Just taking the Ibis!

Saturday 15th January 2022.

Redwings in the trees north of Pook Lane, Warblington.

It was a grey day with a lot of cloud cover, especially in the afternoon and the temperature remained about 5 degrees, therefore, warm weather gear throughout the day was essential. I had a plan to see three species of Owls today, but when a group of 3 Glossy Ibis was found at Warblington, I opted for the rarer of the species and made our way to Warblington first. 

More Redwing by Pook Lane, Warblington.

Despite our attempts to see the birds, they proved very elusive for both Andy and myself along with several other disappointed birders. Apparently, they settled in a field close to Pook Lane among the many Cattle and Little Egrets present, but were spooked several times by either passing Buzzards or hassled by Crows. So, on our first attempt there, we did see good numbers of Redwings in the fields and the Egrets put on a good show, but no ‘star’ bird. Andy did see his first Grey Wagtail of the year; a bird I picked up by its call flying fast and heading east.

The Little Owl at Fort Cumberland.

Sanderling on the beach with an onlooking Common Gull. 

After our first attempt, we drove down to Fort Cumberland to see if we would have better luck with the Little Owls there. This time, we were in luck as one of the Little Owls was in its usual south facing hole in the wall of the Fort. There it simply sat, hardly moving at all and making the most out of the weak sunshine. The tide was up in the Solent and the sea was fairly calm, but we could not find anything of note upon it. The local Sanderlings put on a nice show down by the shoreline, trying their hardest to avoid the many dog-walkers along the beach and the birds were joined by several Turnstone. When we got back to the car, I found a pair of Stonechats close by and managed a few nice shots of the birds. Checking the Whatsapp on my phone, the Ibis had reappeared in fields just north of Pook Lane and so my intended target of the Barn Owl at Posbrook Floods had to be put on the back burner for now.

Above, a female Stonechat by the car park at Fort Cumberland. Below, the male bird was not too far away either.

It didn't take long to get to Warblington, but after parking in Pook Lane, there was still no sign of the Ibis anywhere. We searched all the neighbouring fields in the area that were by the muddy roadside, but to no avail and by 1.30pm, I decided to abandon looking for them and head to Thorney Island for the Short-eared Owls instead. I counted at least a dozen Cattle Egrets in all while I was here and they do seem a lot more tolerant with human presence. A Common Buzzard drifted over, upsetting a lot of birds, though they soon settled again to resume feeding among the Cattle.

One of at least a dozen Cattle Egrets present at Warblington today.

I parked up at Eames Farm again, like the last time I was here, and propped myself up on the iron fence overlooking the fields to the west. I could see a group of birders already positioning themselves for a 'Short-eared Owl show', heavily armed with their large long-lens cameras on the seawall. A large flock of both Brent and Canada Geese were grazing in the field, including one Brent with a lot of white on the back of the head, which looked a little unusual. Grey Partridge are around in the area, but all we found were lots of nicely marked Pheasants. After 15 minutes or so, we crossed the road to view the fields and the Great Deeps to the east and from here, I caught sight of my first Short-eared Owl of the year. The bird was very distant and was being harassed by a Black-headed Gull, but there was no mistaking the Owl as it lazily flapped over the distant field and reedbeds, close to the seawall. On the nearby Great Deeps, at least 10 Little Grebes swam on the water and a large flock of Wigeon were grazing in the nearby field, mixed in with a large number of Lapwing.

The Green Woodpecker was added to Andy's year list.

Brent Geese coming into land in the fields over on the west side of Thorney Island.

Back over the gate looking west, at least one Short-eared Owl was up and after 10 minutes or so, there were at least 3 birds in the air at one time. Sadly, they all remained fairly distant, so my record photos from what I took of the birds really does not do them justice. Still, such a joy to watch anyway. One bird flew up and high over the road and headed off east towards the ‘Landing Lights’ to round off our trip here. Earlier, Andy grabbed yet another ‘year-tick’ with a Green Woodpecker that was perched on a bush near where the Owls were performing. The Owls now put me on 109 species for the year and I was pleased with that, though the Glossy Ibis would have been nice. I saw my father this morning for a chat and he told me that he had a male Blackcap in his garden earlier this week.    

Some of my photos of the Short-eared Owls at Thorney this afternoon. Shame they were distant.  

Five more species added to year list.

