Ring Ouzels at Butser Hill.

Wednesday 19th October 2022.

One of the male Ring Ouzels seen at Butser Hill early afternoon. 

With some time in my hands, Andy Fisher and myself took a drive to Butser Hill around midday to see if we could notch up another ‘year-tick’ for him. Though reasonably bright and sunny, there was a strong easterly wind blowing across the Hill, but as we made our way down the Hill and following a footpath on the west side, the area was protected by the wind and therefore our chances of finding a Ring Ouzel now looked promising.

Above, the Clustered Bonnet toadstools growing just outside Andy's front door! Below, Andy walking on Butser Hill heading to Bushy area where we saw the Ring Ouzels.

In fact, after finding a cracking male Ring Ouzel perched on a small bramble by the footpath some 100 yards away, below a large area of scrub; a further three more male birds soon flew out of cover and south over the valley below. But, fortunately for us, they all flew back again to return back into the scrub. Their distinctive calls echoed across the valley as they flew back into cover, though one showed well briefly. A few Blackbirds and Song Thrush were also seen as we made our way to where they showed last, but there was no further sighting of the birds, though we did hear one deep within cover.

The spectacular views from the west side of Butser Hill.

Other birds seen during our stay here included two male Kestrel's down in the valley that were getting a lot of hassle from the local Crows. We saw the birds several times, but quite often with a Crow giving them a bad time, hence the birds calling frequently. A pair of Stonechats were on the slope below us, as was a Green Woodpecker, which was seen hopping about on the short turf, while above us, the occasional flock of Meadow Pipit would pass by and a pair of Blue Tits flitted through the brambles above us. Not only enjoying the birds with a cup of coffee from Andy's flask, the views were amazing in the sunshine.

Above, the Ring Ouzel was seen well, although a bit distant and eventually flew down the valley only to return again to the same area.

We got to the end of the footpath then climbed the hill and then rounded the bushy area to return to where we first saw the Ouzels. From here, looking back across the escarpment, we saw at least two Ring Ouzels, again both males, fly out and when a female Sparrowhawk was seen to dive into the same Bushes, at least one Ring Ouzel flew out of cover, calling loudly. Then I spotted a large group of Thrushes flying out and hearing them call, they turned out to be  our first Redwing of the season, with at least 18 birds all heading south. Happy with our sightings, we made our way back to the car.

Above, Wild Basil was growing along the escarpment as we walked along the footpath. Below, the Vapourer Moth perched on Andy's jacket.

On our way back, Andy spotted a moth fluttering around by his feet and fortunately for us, it actually landed on Andy’s coat. It was a Vapourer Moth and I quickly took several photos before it could fly off. I thought I had seen one earlier on our trip here and this individual confirmed it. Back near the car park, we had a cup of coffee and rested on one of the park benches. From here, we had a pair of Common Buzzards riding the breeze to the south and a further three more Redwing flying south. The drive back through Clanfield produced a Red Kite sailing high over the village (our fourth raptor of the day) and a further three more Common Buzzards again sailing the breeze over the hill along South Lane. Most certainly, not a bad couple of hours birding. Andy now had his 190th species for the year and closing in on the magic 200. I had already seen a female Ring Ouzel earlier in the Spring at Old Winchester Hill, but these male birds were superb. in the Spring.