Belted Kingfisher still 'up North'.

Friday 26th November 2021.

A female Red-breasted Merganser on Hayling Oysterbeds last Saturday. 

Another bright and sunny day again, but oh so cold with that bitter northerly wind. Storm Arwen is knocking on our door with wind speeds set to hit 80mph over the northern half of England and even snow showers are predicted in parts of Hampshire overnight. Winter is well and truly back. Due to lack of manpower, I have volunteered to do a 24hr shift for my employers from 8am tomorrow, so no birding for me tomorrow with Andy.

Our Scruff sporting his new hair cut! 

Over The Oaks this morning, a large number of Redwing flew over the car park along with several Mistle Thrushes among them. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was seen again flying over the Crematorium, but apart from a showy male Pheasant, not a great deal else was seen during my brief stay here. In the afternoon, I was working at the St Peters & St Pauls Church in the village of Hambledon. From here, I pointed out a gorgeous pair of showy Jays flying around the gravestones and nearby, a Kestrel was hunting over the countryside. A low flying Common Buzzard performed well in the blue sky over the village as we were leaving the Church. 

The male Belted Kingfisher by the River Ribble. Photo by Craig Bell. Many thanks Craig.  

In Hampshire today, a Black-throated Diver was in Chichester Harbour and the two Snow Buntings remained faithful to their patch of grass on Hayling seafront. A Siberian Chiffchaff was still present on Titchfield Haven while over on Thorney Island (just inside West Sussex), up to 4 Short-eared Owls were showing late afternoon, with 5 there yesterday. The Rare Birds group of Facebook has been inundated with superb photos and film footage of the stunning male Belted Kingfisher at the Brockholes Wetland Trust site along the River Ribble, Lancashire. There is even a photo of the bird close to one of our local Kingfishers! However, on a sadder note, a moribund Brunnich's Guillemot was found at Wells Harbour, North Norfolk. As expected, the bird soon died of exhaustion or malnutrition. Another Brunnich's Guillemot was seen today off St. Agnes Head, Cornwall this morning and a Long-toed Stint had been found at Rockcliffe Marsh, Cumbria. 

Another midweek update.

Thursday 25th November 2021.

A small flock of Skylarks were seen on Portsdown Hill this morning. This individual was on Hayling Beach a few weekend ago.

As this week has wore on, the temperature has started to decline and by the weekend, we are facing freezing temperatures and the likes of snow or sleet has not been ruled out. It looks as though I shall be working over Saturday and so my sightings this week could be limited. Today was, though very cold (around 6 degrees tops), was very sunny with a clear blue sky and a gorgeous sunset to close the day.

Sandwich Terns are now a regular sighting in our harbours here in the south. This individual was part of a pair seen in Emsworth Harbour last weekend.

I kept an eye out for bird life today, especially when I was driving over Portsdown Hill and noticed a few interesting sightings. Two coveys of Red-legged Partridge were seen including one large flock of around 11 birds in a field north of the B2177, close to the roadside; a second group of birds in the field west of Portsdown Hill Road. A Raven, possibly 2, were also seen close to the B2177 and a flock of 4 Skylarks were hovering above a field close to the Route 66 Burger Bar! At least two hunting Kestrels could also be seen nearby hovering over separate fields.

Waders pouring onto Hayling Oysterbeds last Saturday. 

While making our way to Chichester along the A27, a Grey Heron was flying very low over the road heading towards our vehicle. I just hope it didn’t fly too low and become a casualty to traffic! Oddly enough, another was seen flying over the same road on the way back to Portsmouth along the A27! At least two Common Buzzards were seen today close to the M27 motorway and one in the usual place on one of the lamp posts beside the M275. Back at the Oaks, a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew into the woodland on my arrival, the first I have seen here for a few weeks and a Jay flew in the opposite direction.

This gorgeous Little Auk has been entertaining the crowds at Weymouth, Dorset. It has been quite a few years since I saw my last one, a fly-by off Selsey many years ago. Photos by Andy Tew. 

In Hampshire today, two Snow Buntings are still in the same spot where Andy and I saw them a few weeks ago. A Long-tailed Duck was still present just north-west of Hayling Oysterbeds within Langstone Harbour along with 4 Black-necked Grebes. In West Sussex, Church Norton offshore produced 7 Slavonian Grebes, a Long-tailed Duck and an Eider offshore, while the 4 long-staying Goosanders were in the harbour mouth. An impressive 50+ Cattle Egrets were counted around the Chalder Farm area, just north of Pagham Harbour.

A pleasant walk in the Cemy.

Sunday 21st November 2021.

Feeling very wintry today in the Cemetery.

