were going to see the majority of our sightings today from this superb location and had to stop frequently to record our sightings on our respective devices ( I was using my note page on my mobile and Andy was writing his down). Sightings came thick and fast and while walking through the Bushes area up to the Viewing Platform, we saw the following: Dunnock, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Linnet, Mallard, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Pintail, Common Gull, Marsh Harrier (female), Great Black-backed Gull, Song Thrush, Goldcrest, Robin, Peregrine, Red-breasted Merganser (female), Teal, Meadow Pipit, Water Rail (two birds heard), Wren, Long-tailed tit (flock of around 6 birds), Wigeon and Little Egret. Phew!
Above, a lone Avocet was on the Lake among the wildfowl and below, three Herring Gulls on the ice.
Above, a variety of wildfowl on the Lake and below, one of two White-fronted Geese out in the fields.
From the Viewing Platform, we had a hot drink to keep the cold out. The tide was up within Langstone Harbour and that cold wind nearly went right through you! The lake itself was partly frozen over with a few Herring Gulls perched on it, but the southern half of the lake remained ice free and that was where the majority of the birds were. Andy picked out our first and only Avocet in front of all the wildfowl present and during our 20 minutes or so there, we picked out the following birds: Lapwing, Redshank, Common Buzzard and the two juvenile White-fronted Geese among the Canada Geese out in the fields. The White-fronts were a good ‘year-tick’, though there were still quite a few in Hampshire today.
Above and below, large numbers of Brent Geese were in the fields.
Above, this Grey Heron was one of several seen on the Reserve.
As we walked up to the Point Field, we picked up Moorhen, Skylark (heard, but later seen in the morning), Grey Heron, Curlew and a Lesser Black-backed Gull. Oyster Island was packed with waders and so using my scope, we added Ringed Plover, Dunlin, Turnstone and Grey Plover on the small island.
Large numbers of both Wigeon and Brent Geese behind the Deeps and below, Shoveler and Pintail on the man-made islands on the Deeps.
The Deeps area was packed with Brent Geese and wildfowl of which Shovelers were added to our day total. A female Stonechat was added as we watched her sitting on one of the many humps out in the fields near the Deeps and out in the harbour, near the islands. I picked out our first Great Crested Grebes of the year. From the Blockhouse, finally, our first Starlings of the year were seen and while Andy had gone ‘to the Gents’, I heard a Chiffchaff which then flew out of the brambles and back into some further north and that was the last we saw or heard of it! So poor Andy had ‘dipped’ on that! As we headed towards the Information Building, I found the long stay (or should I say, resident?) Barnacle Goose and of course, we added that to our list. Among a group of Teal behind the Info Building, Andy found a Common Snipe near the birds.
Above, the long-staying Barnacle Goose grazing in fields near the Info Centre and below, a male Stonechat by the Stream area.
Our final new species for the day were the Coots. By the seats overlooking the pool by the reedbed, it was near empty of birds. Where were all the Coots and Black-tailed Godwits? So we carried on and decided to follow the path which led us by the Bushes. Turning around, all the Coots were altogether in one large flock of around 60+ birds! On leaving this superb Reserve, we were now on 65 species for the year.
Hayling Oysterbeds and Langstone Harbour:
A Curlew on the Oysterbeds.
Our next stop was to be Hayling Oysterbeds for some of the ‘scarcer’ birds and thankfully, we did catch up with some of them. But it was so very cold here. Parking was a big issue here too and seeing there were no parking spaces in the small Car Park here, we had to park up in Victoria Road, which was opposite the entrance to the Reserve. It paid off as we got our first House Sparrows of the day. The walk to the Beds produced a Kestrel and a Kingfisher and from the end of the spit overlooking Langstone Harbour, we added Sandwich Tern, Goldeneye (at least 5 birds including 4 drakes), Little Grebe and Slavonian Grebe (single bird by the islands). There were good numbers of both Red-breasted Merganser and Great Crested Grebes in the harbour, but no sign of the Black-necked or Red-necked Grebe and Great Northern Diver.
Above, this Curlew was sporting a number of rings and below, our first Greenshank of the year in the northern half of the Oysterbeds.
A walk around the Beds and keeping an eye out in the harbour also, we picked out a Rock Pipit, Black-tailed Godwit, Greenshank, Gadwall and two further species were heard only: Whimbrel and Green Woodpecker to finish our trip here with 75 species for the day so far.
Budds Farm & Mound, Bedhampton:
The pools at Budds Farm held our first Tufted Duck and Pochard for the year.
It was now around 1.45pm and our next stop was to be Budds Farm where we got both Tufted Duck and Pochard. There were a good number of wildfowl and Gulls present, but we couldn't find anything else to add to our total, so we decided to check out Langstone Harbour. A Cetti’s Warbler was heard briefly and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over our heads. A Kestrel was hovering by the edge of the mound as we made our way to view the harbour and using my scope, we picked up both the Long-tailed Duck and Scaup swimming on the water among many Mergansers, Great Crested Grebes and more wildfowl on the water. Sadly, no sign of any other Grebe species or the Divers and so we decided to make our way to Warblington for the Cattle Egrets.
Above, the female Kestrel by Budds Mound and below, a Common Buzzard near the Water Treatment Works.
Above, a huge number of Brent Geese took flight over Langstone Bridge in the distance.
Warblington area:
A large number of Black-headed Gulls made for an interesting photo as they perched on the Church at Warblington.
As we drove down Church Lane, I checked the fields for the Cattle Egrets, but drew a blank and even when we parked up in the Church car park, there was no sign of the birds. So we decided to make our way to the new Cemetery where we picked out more birds that were added to our year list that included: Collared Dove, Jackdaw, Chaffinch, Stock Dove and Grey Wagtail. It was when we got back in the car and started driving back up Church Lane, I then saw a group of Cattle Egrets out of Andy’s side window! He reversed the car as I took a few photos of the birds out in a field. A good ‘year tick’. Phew! I was now on 87 species for the year.
Above, one of several Cattle Egrets were in a roadside field.
Above and below, a brief stop in Pook Lane produced our second Great Spotted Woodpecker today.
South Boarhunt:
The light was fading fast as we made our way along Portsdown Hill to South Boarhunt.
Our final stop was to see if we could get the Little Owl at South Boarhunt to round off the day in style. On our way there, we took the Portsdown Hill route and Rook was added to our day total with several perched on the wires by the edge of the road. On arrival, James Cutting was in his car within the car park with his family close by and after a chat, we joined his son overlooking the fields where we picked up three more species: Pheasant, Sparrowhawk (male) and a flock of Redwing.
Our first Redwing for the year was seen in trees west of the Farm.
The light was fading fast and though there was sadly no sighting of the Little Owl, I did hear one bird calling behind the buildings, which gave us hope, but it did not show at all. I can count ‘heard’ birds and so along with the Little Owl, we also heard a Tawny Owl nearby too to round off the day with 93 species in all. A very cold, but a cracking day's birding and thanks to Andy for doing the driving today in his very old car!
