Cold, but busy, over Hayling Oyster Beds.

Saturday 4th December 2021.

Grey Plover and Dunlin over the Oyster Beds this morning

I only had a few hours spare this morning as I promised my wife that I would take her Xmas shopping over Fareham. So, thinking fast, I opted for a walk around Hayling Oysterbeds. It was bright and sunny again with the occasional cloudy spells, but with a fresh cold north-westerly breeze over the harbour, I was most certainly glad that I wrapped up well.

This Grey Heron was resting out of the wind at the northern end of the Beds. So sad to see human rubbish next to the bird. 

A pair of Pintail on the Beds.

High tide was at 11am this morning as I arrived in the small car park an hour before. There was a lot of overnight rain and the slippery muddy footpath leading to the Oyster Beds nearly got the better of me. How I ever kept my balance when I slipped on the mud, I shall never know; but my language was a tad blue! Up ahead, I could see a gaggle of Brent Geese on the water and waders, including Oystercatchers, Grey Plover, Curlew and Dunlin were busy in search of food. Even a Rock Pipit flew in to join them and showed nicely in the bright sunshine.

Shelduck accompanying the waders on the Oyster Beds.

A very smart drake Pintail. 

Drake Mallards coming into land on the Beds. 

There was just the one pair of Red-breasted Mergansers on the Beds, although a bit distant, but the waders were entertaining. The harbour was too rough to pick out any Black-necked Grebes and so I did not take the scope, so I took a slow walk around the Oyster Beds and then back south down the Hayling Billy Trail. Waders were pouring onto the Beds and putting on another spectacle in the sunshine, while I checked out the roosting waders among the walls separating the Beds. Both Turnstone and Redshank were in good numbers and another pair of Rock Pipits flew over and headed south.

Curlew with an Oystercatcher in the foreground. 

A Greenshank roosting on the pool behind the Oyster Beds. 

Wigeon, Pintail and a Curlew at the northern end of the Beds.

On the northern end of the Beds, there were a lot more wildfowl present including good numbers of both Pintail and Wigeon. A lone Great Crested Grebe swam with the wildfowl to add to the variety of birds present and a solitary Grey Heron stood on the edge of the Beds standing what looked like a beer can (see photo)! 

There were plenty of Wigeon present this morning.

This Great Crested Grebe was swimming with the Wigeon too. 

Once I got to the Hayling Billy Line, I decided to walk north to check the large pool and came up trumps with a roosting Greenshank. There were several Redshank present along with a lone Black-tailed Godwit. A few years back, a superb Grey Phalarope graced this very pool. There was very little to report along the Hayling Billy Line as I made my way back to the car, except for a few Greenfinch and Goldfinches.  There was no birding with Andy this morning as he wasn't well. Hmmmmm!     

A nice variety of birds at Titchfield Haven.

Friday 3rd December 2021.

The view from the Spurgin Hide this morning.

I managed to squeeze in another day off before Christmas from work and took the opportunity to try my luck for the Jack Snipe on Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve. Though it was mostly overcast, the sun did break through a few times and the daytime temperature reached a balmy 10 degrees centigrade, a big difference from the icy blast of yesterday! In short, though the Jack Snipe never put in an appearance, there was a good supporting cast of birds to make my trip here very much worthwhile.

The Reserve Centre to the left with the small harbour to the right. 

Turnstone here are very tame. 

After purchasing my day pass from the Reserve and paying for my parking ticket, I made my way to the reserve entrance, but not before checking out the very calm sea over the Solent. I counted at least three Great Crested Grebes out on the water and on the beach, near the small boatyard, there was a roosting flock of around 100+ Sanderling as well as a couple of Ringed Plovers and several Turnstone.

A drake Gadwall in the small harbour by the roadside.

Black-headed Gulls by the small harbour. 

The pleasant walk to the Spurgin Hide produced a small flock of Long-tailed Tits in the small trees and brambles and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew away from me to the west. Both Cetti’s Warblers and Water Rails could be heard calling from the adjacent reedbeds as I made my way to the Spurgin Hide. I passed a lichen covered bench along Sally’s Path as I neared the Hide and once inside, there were already a couple of chaps within it. One such chap was one of the ‘Lazee’ Birders, Pete Appleton and listening to the birding exploits of the two guys, notably the Penduline Tit sightings at this site a few years back, was very interesting.

One of three Chiffchaffs seen in front of the Hide. 

The male Stonechat in front on the Hide. 

Again, there was no sign of the Jack Snipe, despite it showing well in front of the Hide yesterday; but there was a nice selection of birds to view from the Hide. Cetti’s Warblers could be seen and heard within the reeds in front of us and showing very well at times. A pair of Stonechats came close to the Hide too as did at least 3 Chiffchaffs of which one did appear quite grey in colouration (possibly the Siberian Chiffchaff that was on the reserve last week?). Other passerines in front of the Hide included a stroppy Robin that tried its hardest to push both the Chiffchaffs and Stonechats away from its territory. A Wren also joined in on the act, skulking on the ground or within the reeds in search of tiny insects; for there were a lot of flying midges around.

