Purple Sandpiper seen distantly this morning.

Tuesday 17th February 2026.

Yes, the Black-headed Gull is a common bird, but seeing them in their summer plumage is always a joy as spring is just around the corner. This bird was off Southsea Castle this morning.

I had the day off today and as the weather was looking very good with plenty of sunshine and a bright blue sky this morning, I decided to take a drive down to Southsea Castle first. I knew that the Purple Sandpipers were not in front of the Castle and so took the walk down to the closed off area (workers still rebuilding the seafront promenade west of the Blue Reef Aquarium) and looked west along the rocks.

Southsea Castle & promenade:

This distant Purple Sandpiper was the only one I could find early this morning on the seafront.

The sea state was calm, but a good scan across the Solent only produced the one Great Crested Grebe that was flying low over the water heading west. A good scan from the fenced off area looking west eventually produced just the one Purple Sandpiper, but it was very distant and it took around 10 minutes for me to find the bird. Apparently, a little later in the morning, a total of three birds were seen by other birders this morning.

Above, a pair of Great Black-backed Gulls heading into Portsmouth Harbour and below, the new promenade in front of Southsea Castle.

Above, a distant Great Crested Grebe flying west over the Solent with a Great Black-backed Gull on the Navigation Light Towers.

Unfortunately, despite a good search in front of the Castle, all I could find were a few Black-headed Gulls and a distant Cormorant perched on some contraption out in the Solent. A pair of Great Black-backed Gulls were seen flying into Portsmouth Harbour and a Common Gull flew over the Solent heading west. Since the new seafront has been built, I have to say, I have not seen any Rock Pipits here this winter and where are the rock pools that are advertised on the billboards by the Council? On top of that, will the sea watching this Spring be any good from my usual shelter this year? We shall see. I am looking forward to this in the coming months and will probably put a lot more effort into checking the Solent here instead of going all the way over to the shelter at Gilkicker!

Eastney Harbour entrance:

The Hopper Dredger A1 Avocet coming into Langstone Harbour this morning.

The car park here at the harbour entrance was near full, despite only being around 9.30am and so parking up just a little north, I slowly took a walk up to the Hayling Ferry Terminal. The tide was up within Langstone Harbour and Lock Lake and so scanning the water, I found at least 3 Great Crested Grebes and a pair of Mergansers on the calm water, though distant. The wind, though light, was very cold and so I did not hang around here too long as I checked out a huge number of Brent Geese flying west over the harbour and landing in front of the Thatched House pub. 

Above, a pair of Great Crested Grebes on the Hayling side of the harbour entrance. One of the birds was in full summer plumage. Below, a pair of Oystercatchers sat on one of the small boats within Lock Lake.

Above and below, a large flock of Brent Geese came in from the east side of the harbour and eventually settled in front of the Thatched House pub. I have had a few meals on one of those benches!

A pair of Oystercatchers were sitting on one of the small boats in Lock Lake and a group of four birds flew low over the harbour heading east. A lone Dunlin was heard and then seen flying over the harbour entrance until flying off north to round off a quiet spell here at Eastney. As I was driving back home along Ferry Road, a Fox nonchalantly crossed the road in front of me and stood by the side of the road enjoying the rare sight of some sunshine!

My Garden:

The singing female Black Redstart at the back of my garden.

Both the Black Redstart and Blackcap were seen well in and around my garden today, with both birds singing. The female Black Redstart was, as per usual, quietly singing high up in the bare tree at the back of my garden, but proved difficult to get a decent photo, while the Blackcap was singing loudly deep within my neighbours Bay Tree as per usual! A Robin came into my garden and thoroughly enjoyed picking off seeds from the Fat Balls. I don't often see Robins in my garden, so I took a few photos of the bird that showed well for at least ten minutes or so.

It's always good to see a Robin in my garden.

My final notable sighting today was a singing Grey Wagtail which I saw high up on the roof of a building in Clarendon Road, Southsea. 

In Hampshire today:

The Great Grey Shrike was still at Lucas Castle in the New Forest this morning and the Snow Bunting was back in its usual place early afternoon at Black Point, between the RNLI Station and Sailing Club. Keyhaven Lagoon held a pair of Little Gulls and also a pair of Black-necked Grebes again and offshore there, a pair of Slavonian Grebes were seen nearby. Two White-tailed Eagles flew overhead for one lucky observer over the site.

The male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker was seen again today in the woods at Acres Down. Film footage by Steve Laycock.

