A good couple of hours birding.

Friday 12th August 2022.

The Pied Flycatcher at The Triangle Field, Hayling Island, this morning.

I had the opportunity today to notch up some nice Autumn birds that have been frequenting locally in Hampshire and my first port of call was going to be ‘The Triangle Field’ near Sparkes Marina, on the south east side of Hayling Island for the reported two Pied Flycatchers present there. Should I get lucky, I would then take a drive over to Titchfield Haven and check out the Terns upon the reserve, for I knew it was going to be high tide over the Solent. One thing though I was going to have to negotiate was the very hot temperature today which could exceed 90 degrees fahrenheit!

Above, this Sparrowhawk flew low over the Triangle Field, but flew off south. Below, the area where the Pied Flycatchers were seen.

Though the traffic was a little heavy going down through Hayling, I soon parked up within the large car park at Sparkes Marina and fortunately for me, I bumped into both Andy Friend and Andy Tew who had been looking for the Flycatchers. They had a negative result, but they were sure the birds were still there. After a brief chat, I then made my way to an area of Hayling I have never been before and came across a small field with brambles on one side and private gardens on the other. In the middle were three Ash trees and this is supposedly where the Flycatchers were. In fact, it took me no less than 5 minutes for one of the Pied Flycatchers to briefly appear, but I had to wait another ten minutes in the hot sunshine before I could get another glimpse.

Another couple of photos of the Pied Flycatcher this morning.

Eventually, one bird flew out of one of the Ash trees and picked off an insect on the dried grass that was covered with Yarrow plants. It then flew back into the same tree where I got a few photos of the bird. Then it showed itself much better and I managed to grab some half decent photos of the bird, which was a very welcome addition to my ever growing year list. There was probably a second bird seen, but it flew high into the same Ash tree, but failed to show again. Meanwhile, the original bird flew further north into a nearby group of trees by a footpath and lost to view.

Above, the view of the River Meon looking north with plenty of Terns to search through. I was quite lucky when I found an Arctic Tern among the many Common Terns. Below, one of the Common Terns hovering nearby over the river.

Earlier, a female Sparrowhawk flew low overhead and headed off south, thankfully! A small group of Goldfinches flew over and a large gathering of House Sparrows were the only birds of note during my time there. A couple of Gatekeeper butterflies were seen along with a lone Small White butterfly. Well happy with the ‘Pied Fly’ under my belt, I headed off to a nearby shop for some lunch and then made my way to Titchfield Haven.

Above and below, I managed a couple of record photos of the Black Tern as it flew out into the Solent.  

On arrival, the sea was probably at its highest and so no looking on the beach for the Terns. So it was now to check the Terns resting on the island and posts on the River Meon. Earlier in the day, the wandering flock of four Glossy Ibis had been seen feeding along the River but flew off towards Warsash. From the comfort of my car, I shielded myself from the sun by sitting on the lip of the boot of the car, with the boot lid raised and setting up the scope from there. Thankfully, there was a good number of Terns present, which were mostly adult and juvenile Common Terns, but I did find one Arctic Tern among the throng, which was another addition to my year list. The shorter bill and body shape distinguished it from the neighbouring Common Terns.

Above, one of at least three Little Egrets flew over the reserve and below another Common Tern flying over the River Meon.

Also present was one lone Sandwich Tern, but getting decent photos was going to be challenging again due to the heat haze. As expected, the Terns here are always jumpy and those resting in front of the South Scrape all took off and flew over as a Sparrowhawk flew off north over the reserve. I was hoping for one of the ten Black Terns reported this morning, but checking the flock of Terns, all I could find were Common Terns. However, around 15 minutes later, the flock on the South Scrape all took off again and this time I was in luck as I spotted a Black Tern flying among the Terns. Getting a photo proved difficult, but on my second attempt at photographing the bird, I managed to snap a few photos as it flew out to sea with three Common Terns. My third ‘year-tick’ of the day, which puts me on 203 species for the year.

More Common Tern photos.

I spent a good hour here and though I had to be patient with all the cars passing by, there were a few notable birds seen including a flock of Sand Martin flying through. A Common Buzzard was seen soaring very high over the reserve and back down on the River, both Great Crested and Little Grebe were seen swimming. A lone Oystercatcher was among the Terns on the small island on the River and at least three Little Egrets were flying over the reserve. Apparently, there were ten Black Terns seen on the South Scrape of which I am wondering why they all did not take off when the Terns there took flight? Never mind, a good few hours birding and then back home.