A showy Cetti's Warbler on the edge of the reeds.

A Little Egret came onto this part of the reserve and landed on the open bit of water to the east and then began searching for food. At least three Common Snipe could be heard flying over and I managed to view the birds flying south over the reserve. A flock of Bearded Tits were flying over the reedbeds to the north of the Hide and I managed to see them several times ‘pinging’ over the reeds. Sadly, they never got that close for a photo. A Kingfisher flew in and landed on an exposed post for all of 5 seconds before flying off and a Water Rail finally gave itself up and scurried quickly in front of the Hide and straight into reeds again.

Above and below, Sanderling on the shoreline.

A female Marsh Harrier cruised low over the reedbeds over on the east side of the reserve, heading south and then flew back north, while a Common Buzzard flew into a nearby tree, upsetting the local Wood Pigeons. I had put 3 hours worth of parking in the meter and so made my way back to the car. Along the way, a pair of Bullfinches were seen feeding on buds within a small tree, but proved very difficult to photograph with my Bridge Camera. I had a good look for the Dartford Warbler by the entrance of the reserve, which was seen earlier by Pete Appleton, but to no avail. On reaching the car, I gave the Solent a good scan for anything of note and picked up a distant Auk on the calm water. A nearby fellow birder had his scope handy and after pointing it out to the chap, he confirmed that it was a Razorbill. Other birds on the water included at least 20 Great Crested Grebes, a drake Eider, 3 Teal and a very large flock of Brent Geese in front of the beach huts. Apparently, I only just missed a flock of 4 Velvet Scoters that had flown off east. Never mind, I certainly enjoyed the 150+ Sanderling close by on the shoreline in front of me. I can certainly see why they are so many peoples favourite wader.

One of the closest Great Crested Grebes on the sea. 

A mixture of birds including Cormorant, Herring Gull, Gadwall, Lapwing and Oystercatcher on the small island on the River Meon. 

There were some interesting sightings here in Hampshire this morning. Off Black / Sandy Point, Hayling Island, a Slavonian Grebe and a Black-throated Diver were found and a large flock of 100+ Brambling were in Queen Elizabeth Country Park. The drake Green-winged Teal was still present at Ripley Reservoir in the far west of the County again this morning.   

The drake Green-winged Teal (left) at Ripley Reservoir with a Eurasian Teal. Photo by Andy Tew.

The Sanderling flock on the shoreline at Hill Head.

A sprinkling of snow in Hampshire.

Monday 29th November 2021.

A wintry scene over The Oaks Crematorium this morning with a sprinkling of the white stuff!

A bitterly cold day today where the temperature rarely climbed above 3 degrees, but at least it was bright and sunny. There was a dusting of snow throughout Hampshire overnight and as far south as Havant, where The Oaks Crematorium was a scene of a snowy picture postcard. Mind you, I didn't relish scraping the thick ice off my windscreen this morning at 7.15am!

Though it might be attractive to look at, the wildlife most certainly don't take too kindly to it. Over The Oaks Crematorium this morning, flocks of Redwing were on the move overhead, with many pouring out from the cover of the trees nearby, with the occasional Mistle Thrush among them. The small feeding station in front of the Chapel window held at least 4 Coal Tits and a showy Robin, busy enjoying the rich food of peanuts and seed to help them through this cold snap. 

The feeding station at The Oaks Crematorium. The staff here regularly top up the feeders, attracting plenty of Titmice and Woodpeckers.

I was back there again early afternoon and sightings included more flocks of Redwing, but over the rear  side of the Crematorium, I saw the Green Woodpecker fly over the field and land in a tree on the outskirts of the woodland. A pair of Pied Wagtails flew off the roof of the building and proceeded to feed on the grass, now that the light covering of snow had melted.

While travelling to and from Hayling Island this morning, a Grey Heron flew low over the road and in the bright sunshine, I could see every little detail of the bird as it headed east over the A3023. Crossing the Hayling Bridge, I could see at least 20 Shelduck among the Brent Geese on the shoreline, while a good number of both Dunlin and Redshank were feeding on the exposed mud. Not a bad observation seeing i am doing 30mph along the road. Finally, the usual Common Buzzard was seen perched on a lamp post along the M275 as I was leaving Portsmouth.

A small sprinkling of snow on the ornamental plants at the Crematorium.

Birding pal, Geoff Farwell, had texted me to say that he went birding at the East Meon / Coombe area and notched up the following: Little Owl, 2 Tawny Owls heard, 3 Red Kites, 4 Common Buzzards, Raven, 2 Stonechat, 12 Fieldfare and 25 House Sparrows. Of interest, Ross’s Goose has now been added to the BOU British list and has now put my UK Life list at 432 species after the bird I saw many years ago in North Norfolk. In Hampshire today, an adult Whooper Swan was on Ripley Farm Reservoir, on the Hampshire/Dorset border; which is a scarce bird in Hampshire.