Black Redstart and Blackcaps still by my garden.

Monday 16th February 2026.

This superb photo of a Goshawk was taken today by Steve Laycock.

Believe it or not, another dry day here in Southsea and with the kids on half term, there was no Pembroke Road today or the rest of the week. However, I still hope to do some birding this week during my spare time. Though I did little in the way of birding today, the Blackcap was quite active today and sang its heart out again in the back of my garden. Both the Blue and Great Tits are still coming down to feed on the Fat Balls, but I am still not sure if they are still taking any of the sunflower hearts.

Birding pals Emma & Matt spent the weekend at a rather snowy Norfolk over the weekend to see some excellent birds including (above and below) the Eastern Black Redstart at Sherringham.

Above, Snow Bunting at Winterton Dunes, Norfolk and below, the Black-bellied Dipper at Bintree Water Mill, Dereham. Photos by Emma Parkes.

Yesterday, the female Black Redstart was still present in the tall tree in my neighbours garden, despite the poor weather and despite the heavy rain, that did not stop the male Blackcap singing again deep within the Bay Tree. However, there was no sign of the Black Redstart today, despite the weather being much better, though it was rather cold today. More cold weather is on its way and fingers crossed no snow here on the south coast. Though I took no photos today, some of my birding colleagues had taken some superb photos of which I have permission to put them on my blog. Many thanks guys.

In Hampshire today:

The male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on its usual tree at Acres Down this morning. Photo by Andy Tew.

Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers were vocal today with the usual birds seen at Acres Down (see photos) and another bird in Harewood Forest near Andover. The Snow Bunting was back near Black Point (grrrrr!) again and over at Keyhaven Marshes, up to 3 Little Gulls were among the Gulls on the Lagoon this morning along with 2 Black-necked Grebes! Another Black-necked Grebe was off Weston Shore and a Great Northern Diver. The bright weather has been bringing out the Goshawks and Hampshire birder Steve Laycock took some superb photos of one bird today (see photos).

Above, the female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Acres Down, New Forest. Photo by Andy Tew. Below, a Goshawk photographed today by Steve Laycock.

Buntings Boo again!

Saturday 14th February 2026.

Numbers of Mediterranean Gulls have been building up in large numbers here at the Oyster Beds.

This week's Snow Bunting was my target bird today and despite the fact it was a ‘no show’ today, Geoff, Andy and myself had a good day birding on Hayling Island with a trip to Sandy Point and also the Oyster Beds. The weather was much, much better today with mostly a clear blue sky and plenty of sunshine, but the north-easterly wind still reminded us that winter was still here as temperatures rarely got into double figures today. My day kicked off at Cowplain Marsh (Andy’s house) and over a nice cup of coffee, I checked his Moth Box and also his Pond.

Cowplain Marsh:

Sadly, the Moth Box held not a single moth, but I wasn't too surprised seeing how cold it was here. Over in his Pond, the guys told me that the Frogs were ‘croaking’ last night and so inspecting the Pond, at least three Frogs were seen briefly within the Pond and at least three clumps of Frog Spawn was present; my first of the year.

My first Frog Spawn of the year in Andy's garden.

From his garden, a small flock of Long-tailed Tits were in his neighbours garden, obviously attracted to the bird feeders within the garden. It was a tad cold outside to linger outside and so we went back into the kitchen. Geoff told me that the Firecrest was singing most days near the house all week and a female Tawny Owl was calling in nearby trees last night!

Sandy Point Nature Reserve, Hayling Bay & the harbour entrance:

A Great Northern Diver flying into Chichester Harbour. This was one of two seen here today.

On arrival at Seafarers Walk, walking along the track leading to the harbour entrance, we bumped into local birder, Andy Johnson and after a good chat, he gave us permission to go onto the Nature Reserve here and try and find a Jack Snipe. This is a very good spot for the species and after negotiating a very unkempt and thorny footpath leading to the main pool, we eventually overlooked the pond and it didn't take long for two Jack Snipe's to fly out and head off north somewhere. These were our first of the year and rather than linger too long here to disturb any others, we made our way back and headed to the harbour entrance.

Above, one of the Great Northern Divers seen today and below, there were two Harbour Seals also in the harbour entrance.

Three Brent Geese heading into Chichester Harbour. A large number were seen distantly flying over West Wittering.

