A juvenile Ring Ouzel was a surprise find in someones garden recently for Pete Appleton. Photo by Pete Appleton.
Another week has begun and it was back to Pembroke Road in Old Portsmouth yet again. There was the threat of rain this morning with a few spots coming down when I walked the dogs earlier, but it wasn't till the afternoon that the weather front moved in and persistent, but not too heavy, rain came in and remained for the rest of the day.
Pete Appleton also recently took this superb photo of a Rock Pipit.
As soon as I arrived in Pembroke Road and got myself settled for another hour here, the morning could not have kicked off any finer when I saw a male Peregrine flying low overhead, heading towards the seafront. During my hour here, I picked up 15 species of birds and one more on my afternoon shift, a Pied Wagtail. The Jays showed well again on the opposite side of the road, with one searching the ground for acorns. A Goldcrest was heard calling in the nearby Holm Oaks, but I never got to see the bird this time.
Peregrine male
Feral Pigeon
Wood Pigeon
Magpie
Jay x2
Carrion Crow
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Starling
House Sparrow
Robin
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Goldcrest
Pied Wagtail
This Spoonbill was over at Pennington Marshes. Photo by Rob Porter.
In Hampshire today, easily the bird of the day was the Hoopoe seen in Nursling, Southampton; but it seems by only one lucky observer as the bird promptly disappeared despite much searching. A large flock of 'presumed' wild Barnacle Geese were seen flying off Farlington Marshes, then Hill Head and finally seen drifting up the Southampton water heading westbound. Five Purple Sandpipers were seen on the rocks at Southsea Castle and finally, a Long-tailed Duck was off Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marshes.
The female type Long-tailed Duck by Pennington Marshes. Photo by Chris Roughley.
The seed put out for the birds included this Marsh Tit at Eyeworth Pond.
I had a lovely afternoon with my family, including our granddaughter Isabelle, in the New Forest this afternoon; first taking them to Eyeworth Pond in Fritham and then on for a lovely pub lunch at the Old Beams Inn at Ibsley. The weather was much better than yesterday with a lot of sunshine and blue sky above, but still fairly cool at 10 degrees Centigrade.
Above, a Robin greeted us first by the Car Park and below, a Marsh Tit feeding on the seed with a Moorhen below!
Above, just Mallards on Eyeworth Pond and below, a few Chaffinches also searching for the seed.
Of course, I took my binoculars and camera with me and as always, there were a variety of birds here. Someone had put out a lot of bird seed on the road beam near the Pond, which attracted good numbers of passerines that included Robins, Great, Blue, Coal and Marsh Tits along with Chaffinches and even a male Pied Wagtail dropped in too to pick off any spilt seed. However, it was unusual to see Moorhens next to Marsh Tits in the same field of view!
A selection of birds feeding on the seed by Eyeworth Pond. From top to bottom: Marsh Tit, Robin, Marsh Tit, Pied Wagtail, Marsh Tit, Great Tit and Blue Tit.
From the Pond, there were a number of Mallard present, but despite a good search around the area, there were no signs of any Mandarin ducks this time. A Nuthatch flew over the Pond into the neighbouring wood and a Treecreeper was heard nearby from the Car Park. Eyeworth Wood was very quiet, though Becky and myself watched a small flock of Long-tailed Tits in the trees above as we made our way back to the car. I think Isabelle thoroughly enjoyed herself today with her father walking in the woods and to finish off with a Sunday roast in a lovely country pub rounded our trip off nicely.
And to round things off, a delicious Sunday Lunch in the Old Beams Inn.
A drake Eider that was digiscoped off Hill Head this morning.
Today did not go as according to plan as I had decided to take the journey to Splash Point, East Sussex for the long-staying female Pied Wheatear. However, by the time Geoff and I got to Andy’s house, there was no sighting of the bird according to Birdguides. So bloody typical. One gets to Saturday and the bird disappears! How many times has that happened over the years? To rub salt in the wound, both mine and Andy’s respective Moth Boxes had drawn a complete blank; not a single moth to be found. Then a message from ‘The Hampshire Rare Birds App came through and Mark Francis had heard and then seen a Lapland Bunting down at Hill Head. So, we went there instead. So, Pied Wheatear added to my Life List has eluded me yet again. Hurrumph!
Hill Head & Titchfield Haven:
This male Stonechat was one of a pair close to the main road at Hill Head.
It was a grey day again with hardly any sunshine when we arrived at Hill Head. To start the day, the sea was near flat calm on the rising tide as we got out of the car to search the area for the Bunting. Andy had a chat with Mark Francis himself and was told the bird had flown east and he was to look further east along the shoreline. We, however, decided to wait patiently down by the ViewPoint overlooking the small island and the reserve to the west.