Friday 14th January 2022.

Black-necked Grebes in Langstone Harbour off Hayling Oyster Beds this morning.

A beautiful day on my ‘day-off’ and what made it even better was that I was ‘birding’ most of the day. I had in mind where I was going to go today and on a frosty start to the day, after checking the tide times in Langstone Harbour, I made my way to the Hayling Oyster Beds. Both Black-necked Grebes and the Long-tailed Duck were on my radar after parking in the ‘Pothole’ car park (now named after the terrible pot holes and trenches in this god-forsaken car park!), I grabbed my scope and checked out the harbour looking west. The sea state was dead calm and so picking up anything swimming in the harbour was going to be easy.

A Redshank by the Oyster Beds.

Brent Geese flying past the Oyster Beds.

There were large groups of both Red-breasted Mergansers and Great Crested Grebes on the water and waders were packed on the nearby spit that included mostly Oystercatchers and a few Curlew. These were later to be joined by a large flock of Grey Plover along with a few Golden Plover among them (my first of the year). Good numbers of Brent Geese also swam on the high tide and along the shoreline, there was a single Rock Pipit feeding amongst the seaweed. Scanning the harbour, I soon came across the tight flock of 6 Black-necked Grebes that rarely left each other's side (yet another new species for my year list). But where was the Long-tailed Duck?  

Red-breasted Mergansers on one of the Beds. 

Grey Plover about to land on the Oyster Beds.

On reaching the Beds, there was a bit of activity there including at least four Mergansers and a lone Little Grebe on the water. Good numbers of waders were roosting on the rocks, including my first Greenshank of the year, which was joined by Oystercatchers, Redshank and Turnstone. On reaching the western end of the Beds, I set up my scope overlooking the islands and harbour to the west and spent the next 30 minutes checking every bird on the water. The Black-necked Grebes swam much further south from where I first saw them and good numbers of Goldeneye, including many drakes, were noted. Though I scanned the harbour several times, there was no sign of the Long-tailed Duck and so resigned to the fact it has either gone or lurked somewhere else in the harbour. One of the Harbour Seals was also seen a few times while checking the harbour.

The lone Greenshank was my first of the year.

Grey Plovers. 

After a hearty breakfast in Greggs, I decided to try my luck down Sandy Point and on arrival, the tide was now well up. All was fairly quiet from the footpath leading to the beach and making my way to the Lifeboat Station, I scanned the harbour from here. I picked up a  lone Razorbill almost immediately just offshore and a further 4 more Razorbills and two Guillemots were seen within Chichester Harbour. Despite several sweeps through the scope, there were no Slavonian Grebes or DIvers on show this morning. I then took a walk to the roadside to view the harbour to the north and came across at least 3 fishing Sandwich Terns. A flock of 10 Mergansers were picked up in one flock and a further four more were seen a little later. I really didn't fancy walking all the way down to Black Point and thankfully, a fellow birder came up to me and said all was quiet down there, bar at least 20+ Sandwich Terns!

Very frosty along the footpath leading to the harbour entrance at Sandy Point.

A Razorbill in the harbour entrance.

On the walk back, making my way down the footpath to where I parked my car, I was hoping for a possible Firecrest to add to my year total, but instead, a noisy Green Woodpecker flew in and over my head! Again, my first of the year! A small flock of Long-tailed Tits showed well, with one individual showing down to about 6 feet! Not a great deal else along here, but what if a Red-flanked Bluetail could be lurking about in the scrub? Maybe Andy Johnson might come up with one again?

The harbour looking north with Hayling Sailing Club in the background.

One of the Long-tailed Tits along the footpath.

What turned out to be my last stop of the day was down in Lee-on-Solent of all places! I did have the Velvet Scoters off Hill Head and the Barn Owl near Posbrook Floods on my agenda, but while driving down to Gosport, the male Black Redstart off Archers Road, Lee-on-Solent proved irresistible. I only saw just the one bird last year and that was in January too and to see a male bird would be the icing on the cake. So, parking near the Gosport Airport terminal car park, I made my way around the most likely areas for where the BR might hang out.

The male Black Redstart in Archers Road.