We walked up to the area where Andy had seen the Snow Bunting earlier this week, but there was no sign of the bird. It was most likely over on the other side of the harbour at East Head, but judging by the amount of dog-walkers there, I was rather surprised that it was still there with all that disturbance. More disappointed birders arrived as we walked back to the Lifeboat Station and from here, we had sightings of at least two Great Northern Divers (one of which flew into the harbour), two Great Crested Grebes and a few distant Mergansers. A small flock of 15 Sanderling flew low over the water along the shoreline heading north.

Above, always looking out for interesting plants, Geoff found this Sea Rocket in flower while we were searching for the Snow Bunting. Below, the large pond that held the Jack Snipe on the reserve.

While enjoying a cup of coffee, looking over to the busy West Wittering side, the sunshine had brought out at least 10 Common Buzzards soaring over the area! A couple of Sandwich Terns passed through the harbour mouth and out to sea to round off our stay here by the Lifeboat Station. Andy still needed Dartford Warbler for his year list and so we took a walk south to the Gorse area on the reserve. Sadly, no Dartfords were seen, but checking the sea for anything going past, I got lucky when I saw our first Red-throated Diver belting past at a rate of knots over the sea, heading east and was joined by a second bird about ten minutes later. I think Andy was more than happy with adding another species to his year list. While Andy was talking to a friend of his, Geoff and I watched a female Sparrowhawk scattering all the pigeons over the houses and trees until disappearing out of sight. Nice bird to end our trip here.Though the wind had dropped, it was still quite cold and so we made our way back to the car and headed off to the Oyster Beds.

Hayling Oyster Beds:

Two drakes and a female Red-breasted Merganser swam close to where we stood by the Oyster Beds.

The tide was ebbing when we arrived at the Oysterbeds. Parking up in Victoria Road, we made our way across a very busy road to walk up to the Reserve and make our way to the end of the path overlooking both the Beds and Langstone Harbour. The wind had dropped considerably, though it was still cold, but tolerable. The Beds itself held up to 90+ Mediterranean Gulls and boy, was it noisy with their calls, but such a beautiful Gull to watch and enjoy as several past overhead. A few waders were present, mostly Redshank, Oystercatchers and Turnstone while the water held a lovely flock of four Red-breasted Mergansers, which swam very close to where we stood.

Above, a pair of Med Gulls over the Beds and below, a very pale breasted Common Buzzard seen from the Billy Trail.

Above, an Orchid comes through the soil by the Beds. Possibly a Lizard Orchid? Below, a pair of female Red-breasted Mergansers on one of the lagoons.

While Andy laid down and checked out anything that flew overhead (he did spot a Buzzard!) Geoff and I scanned the harbour thoroughly and picked off the ‘star birds’ that have brought a lot of birders here of late. This included the Long-tailed Duck that Geoff found swimming close to one of the islands, but that bird suddenly disappeared and was never seen again! The drake Scaup was also found by Geoff as was a lone Great Northern Diver, while I counted at least 40+ Mergansers in the harbour and around 30 Great Crested Grebes. There was just the one Little Grebe off Long Island, but no sign of any Black-necks or Slavonian Grebes during our hour stay here.

Above, Sweet Pansies growing by the Billy Trail and below, four Mergansers flying off the Beds into Langstone Harbour.

Above, two pairs of Mergansers swimming on the main lagoon and below, a Med Gull sitting on the same lagoon.

Geoff was ‘on fire’ in finding the birds as he picked out a female Marsh Harrier quartering over the islands. I watched the bird head for Long Island and in turn, put up a very disgruntled male Kestrel of which they had a bit of a tussle with one another! Two Sandwich Terns were seen distantly flying between the islands and up to 8 Goldeneye were swimming in the northern end of the harbour near Langstone Bridge. From our viewpoint at the northern end of the Oyster Beds, we could see over at Broadmarsh and Southmoor, literally hundreds of Gulls present, but too distant to get any clear ID, though mostly Herring and Black-headed Gulls.

Above, four Roe Deer were discovered in the field east of the Billy Trail and below, this Redshank came close to where we stood by the Beds.

Above, an Oystercatcher with a Redshank on one of the spits and below, four Med Gulls with two Black-headed Gulls.

The walk back to the car produced a couple more Common Buzzards that included the very pale breasted bird Andy had found earlier and now perched on the edge of a tree. A Cetti’s Warbler was heard calling deep within cover, but not much else regarding the birdlife as we made our way back to the car. We did stop by a gate overlooking the bramble field and found a small group of Roe Deer relaxing on the ground in the sunshine. I cannot ever recall ever seeing Roe Deer by the Oyster Beds, so where on earth did they come from? 

