A good Geese day at both Hill Head and Farlington Marshes.

Saturday 18th December 2021.

Looking over the Solent from the Chalets at Hill Head, where we found a nice variety of birds.  

Our destination this morning was to be Hill Head to view the sea duck on the Solent from the Chalets. There has been a nice variety of birds noted this week off here and though it was a grey overcast start to the day, I felt that something good could be lurking out there on the water. After paying the small car parking fee (yes, I have come to accept that sometimes you have to pay for your pleasure!).

Above, the two Slavonian Grebes in the Solent which were west of the Chalets  and below, some of the many Great Crested Grebes on the sea here. Both species remained quite distant.

A quick scan on a reasonably calm Solent revealed good numbers of Great Crested Grebes out on the water, though some distance out I might add. In fact, I had a final tally of this species of at least 52+ birds, though another birder counted at least 94 plus birds! Walking west to the far end of the Chalets, I got the scope out and began checking the sea. A flock of four Eiders flew west low over the sea, 2 drakes among them as they headed off west. I was pretty sure I picked them up again on the water a bit later on and was joined by at least two more.

A Common Buzzard drifted overhead while we were watching the wildfowl out on the Solent.  

I found yesterday's Velvet Scoters, though I could only find 5 of the 6 birds that were reported yesterday. Still, a good find nonetheless and better still, a drake Scaup was swimming among them! Having found one last weekend on Budds Farm, to find a drake here on the sea was most pleasing and totally unexpected. Slavonian Grebe was on the menu and with one here yesterday, I soon found the bird which was quickly joined by a second individual. They both joined up and eventually went their separate ways and fished among the many Great Crested Grebes present.

The Sanderling roosting on the beach at Hill Head.

These Ringed Plover joined the Sanderling near the roost on the beach.

A flock of Canada Geese swam on the water some distance out and a much larger flock of Brent Geese were also swimming on the sea, close to the shoreline. To round off the Geese here, I spotted a flock of four Egyptian Geese flying high over a red cliff along the shoreline, only to disappear inland and out of sight. It was going to be a very good day for Geese as the day wore on. A Common Buzzard flew low overhead and circled a few times before flying off inland. 

Oystercatcher and Lapwing on the small island on the River Meon.

A mixed flock of Lapwing, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Black-tailed Godwit and Black-headed Gulls flying over the Reserve.

Walking back to the car, we decided to walk to the small seating area overlooking the River Meon and from here, we had good views of the wader and wildfowl by the small island. Lapwing, Oystercatchers and Turnstone showed well, as did a few pairs of Gadwall. A pair of Little Grebes were swimming on the River and a Water Rail, a species that has yet to climb onboard Andy’s yearlist, was calling in the reedbed in front of us, though no sightings today! Back on the beach, a special sign has been erected on the fence to keep people away from the roosting Sanderling on the beach and seeing it was high tide, the Sanderling were duly roosting on the beach some 100 yards away with a few Ringed Plover joining them.

Lapwings and Black-headed Gulls by the small island on the River Meon.

A flock of ten Long-tailed Tits were searching for food in the brambles by the viewing platform including this individual.   

Checking the Hampshire Birding website, a flock of 34 Russian White-fronted Geese was discovered in the North Fields of Farlington Marshes and as Andy had not seen this species yet this year, this was to be the next destination. Personally, I was hoping for yesterday's Barnacle Geese to tbe there and thankfully for both of us, both species were present and correct! After parking, we made our way along the back of the reserve to the Info Centre and then up to the Hay field to see if the White-fronts were there. They weren't, but I did find a lone Barnacle Goose feeding among the many Canada and Brent Geese present. My 203rd species of the year! Also among the Geese, were at least forty plus Curlew and now with the overhead cloud totally gone to reveal a clear blue sky and bright sunshine, the birds showed very well indeed. 

One of the Barnacle Geese in the Hay Field among many Canada and Brent Geese.

Though distant, the Russian White-fronted Geese (centre) were seen.  

We decided to walk up to the Blockhouse to view the Geese in the fields from there and we came up trumps when I spotted some ‘grey’ Geese near one of the pools out in the fields. Sure enough, I zoomed up on them with my camera and found at least a dozen of the Russian White-fronted Geese among the many Brent Geese. Our 5th species of Goose of the day and I have to say, I am not sure about seeing so many Geese on this reserve.

A lot of Curlew were feeding among the Geese.

A male Kestrel hunting over the fields.

