Saturday 22nd January 2022.
The Barn Owl showing well again in the split tree.
Not a bad morning's birding again as I banged in 8 more ‘year-ticks’ to add to my yearly total. 122 species for the year so far isn’t too bad and with Norfolk on the horizon, 140 or 150 species could be a possibility? I needed to be over my fathers house around 1pm and so I opted to go fairly local and tried our luck firstly over Posbrook Floods for the Barn Owl. However, our first stop was to be Greggs for breakfast, in Waterlooville, where Andy, believe it or not, got his first ‘year-tick’ of the day - a female Sparrowhawk flying low over the shops, scaring the wits out of the local Pigeons!
One of several Redwing in the trees along the Canal Path.
On reaching the small car park near Posbrook Floods, It was suddenly 1 - 1 in ‘year-ticks’ as an Egyptian Goose flew north over the car park, my first of the year (Andy had his earlier this month on Petersfield Lake). We were welcomed to an overcast morning and though it was only 5 degrees, it was very still with hardly any wind at all. We took a slow walk south down the Canal Path to view the ‘split tree’ to the west and thankfully, the Barn Owl was there roosting in the tree. I managed to get a few nice photos of the bird and then it didn't take long to catch up with our first visible Cetti’s Warbler of the year that was skulking about in the flattened reeds by the Canal.
A small flock of Meadow Pipits rested on an overhead wire near the car park.
A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over, with another in the distance ‘drumming’ and a pair of Stonechats in the field showing well close to the footpath. Andy was keeping an eye out for his first Marsh Harrier of the year, but the best we could find was a rather large Common Buzzard that settled in a tree over the far side to the east. A small flock of Redwing landed in the trees while over on Posbrook Floods itself, there were good numbers of Wigeon, Pintail, Gadwall and Teal on show. A Glossy Ibis had been seen recently here, but no sign of the bird despite a good search.
This male Stonechat was on the seafront at Hill Head being most obliging.
Walking south along the Canal Path, we came across Graeme Loader again and had a chat for around ten minutes. He had not seen anything of note, but he did have a Marsh Harrier on his arrival here. No sign of any Water Pipits either but he did warn us that the footpath would be getting muddier the further south we walked. Walking through the wooded area, we had a good sized flock of Long-tailed Tits plus numerous Blue and Great Tits among them. Not a great deal else of note so we made our way back to the car to take the journey south to Hill Head.
Andy offering one of his delicious hot teas to yours truly!
After purchasing a parking ticket, we took a walk to the Chalets to hopefully connect with the wintering Velvet Scoters, however, I noticed that the water level on the reserve was very low and therefore, there was a fighting chance of a skulking Water Rail. How right that proved! Walking along the shingle passing the Chalets, I noticed a flock of 7 Grey Geese flying overhead and on quick inspection, I noticed at least one of the birds was sporting a lot of white at the base of the bill - our first White-fronted Geese of the year. I quickly put the info on the ‘Lazee Birders’ Whatsapp site and then settled down to view the calm sea over the Solent. It didn’t take long to find the Velvet Scoters, all four of them, settled nicely on the sea with at least 14 Great Crested Grebes in attendance.
One of the drake Eiders offshore having a flap.
A Harbour Seal swimming out in the Solent.
Behind these birds, a large flock of 61 Eiders were counted out on the Solent, adding to the two drakes we had seen earlier (also adding to our year list, as were the Scoters). A Sanderling hurried westbound along the shoreline, but did not linger due to so many people walking with their dogs on the beach. Same old story at low tide here. Pleased with adding to our yearly total, we made our way back east along the road and sat on the wall overlooking the reserve. From here, we could see the base of the reedbeds and after around 15 minutes or so, I gave the shout that I had found a Water Rail. I quickly got Andy onto the bird and took some film footage of the bird as it bathed in the water and a quick preen. While checking the wildfowl on the River Meon, a male Reed Bunting flew speedily across the water and disappeared just as quickly into the reedbed. Another ‘year-tick’ for my good self, but poor Andy dipped on it!
The four Velvet Scoters offshore that were always distant.
You don't often see Sandwich Terns here in the winter, but this individual flew fairly close to us along the shoreline.
Time was creeping away from us as I wanted to be at my Dad’s house for 1pm and so we made our way back home. Feeling a tad sorry for Andy dipping on the Bunting, I decided to drive along the top of Portsdown Hill in search for Red-legged Partridge to add to his year list, but none were to be seen. So I took a drive to Southwick village and came across a large flock of the birds in the fields before we hit the roundabout at the bottom of the road. ‘Year-tick’ total for this morning: Myself 8 species, Andy 9 species.
The Water Rail on the River Meon.
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