It was a much brighter day with unbroken sunshine throughout however, the temperature had dropped considerably, especially with the northerly wind blowing. Isabelle and myself took Scruffy for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery this morning, for Isabelle wanted to see if her Pumpkins she put there were still present. She took her bike along with her, though soon started moaning about how cold it was!

Young Herring Gulls enjoying their advantage point looking over the Cemetery from the Chapel. 

An adult winter Herring Gull flying overhead.

There were a total of 14 species noted this morning with the Jays putting on a good show, flying from tree to tree, squawking as they passed overhead. As per usual, most of the expected birds were present and correct, but no sightings of any Woodpeckers or Sparrowhawks around today. Both the Goldfinches and Greenfinches were showing well, mostly over the northern end of the Cemy, but with the temperature due to get a lot colder next week, I expect to see more winter Thrushes on show.

Up to three Red Admiral butterflies were seen today, including this individual in the Cemy.

There were an abundance of Hoverflies in the Cemy including this female Tapered Drone Fly. 

Also abundant were the Common Drone Fly, including this female. 

There is a very large flowering Ivy bush in the south-east end of the Cemy and out of the wind, it produces a good number of Hoverflies (both Common & Tapered Drone flies), Common Wasps and a couple of Red Admiral butterflies! In fact, the whole bush was swarming with insects and made quite a spectacle. I wonder if they will still be around once this cold spell hits? A few plants were still showing including Yarrow, Smooth Sow-thistle and Nipplewort to keep me entertained as we walked slowly around the Cemetery, taking in the sunshine and fresh air.

Honey Fungus.

Nipplewort was still in bloom in various areas today.

I found a fresh clump of Honey Fungus growing over the northern end of the Cemetery, close to the main road, but no other fungi or toadstools were encountered here today. Earlier today, my moth box produced just the four moths: 2 Light Brown Apple Moth, 1 Common Plume and 1 Double-striped Pug. To be honest, it does not bode well to get anything much more than this and I am considering just putting the moth box somewhere like The Oaks Crematorium where there is a chance to see some of the woodland moths.

It was nice to see that someone has put stones with poppies painted on them on some of the War Graves.

Short-eared Owls added to year list.

Saturday 20th November 2021.

One of the Short-eared Owls being mobbed by a Crow over the fields at Thorney Island late afternoon. 

Our goal today was for the Short-eared Owls on Thorney Island and these gorgeous birds dutifully obliged. We made two trips to Thorney Island today, once in the morning and later in the afternoon, but it was a grey day with the occasional bit of drizzle in the afternoon, but it stayed relatively mild and hardly a breath of wind. High tide was around midday and with still, calm water within the harbours, all looked very good for a nice list of sightings. 

Above, Andy sporting his superb Trotsky hat, pointing out a Giant Hogweed plant, below, along the footpath. 

We arrived at Thorney Island for the first time around 9am and quickly proceeded to walk down the footpath to the west side harbour wall. On entering the footpath, a Water Rail was heard to call, but there was no sighting of the bird and so Andy’s wait to add this species to his year list goes on! There were quite a few thrushes around, especially by the small copse, which held Blackbirds, Song Thrush and several Redwing and I was pretty sure I heard a Fieldfare, but no sighting of the bird. A scan south over the reedbeds produced a Meadow Pipit and a male Stonechat perched on the overhead wire. A small flock of Goldfinches flew over and the Cetti’s Warbler was singing deep within the brambles.

A Greenshank flying over Emsworth Harbour.

A rather poor photo of the female Marsh Harrier and a Kestrel looking on over the Little Deeps. 

On reaching the harbour wall, we checked out the harbour and came across at least two fishing Sandwich Terns, which were now in Winter plumage. A flock of Oystercatchers and a couple of Little Egrets were on the foreshore while nearby, a small flock of Wigeon swam with Brent Geese and a Mute Swan. A scan over the harbour revealed a few Little Grebes on the water, but nothing else of note.

The Little Deeps in the overcast conditions.

One of the fishing Sandwich Terns in the harbour.

The Little Deeps held good numbers of Wigeon, Mallard and Tufted Duck, while close in, at least three Little Grebes swam on the water. A few Cetti’s Warblers made their presence known with their explosive calls, but, surprisingly, no Bearded Tits were present. A flock of 7 Greenshank flew over in a tight flock earlier along the footpath while another lone bird was seen flying south over the harbour. A female Marsh Harrier came into view as she sailed low over the reedbed to the east and eventually disappeared into the reeds. Nearby, a Common Buzzard was seen perched on a telegraph pole with a male Kestrel resting on the adjacent wire.

Golden Plovers coming into rest on Thorney from the harbour.