I found at least 7 Great Crested Grebes out in the harbour looking east towards the islands as we had a pleasant walk around the perimeter of the reserve. The usual wildfowl were in the Deeps and out in the fields and a pair of Stonechats showed well with a Meadow Pipit by the small reedbed there. Another female Stonechat was found perched on brambles as we neared the Lake. On nearing the Lake, a flock of Avocet flew off and headed off towards the harbour to join the 11 birds I counted earlier out near the Eastern Road. 

This male Stonechat was by the Deeps.

A Meadow Pipit by the Deeps also, sharing the same bush as the Stonechats.

We parked ourselves up by the viewing platform and enjoyed the many waders and wildfowl present. At least 3 Common Snipe were found as well as a lone Dunlin flying in from the harbour. I gave the edge of the reedbeds a good search for Water Rail, but no diamonds there, unfortunately. A large flock of Black-tailed Godwit were joined by a similar number of Redshank on the north side of the Lake, all ready to take advantage of the ebbing tide. As we were leaving the reserve, it was sad to see several people letting their dogs off their leads, but it is not my place to reprimand them even if they do deserve it. There seems to be no Wardens on the reserve anymore, for when I was young, there was good old Dave Billet who would never tolerate any dogs off leads and also an army of Voluntary wardens as well! Times have most certainly changed.

A drake Pintail preening itself by the Lake.

More Barnacle Geese out in the fields.

Birds here and far plus a moth!

Tuesday 14th December 2021.

A Jay showed very well for both me and Isabelle last Sunday afternoon.

Tonight, I thought I would catch up with some of my sightings over the past few days, including a nice walk with our Isabelle last Sunday afternoon around Highland Road Cemetery.  The weather has been quite mild of late, with most days being quite overcast and damp and with bad news all around due to a new outbreak of Coronavirus dominating the news, it is nice to grab some sightings of some lovely birds to keep a smile on my face. Even a moth popped up on our kitchen window one evening!

A familiar Robin popped up in front of us during our walk around the Cemy. 

Isabelle wanted to take her pushbike for a spin and so I took her over Highland Road Cemetery in the afternoon, before we took her to see Father Xmas at Keydell Nursery in Horndean. As per usual, I took my camera along with me and I was lucky enough to grab a few nice photos of an obliging Jay that stole the show. The Green Woodpecker made itself known with its familiar ‘laughter’ echoing over the Cemetery, but sadly, no sighting of the bird. Apart from the usual cast of birds, it was fairly quiet, but I was quick to point out the Squirrels for her, of which she is always fascinated.

Another photo of the obliging Jay in the Cemetery. 

Yesterday, I was busy driving one of our vehicles over Portsdown Hill and came across another haul of raptors. Up to two Kestrels were noted hovering by the roadside; a Common Buzzard was also seen hovering over the Hill with another seen perched on one of the lamp posts along the M275 and finally, yet another Red Kite was seen close to the roadside, soaring south bound over the Hill. So, this winter, I have seen up to 6 species of raptor up to now. Other sightings yesterday included a flock of 14 Redwing flying over our Gosport branch and though they are fairly common at this time of year, to see them at this location is unusual. And a nice surprise.

There were plenty of Wood Pigeons present in the damp Cemetery. 

Today, I was well out of the area as I was asked to work at both our Ascot / Bracknell branches in Berkshire. A Ring-necked Parakeet squawked overhead not far from the Ascot branch, which is now a familiar species here in Berkshire. Easthampstead Crematorium, near Wokingham, was where I spent two visits here today and there was a good variety of bird life within its grounds. Redwing were abundant with several flocks flying over including one flock of 15 birds overhead. There were also sightings of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Grey Wagtail, Mistle Thrush, Siskin and a large flock of Goldfinches that enjoyed feeding in the Silver Birch trees. By our Bracknell branch, the only Red Kite sighting of the day flew over; lazily flapping overhead against a lead grey sky, but always a beautiful sight.

A Light Brown Apple Moth was a nice surprise perched on the kitchen window.

There was interesting news today coming from the shipyards of Southampton where a White-throated Sparrow has been present here since August, but it has no intentions of flying from the shipyard. These birds are well known for being ship assisted and some birders agree that it cannot be added to the British List, whereas others totally disagree. I have seen two of this species in the UK now, including the long staying Old Winchester Hill bird many years ago. Also in Hampshire, two Black-throated Divers were still present in Chichester Harbour along with two Great Northern Divers. Inexplicably, there have been some very large flocks of Barnacle Geese being seen in both Langstone and Pagham Harbour, with 324 counted at the latter site and I can only assume that they are genuinely wild birds. We shall see. Hopefully, they might linger into the weekend. 

As I mentioned earlier in my post, there was a moth on my kitchen window last night and quickly potted the said moth. It was a Light Brown Apple Moth of which I took a few photos and released it early this morning before I made my work.