Amazing day on the south coast.

Saturday 13th August 2022.

Above and below, the adult Roseate Tern on the beach in front of the Sailing Club. 

Well it was a cracking days birding with Mr Fisher again and this time, we joined three other ‘Lazee Birders’ while at Hill Head this morning that included Andy Friend, Kevin Brookes and Simon (not sure of last name!). We were all down by the Sailing Club checking out the Tern roost for both Black and Roseate Tern and thankfully, we came up trumps. We all knew that it was going to be one of the hottest days of the year, but at least there was some breeze by the coast today otherwise it could have been unbearable. Not only did we get successful at Hill Head, but we also did a trip around the Hook-with-Warsash reserve and notched up another ‘year-tick’.

My birding day kicked off by picking up Andy, but not before checking out his moth box and the surrounding area. From here, while enjoying a ‘shop bought’ Coffee, the following moths were present: 

• 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character
• 1 Lime-speck Pug
• 1 Vines Rustic
• 1 Willow Beauty
• 1 Small Dusty Wave
• 2 Common Wainscot
• 1 Straw Dot
• 2 Double-striped Pug
• 2 Yellow Shell
• 1 Brown House Moth
• 2 Carcina quercana
• 2 Agriphila tristella
• 2 Rush Veneer
• 3 Blastobasis adustella
• 1 Mother-of-Pearl

Eventually we were on our way to Hill Head and hopefully a low tide with plenty of Terns to go through. Yes, there was a bit of beach left for the Terns, but they seemed to be roosting in front of the sailing club, but where we were parked up, literally adjacent to the River Meon, I checked the dead calm Solent first for any Terns. There was a large mixed flock of both Gulls and Terns some distance out (a scope job!) out over the water, but a small duck intrigued me and I identified it as a female Common Scoter.

A Black Tern was flying among Common Terns and Gulls over the Solent (furthest bird right).

Among the mixed flock of Gulls and Terns, I found a Black Tern and quickly got Andy onto it as it was a ‘year-tick’ for him. The bird was busy swooping down and picking off insects off the sea among good numbers of Common Terns and Gulls. We were soon joined by fellow ‘Lazee’ Mark Francis (Franno), who is a staunch regular here and comes up with some nice seawatching stuff! He told us some other ‘Lazee’s’  were here and sure enough, we could see them in the distance in front of the Sailing Club. So we quickly climbed back into the car and parked up to join the other guys.

Adult and juvenile Little Tern on the foreshore in front of the Sailing Club. 

From here, a large gathering of Terns settled in front of the Sailing Club and although they were disturbed by a few walkers venturing into the rising tide, we enjoyed not only at least two Black Terns (both adults), but also our first Roseate Tern of the year (see photos top of page). Andy Friend managed to pick out the bird among the many Common, Sandwich and Little Terns present and asked me to double-check of which I quickly agreed. The bird had a ring on its right leg which helped confirm that it was one of the pair that had been present here all week. Superb; this is one tern species I was hoping to see today.

Above and below, one of the Black Terns present on the foreshore in front of the Sailing Club among the Common Terns.

 

After an hour or so in the bright hot sunshine, Andy Friends suggested giving Hook-with-Warsash a try, for he was desperate to see a Yellow Wagtail today for his Hampshire Year List and so Andy and I followed the guys to the east side of the reserve and walked down a pathway out in the sticks. From here, there was a large horse paddock to the north, but we could not find any Yellow Wagtails flying about the horses feet. However, after discovering a few birds fluttering about some brambles on the opposite side of the footpath, of which two birds were obviously young Stonechats with a few Common Whitethroats among them, another bird looked a bit different. Andy Friend’s scope is in a league of its own. His Swarovski BTX scope is like looking through a glass window as the clarity of the image you are looking at is stunning. This helped distinguish the juvenile Stonechat from our first Whinchat of the year and in fact, there were actually two present!

Above, our first Whinchat of the year. We were not lucky enough to see one in the Spring, but Autumn is probably the most reliable time to see them here on the south coast. Below, three of the four Glossy Ibis feeding on the Meander Pools.

The Whinchat was my second new bird for the year and Andy Fisher's third and after getting a good view of the bird and me getting some photos, we soon made our way to the Meander Pools on the reserve, although it was a bit of a trek. On our way there, we saw a few more Common Whitethroats and as we were nearing the burnt Gorse area (sadly another fire caused by who knows what recently), a pair of Glossy Ibis flew over our heads, heading to the small pools; a prelude for what was to come . This was now Andy Fisher's fourth ‘year-tick’ of the day, which made him most happy. As we got to the first pools, we could clearly see all FOUR Glossy Ibis feeding on one of the pools among a few Little Egrets. Though a bit distant, I got some reasonable photos of the birds and realised this is the biggest number of this species I have ever seen together.

Above, good numbers of Little Egret were present on the Meander Pools and below, two of the four Glossy Ibis feeding in the shallow water. Due to this drought we are going through, water levels like this are scarce along the coast. 

A Green Sandpiper flew low over the back of the Pools to add to our superb day list and at least three Common Sandpipers were present along with a large gathering of Black-tailed Godwit. Up to three Wheatears were using the fence posts and showing reasonably well, while a few Skylarks, Linnets and Goldfinches were noted on the grassy tussocks by the pools. Moving along a bit, one of the small islands held a pair of Spoonbills that were asleep for a while, until a Magpie came into land on the island and woke one of the birds up. On this island, not only were there the Spoonbills, but also three Little Egrets and a Grey Heron! Incredible. 

Above and below, two Spoonbills, two Little Egrets and a Grey Heron on this small island on the Meander Pools.

We decided to walk around the back of the reserve to get back to our respective vehicles, notching up a Great Spotted Woodpecker flying over the trees and a couple of Sandwich Terns flying close by along the shoreline. We passed some very grand houses along the way, but all I could think about was getting a well deserved pint in one of the local pubs and eventually, we all ended up in the Cob & Pen in Fareham, notching up both Common Buzzard and a Kestrel along the way. The guys wanted to round their day off at Farlington Marshes for the Yellow Wagtails, but we headed off home instead, reflecting on a superb day's birding.    

Above, a pair of Wheatears on the reserve. Up to three birds were seen here. Below, one of the Sandwich Terns fishing along the shoreline by the reserve.