 As we made our way down the harbour wall path, a real surprise was a Spotted Redshank that flew up from the adjacent canal and then flew over the path and south down onto the Scrape behind the field. A real bonus. There were Reed Buntings seen with a female bird feeding on the reedmace in front of us with another couple of birds flying out of the reedbed. Constantly checking the fields for an early Owl to show, we were to be disappointed, but there was always something to look at here. The Great Deeps was packed with wildfowl, but last week's drake Goldeneye was, as expected, not to be present. The Spotshank was seen again, this time flying in from the harbour and landing on the edge of the pool, some distance away.

A pair of Greenshank coming into roost on the small pool beside the Great Deeps with Shelduck and Teal for company.

While checking the harbour again, a female Peregrine flew high over the harbour heading east, scattering all the waders and wildfowl on the islands; our fourth raptor of the day. A Great Crested Grebe swam close to us on the Great Pool, busy preening itself and again, no sign of any Kingfishers seen this morning. Normally, a good stronghold for this species, we were surprised we never added this species to our day list. Large flocks of waders were making their way off the harbour and onto the island including a flock of around 100+ Golden Plover that headed eastbound, as well as smaller numbers of Grey Plover, Redshank, Dunlin and Curlew. The walk back to the car was very quiet with nothing really to get excited about and after grabbing a bit of lunch in Emsworth, we then made our way to the Oyster Beds over on Hayling Island.

The Great Crested Grebe on the Great Deeps.

This Grey Heron was in one of the fields close to the main footpath. 

The tide was still rising within Langstone Harbour as we made our way to the Oyster Beds and on reaching the furthest point, I set up my scope and checked out the ever increasing number of waders coming into roost. Dunlin, Ringed Plover, Knot, Oystercatcher, Curlew and Turnstone all came into roost, producing yet another spectacular spectacle of which I took some film footage. On the pools, there were three Red-breasted Mergansers, including two females and one drake and a solitary Little Grebe. Out in the harbour, I counted at least 30 Mergansers on the water along with the same number of Great Crested Grebes, but I failed to find any Black-necked Grebes that had been seen today. However, I did find Andy’s first Goldeneye of the year, with three very distant birds swimming off Broadmarsh, while using my scope. Two Rock Pipits flew over our heads as we made our way back to the car.

A pair of Mergansers on the Oyster Beds.

Grey Plover and Dunlin over the harbour. 

After the Oyster Beds, a nice cup of coffee from nearby Greggs, we made our way back to Thorney Island again, but as it was only 1.30pm, I decided to park up on the east side, with permission from the Marina, then took a stroll past the houses and watched from the raised area overlooking the Landing Lights fields. From here, good numbers of both waders and wildfowl were roosting including good numbers of Black-tailed Godwit and Curlew. A pair of Stonechats were showing well on the brambles out in the fields and a Chiffchaff was calling and then seen flitting about in the brambles in front of us. Not just birds were noted here, but a Fox was seen searching for a potential meal in the field to the north, which upset and put up the local Canada Geese and a Roe Deer was feeding in the field south of the pool by the Army Checkpoint. 

Grey Plover coming into settle on the Oyster Beds.

It was around 2.45pm that I decided to pack up our gear and drive down to Eames Farm to hopefully view the Owls and on arrival, we met up with Andy’s nephew, Richard. He was very happy to tell us that up to three birds were actually showing and it didn’t take long for us to watch our first Short-eared Owls of the year. Though a bit distant, the birds performed superbly to all that were watching including a lot of the ‘Lazee Birder’ gang that were present on both sides of the fields! I watched one of the Owls catch a vole and when it dropped onto the ground to devour its meal, we noticed that the local Magpie’s were flying down to them, hopefully to steal the meal off the birds. Whether they were successful or not, who knows? 

Two of the Short-eared Owls hunting over near the Great Deeps. 

Again, the dark, overcast sky did not help photography, especially with my Bridge Camera with flight shots, so apologies for the quality of my photos of the Owls. It was the best of them that were reasonably worth putting on my blog. Nevertheless, we had a good 20 minutes or so enjoying the birds tassel with one another or hunting low over the fields looking for their favourite food. I was listening to one chap next to us saying that the Landing Lights field was flooded this year, hence the lack of voles on this side of the road; while the field where they were hunting now was a bit higher than the Landing Lights field and the voles were far more abundant. It certainly got cold as the afternoon wore on and so I said to Andy it was time to go. It is always pleasure to watch the Owls here and to see three in the air together is something special. I hope they are here for some time, putting on a great show for us birders.

Resting waders and wildfowl on the Oyster Beds.

Interesting news this afternoon came from birding pal Geoff Farwell, who found a Hooded Crow at Cheriton today while he was out birding! An amazing record for Hampshire.