Ring-necked Parakeet in Portsmouth.

Thursday 12th February 2026.

A grey murky start to the day as I walked my dogs past Highland Road Cemetery early this morning. However, both Robin and Blackbird were in full song.

Low and behold, yet another horrible wet morning on my first shift at Pembroke Road today. However, on a better note, the rain kept off long enough to do a spot of ‘Birding’ around the east side of Portsmouth this morning to check out if the Ring-necked Parakeet was still present and also a trip over to the harbour entrance at Eastney. Yes, it stayed dry long enough for a good search, though a breezy cold south-westerly made it feel a lot colder than it actually was, especially by the harbour entrance.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

It was wet with light rain when I arrived at 7.45am this morning in Pembroke Road and I certainly was not looking forward to standing in the rain for the next hour or so, but I needed to and I wasn't all that surprised to see just 12 bird species this morning. A Wren and a Dunnock was singing behind the Bowling Green and the chap with this dog was feeding the Carrion Crows and Herring Gulls again with lots and lots of seeds in the field to the east of the Bowling Green.

There was just the one flock of Brent Geese this morning heading east from Portsmouth Harbour, but not a great deal to be seen in the rain. This afternoon, it was much brighter, though breezier as a keen south  westerly wind blew down Pembroke Road. Sadly, I could not add any new species to my day total here, despite the sunshine.

East Portsmouth:

I decided not to give the exact location of the Ring-necked Parakeet sighting this morning due to the fact that the local residents might put up with a fuss should there be a crowd of birders present in their street. I parked up around 9.15am and it didn't take long to hear the Parakeet call and then, luckily for me, flew over my head and headed off north over the houses. Though not the most sought after of species, it was a ‘year-tick’ and saved me the horrible trip into Southampton to see the birds at Queen’s Park! Many thanks to Chris for the ‘tip-off’. As the finder told me, it will not be long before they colonise Portsmouth, for Southampton has many pairs within the city.

Harbour entrance, Eastney:

The harbour entrance at Eastney looking north-east.

As the Langstone Harbour entrance was only about a 15 minutes drive away, I took the short journey there and parked up by the small car park overlooking the harbour entrance. The tide was up and small numbers of Brent Geese were swimming and walking about by the shoreline. I never took my coat with me and began regretting it when I reached the Hayling Ferry Boat Jetty. That south-westerly wind was damn freezing which made me cut my trip here short, though I did record a few notable sightings during the 20 minutes I was here.

Above and below, this confiding Curlew on the shoreline eventually flew off over the harbour.

Above and below, House Sparrows showed well in their usual bramble bush by the car park.

Above and below, this Great Northern Diver was very distant as it successfully caught a probable Eel over on the Hayling side of the harbour.

A Great Northern Diver was fishing over on the Hayling Island side of the harbour entrance and was seen busy trying to digest its prey it had just caught. At least 6 Great Crested Grebes were in the area and a male Red-breasted Merganser was seen swimming in Lock Lake. A Curlew was also feeding along the shoreline before flying off west over the water and several Oystercatchers were seen flying over the harbour. Good numbers of Black-headed Gulls were roosting on the small boats within Lock Lake and a calling Med Gull was seen flying into the harbour and heading northbound. I was tempted to check out the Jetty near Fort Cumberland, but my frozen hands put paid to that idea!

Above, a Great Crested Grebe swimming in the harbour entrance and below, a Brent Goose calling to its fellow Geese nearby.

Above, a distant drake Red-breasted Merganser in Lock Lake and below, a small number of Brent Geese on the shoreline.

Above, a Great Crested Grebe swimming in the harbour entrance and below, a lot of Black-headed Gulls were roosting on the small boats within Lock Lake.

My Garden:

The male Blackcap in my garden this morning.

Again, the Blackcap was singing this morning in my garden and was in full song around 7.30am today and later seen when I got back from Eastney, perched up in the tall bare tree at the back of my garden. I was pretty sure there was the second male bird in the same tree but it flew off too quickly to grab a photo. Up to four Blackbirds were also in the same tree. All this when the heavens opened for another deluge of rain!

Birding pal Andy Fisher had the day off today and went down to Sandy Point to see the Snow Bunting that was on the shoreline between the Sailing Club and the Lifeboat Station, which also drew in a steady stream of admirers.

The Snow Bunting at Sandy Point today. Film footage by Andy Fisher.