Above, distant Eider off Hill Head and below, a Great Crested Grebe swam close inshore.
Above, a Sandwich Tern fished briefly in front of us by the main road and below, the distant flock of Eider moving westbound.
From the car park, a pair of Stonechats were flitting about in the brambles and tall grass nearby, while several Reed Buntings flew low over them as did a few Meadow Pipits. Checking the calm sea, we picked out at least 15 Eider ducks spread out over a large area and a Sandwich Tern gave good views as it fished just offshore. A few Sanderlings were on the shoreline nearby that attracted a couple of ‘toggers’ crouching down low to get as close as possible to get their ‘money shot’. A close Great Crested Grebe was also swimming on the sea along with a few more much further out. Before heading to the View Point, I saw a Kingfisher (after hearing it a few times calling) fly northbound close to the reeds and then out of view.
Above, a pair of Sanderling on the groyne at Hill Head and below, the Goosander on the River Meon alongside a Black-headed Gull.
Above, the Goosander with a Grey Heron nearby and below, the Goosander soon climbed onto the small island to preen alongside Black-headed Gulls, Gadwall and a Coot.
From the View Point, the long staying Goosander, that was now coming out of eclipse plumage and was now looking like a drake bird, swam quietly on the River Meon in front of us. The bird remained there for the next hour or so and eventually climbed onto the island to join the many Gulls and wildfowl present. During our hour or so there, we had a number of good sightings that included a flock of at least 6 Reed Buntings flying over and heading north. The Kingfisher was seen several times flying low close to the reedbed and a small flock of 4 Bearded Tits were first heard and then seen flying low over the top of the reedbed and quickly getting the guys onto them, we watched the birds drop deep into the reeds. A variety of wildfowl were present including Gadwall, Mallard and Shoveler as well as a few Little Grebes swimming close to the reedbed. A Cetti’s Warbler was seen flying briefly over the reeds and quickly out of view and a Water Rail was heard calling deep within the reeds in front of us. Standing there for that length of time, it soon got quite cold and so I made the suggestion of moving on.
Above, one of the Sanderling on the beach at Hill Head and below, a gathering flock of both Sanderling and Ringed Plover were also joined by a couple of Dunlin. Sadly, we saw one birder getting far too close to the roosting waders just to take some very close photos. When will some of these ignorant 'toggers' ever learn to put the birds first???!
Above, a large field that could potentially hide any rare bird at Brownwich Cliffs. Below, a distant Common Buzzard perched on a large Bramble in the same field.
Above, a well trimmed archway along the Solent Way at Brownwich Cliffs and below, Andy making his way along the same path.
Above, a wild Rabbit feeding near the Chalets. Below, film footage of the Goosander on the River Meon.
There was still no further news of the Lapland Bunting and so we decided to try out luck looking in the fields along Brownwich Cliffs to the west of the reserve. From here, we had the opportunity to check not only the fields to the north, but also the sea to the south. The sea held a small flock of three female Eiders and at least four Great Crested Grebes, but little else. Over the large field to the north, there were good numbers of Skylarks and Meadow Pipits in the fields; though to see any Buntings among the clumps of Wild Carrot and Scentless Mayweed plants was going to be impossible unless the bird flew up and called! However, while spending a good half hour here, we had sightings of a Common Buzzard perched on a distant large bramble and a Kestrel hunting over the fields. Overhead, a Siskin and a Linnet flew over. Severel skeins of Canada Geese were flying eastbound over the field and were most likely flying from Hook-with-Warsash to Titchfield Haven. We then took the walk back along the Solent Way footpath close to the cliffs back to the car and decided to take the drive north to view the Glossy Ibis on the Bridge Street Floods.
Bridge Street Floods, Titchfield:
The three Glossy Ibis on the Bridge Street Floods.
On reaching the small car park by the Titchfield Canal, we crossed the road and almost immediately, I saw the Glossy Ibis ahead of us in the horse paddocks, heads down busy searching for food in the damp grass. Earlier this year, the footpath north was flooded half way down and today, it was dry as a bone. Nearing the Ibis for a better view, a Mistle Thrush flew over our heads calling and a Chiffchaff was heard also calling nearby.
Above, the Ibis had flown up into a tree on our way back to the car park and below, the birds had walked very close to the footpath when we arrived at the site.
Above, the Glossy Ibis searching for food close to the footpath.
