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.

 

Calling Goldcrest & a few flocks of Brent Geese today.

Wednesday 11th February 2026.

Just some of the Carrion Crows and a Herring Gull in the field just east of the Bowling Green. I took this photo from my parked car when I arrived.

A cool and damp start to the morning and with more overnight rain, everywhere was damp. However, it remained dry during my first shift at Pembroke Road today, but though the temperature was in double figures, which is much higher than normal for this time of year, the cold westerly wind certainly reminded you that winter was still here! The rain eventually arrived around 3.15pm on my second shift at Pembroke Road and remained throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the evening. However, that didn't stop the male Blackcap singing its heart out within my garden!

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

The Bowling Green at Pembroke Road. Could a Hoopoe be discovered this Spring this year?

A total of 14 bird species were recorded this morning of which there were two small flocks of Brent Geese heading eastbound from Portsmouth Harbour and a Goldcrest was calling somewhere within the Holm Oaks when I arrived for my first shift. Also on arrival, there was a chap feeding the Herring Gulls and Carrion Crows, which completely surrounded him and his small dog, in the field just east of the Bowling Green. I counted at least 40+ Carrion Crows and about a dozen Herring Gulls picking off the seed he was throwing at them.

Surprisingly, I didn't see any Black-headed Gulls today, but the Great Black-backed Gulls put in a good performance with at least four seen around the Governor’s Green area along with at least 30+ Herring Gulls searching for earthworms on the damp grass. At least a third of them were juvenile birds. A single Blue Tit was displaying high up in the trees, fluttering his wings and calling excitedly to its mate below him. As per usual, most of the species seen or heard would be in the first 20 minutes when it was fairly quiet (apart from the noisy cars rushing past) and occasionally, something unusual might fly past.

In Hampshire today:

A Ring-necked Parakeet in a fellow birders Southsea garden yesterday.

Starting in the Southampton area, there was a female type Velvet Scoter and a Black-necked Grebe off Weston Shore this morning and a White-tailed Eagle was over the Calshot area. The Snow Bunting reappeared at Black Point, Hayling Island and the Long-tailed Duck and male Scaup were in Langstone Harbour again. The six Glossy Ibis were on Posbrook Floods this afternoon. A Ring-necked Parakeet has been visiting a Southsea garden recently and I hope to pay a visit to see the bird(s) tomorrow morning, if all goes well.

A cracking photo of one of the Bitterns at Blashford Lakes. Photo by Andrew Dickety.

Lots more rain on the way!

Monday 9th February 2026.

The female Black Redstart was showing well again from my back garden.

More rain was on the way this afternoon, but it wasn't till I had finished my last shift at Pembroke Road when the rain finally arrived. Serious flood warnings are in place, affecting many areas where rivers have burst their banks and according to the Met Office, the only dry day this week is Saturday! Despite the wet weather, it is going to be mild with temperatures in double figures and today, there was hardly any wind, keeping it mild throughout the day.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

I managed to get up to 15 bird species today though nothing out of the ordinary among them. The Blue Tits here were a bit frisky again, chasing one another in the trees and then flying off north over the houses. A Cormorant, possibly two birds, were seen sailing over Curtain Moat, but again, no Brent Geese were seen coming in off Portsmouth Harbour, though around 40+ Brent Geese were on Southsea Common when I drove past. It seems this year that they have not used Governor’s Green for a feeding station unlike last year where there would be at least 30+ birds grazing on the short grass.

There were plenty of birds singing around the Bowling Green including Great Tit, Wren and a Dunnock and the usual House Sparrows were vocal, as per usual, in the hedgerow beside the Bowling Green. As I drove down Pembroke Road to park up for my first shift, the big grassy area just east of the Bowling Green held at least 30+ Carrion Crows and among them were two Rooks. I have seen Rooks on the grass by Duisberg Way while driving to Pembroke Road earlier this year, but it's the first time I have seen them this far west.

My Garden:

Film footage of the female Black Redstart today.

Yet again, the female Black Redstart was seen perched up high in the bare tree in my neighbours garden and later in the day, it was high up in another tree and calling repeatedly. This time, as well as a few photos, I managed to grab a bit of film footage of the bird. The Blackcap was heard singing again late this afternoon, deep within my neighbours Bay Tree, but no sighting of the bird today.

Yesterday, birding pal Geoff Farwell was birding in the Ramsdean / Langrish area, near Petersfield and saw the following birds: Hawfinch, 37+ Yellowhammers, 50+ Chaffinches, 2 Marsh Tits, 2 Red Kites, 2 Common Buzzards, 2 Ravens and a Little Egret.

In Hampshire today:

The Bittern from Ivy North Hide, Blashford Lakes today. Photo by Steve Laycock.

On Hayling Island today, in the Black Point area, the Snow Bunting was seen again and probably had been flushed from nearby East Head. A juvenile Little Gull was seen from the Lifeboat Station plus three Great Northern Divers and a Slavonian Grebe. At the other end of Hayling Island, from the Oyster Beds, there were sightings of the male Scaup, 2 Great Northern Divers and 2 Black-necked Grebes. On Blashford Lakes, up to two Bitterns were showing from a packed Ivy North Hide. 5 Glossy Ibis were on the Bridge Street Floods this morning.

Fog rolls into the Cemy.

Sunday 8th February 2026.

One of the Jays showed very well this morning in the Cemy.

It was back over Highland Road Cemetery this morning for the dogs to have their walk. I knew the weather was going to be a gamble as light rain was forecast, but I never expected FOG to arrive when I was half way around the Cemy. Temperatures were around 7 degrees, but I was well wrapped up against the cold as me and the boys took a nice stroll around once again. There were few dog-walkers and those that were there were very pleasant.

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:

The Holm Oak clump. This has held some very interesting birds over the years. 

I had notched up 16 bird species on my walk around the Cemetery this morning and though it was very overcast, there was no wind and there were plenty of birds in song today. This included several Robins and singles of Wren and even a Dunnock (not very common here) were in full song and such a pleasant sound to listen too. One of the Jays showed very well in the south-west corner though it flew off between the two houses in that corner of the Cemetery. A Goldcrest was heard calling within one of the Conifers near the other Chapel in the north of the Cemetery, but no sighting today of the bird. A pair of Collared Doves sped through the area and headed off southbound.

Above, Daffodils are beginning to flower on some of the graves. Below, one of a couple of Blue Tits searching for insects on the plants.

Above, a singing Robin and below, a female Blackbird searching the damp grass for food.

Nearing the end of my walk, fog had rolled into the Cemetery and put an end to my walk round.

The birds seen here this morning included the following:

• Herring Gull
• Black-headed Gull
• Feral Pigeon
• Wood Pigeon
• Collared Dove
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie
• Jay
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit
• Starling
• Robin
• Wren
• Dunnock
• Goldcrest
• Blackbird

This Common Ragwort was flowering early.

No insects were seen on my walk round, but a few plants of note were seen including an early flowering Common Ragwort by one of the graves. Daffodils were blooming on some of the graves adding a splash of colour on such a grey day. 

My Garden:

The female Black Redstart was again at the back of the garden.

The female Black Redstart was showing well again when I got back from the Cemetery; perched high in the bare tree and sat there long enough to grab my camera for a few photos. I could also hear the Blackcap singing quietly in the neighbouring Bay Tree once again.