The Ibis showed very well and in fact, I don't think I have ever been so close to this species before feeding some thirty yards away from us. I think they are very used to people passing by or admiring them now. Getting some excellent photos of the bird and some film footage too, we eventually made our way to the Churchyard where we sat on a bench and saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker, a few Goldcrest and several other more common birds.
The female Kestrel showing very well just east of the Canal Path.
We rounded off the day by taking a walk south down the Canal Path where we saw a female Kestrel perched on overhead wires and showing very well. A large gathering of Gulls on the Bridge Street Floods and more were flying in, though all I could see were virtually all Black-headed Gulls and a few Herring Gulls among them. A few Pintail could be seen along with some Shoveler and just the one Black-tailed Godwit was picked out within the Gulls. Walking down the footpath, we encountered a flock of Long-tailed Tits and a single Chiffchaff; though to be honest, it was rather quiet till we got to Hammonds Bridge. From here, the only noteworthy sighting was a Red Admiral butterfly fluttering around overhead and then disappeared out of view.
I had to be back early as we had guests for dinner tonight and so we made our way back to the car park and headed home. OK, no Pied Wheatear or Lapland Bunting, but a good array of birds with my two best chums!
The Green Woodpecker in the Cemetery this morning.
I thought I would catch up with some of the highlights of what I have seen over the past few days and finish off with a trip over Highland Road Cemetery this morning. The weather has been ranging from quite cold first thing in the morning and much milder in the afternoon, however, it has been relatively dry throughout this week so far. On Tuesday, while taking the dogs out for the early morning walk before I headed off to work, I was happy to see a female type Black Redstart perched on the rooftop at the southern end of my road. The bird first faced me with its back to me and then switched over to face me until flying over the road and out of sight into the neighbouring gardens. Not a bad start to the day and consequently, I put my sighting on the Hants Birding website. If only I had my camera with me! Sadly, there was no further sign of the bird, but that doesn't mean it isn't lingering in someone's back garden?
The Jays have been seen everyday in Pembroke Road this week. This individual was in Highland Road Cemetery this morning.
Pembroke Road has been fairly quiet so far this week, with totals of birds seen/heard averaging around 13 species. This morning, again, thirteen species were noted including a Grey Wagtail flying south over Governor’s Green; while earlier this morning when I walked my dogs, a Redpoll species flew high overhead calling. Unfortunately, I did not see the bird as it was too gloomy at ovehead. A dog Fox was in my garden yesterday, also, until climbing the fence and disappearing over the gardens.
Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:
The male Great Spotted Woodpecker was also seen this morning in the Cemetery.
A respectable 20 species were seen or heard this morning, which wasn't too bad for this time of year. A pair of Mute Swans flew west over the rooftops at the southern end of the Cemetery to kick off the more unusual sightings here and my first Collared Dove for a long time in the Cemy, flew up into a tall tree by the main footpath. A Jay showed well on one of the gravestones until flying off into the nearby trees.
Above, a Collared Dove high up in one of the taller trees. They have been a bit scarce around the Cemetery of late and below, another photo of the Green Woodpecker searching for ants around the gravestones.
Above, watching a Blackbird upturn the leaves in search of insects and worms is always fascinating to watch and below, another photo o the male Great Spotted Woodpecker also in search for food hidden behind the bark of the trees.
I was pleased to see the Long-tailed Tits back in the Cemetery, which totalled around 12 birds that were joined by a pair of Goldcrests and a few Blue Tits. Both Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker showed very well today, both busy searching for food and overhead, both singles of Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail flew high over. I still get buzz on the colours within the Cemetery as the last of the leaves on the trees hang on for dear life and the already fallen leaves on the ground carpeting the footpaths. The Council have seen fit to leave the grass uncut and it looks a bit more wild rather than that boring sterile look the Council workers have left once cut. Happy days.
Above, there were a few flowers still in bloom here in the Cemy with this probable Autumn Hawkbit growing in the very damp grass. One of the flowers attracted what I think is a Dancefly. Below, The lovely colours of the leaves on the trees or fallen on the ground giving it that classic Autumnal look.
Above, one of about a dozen Long-tailed Tits flitting about around the foliage in the north-east corner of the Cemy and were joined by (below) at least two Goldcrests.
The birds seen or heard in Highland Road Cemetery included the following:
Mute Swan x2
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Carrion Crow
Jay
Magpie
Blue Tit
Long-tailed Tit x12
Goldcrest x2
Goldfinch
Blackbird
Starling
Robin
Wren
Pied Wagtail
Meadow Pipit
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
This Red Admiral butterfly settled in my garden this morning about an hour after I got back from the Cemetery. Yes, the sun finally came out and the clouds departed.