I spent the next 30 minutes wandering around all the old factories and scrubby areas where the bird might haunt, but drew a blank. Then I met up with another birder who turned out to be one of the ‘Lazee Birders’ - Graeme Loader. We spent the next 30 minutes checking the area and chatted seemingly non stop about our own birding exploits, but still drew a blank until we went our separate ways. I decided to get back into the car and head off to Hill Head for the Velvet Scoters as I felt the BR had gone. However, my phone began ringing when I was nearing HIll Head and it was Graeme informing me the Black Redstart had returned. So, back I went to Archers Road.

And again!

Rejoining both Graeme and another birder (sorry, didn’t grab his name), we waited patiently for the bird to pop out on where it was seen last and sure enough, the gorgeous male bird popped up briefly to give me my fifth new species for the year. Huzzah! And what a stunner it was too. In the bright sunshine (and it was amazing how warm that sun was on our backs!), the bird showed superbly well over the next 40 minutes or so and I managed to reel off some reasonable photos of this exquisite bird. Well happy with this superb sighting, I thanked Graeme and headed off home after booking a table at the Chairmakers Pub for tonight with my wife.

Just a few more photos, honestly!

In Hampshire today, a Glossy Ibis spent the afternoon at Farlington Marshes and a Bittern was seen in flight passing the Suffern Hide at Titchfield Haven. Another birding morning with Andy tomorrow and possibly, Farlington Marshes could be first on the agenda?

Midweek update.

Wednesday 12th January 2022.

Great Northern Diver off Black Point. Photo by Andy Tew. 

The first part of the week has endured mild temperatures but murky conditions, with Tuesday being a very misty, murky affair. Being at work, my birding opportunities normally lie when I am driving along or at a Crematorium or Cemetery due to my job and therefore, I am always on the lookout for anything interesting of note.

Above, the two Black-throated Divers in Chichester Harbour and below, a trio of Razorbills in the same harbour. Photos by Andy Tew.

On Monday, I was working over Warblington Cemetery and knowing full well that the Cattle Egrets were present here recently, it didn't take long to find at least four birds feeding by the roadside field among the grazing Cattle. I was driving slowly so I could view them through the roadside hedge and pointed them out to my ‘non-birder’ work colleague. Obviously, not a jot interested, but at least she acknowledged the sighting! To be honest, hardly anything else of note was seen that day; so moving on to Tuesday, I saw my first Grey Wagtail of the year, seen flying over The Oaks Crematorium while I was sitting in the car. Of course, I heard the bird first and hoping to grab my first sighting of one this year, I quickly hopped out of the car and watched the bird heading northbound and dropping towards the fountain area of The Oaks.

Above, this overwintering (?) female type Northern Wheatear was found at Lee on Solent by the airport while the finder was photographing a Black Redstart (below)! Photos by Graeme Loader.

On the subject of The Oaks Crematorium, work has now started in the field at the front of The Oaks for a new Housing Estate to be built. I, for one, find this extremely unpopular as the wildlife here and the neighbouring woods will be seriously affected in the future and anyway, why would anyone like to live in a property overlooking a Crematorium. Sadly, this is the way of this Government to build as many houses on green spaces as possible, ruining the countryside at any cost with greedy Councils raking in all the taxes etc. These houses will be unaffordable to first-time buyers anyway, but that's another subject that makes my blood boil.

The Great Grey Shrike photographed by Andy Tew this morning.

On Monday, the Great Grey Shrike that is wintering at Backley Common in the New Forest re-appeared, though proved quite elusive it seems. The Purple Sandpiper flock at Southsea Castle held 11 birds, however, they will probably depart soon due to the Council Work soon to be taking place there as part of the Sea Defence Scheme. Where will they end up? The Little Owls are back at Fort Cumberland and weather permitting, I have a day off this Friday and hope to catch a sighting of these delightful birds. Up to 4 Velvet Scoters are still off the Chalets at Hill Head yesterday and off Hayling Oysterbeds, the Long-tailed Duck was showing again as was the 2 Black-throated Divers off Black Point, Hayling Island.

One of the Short-eared Owls hunting over Thorney Island by Graeme Loader recently.

Andy and myself dipped on Saturday trying to view the female Red-crested Pochard, but it was present today in front of the Ivy South Hide and nearby, a flock of Lesser Redpolls were near the Woodland Hide at Blashford Lakes along with a Siberian Chiffchaff. Grumble! The latter species will eventually become a new species entirely, being upgraded from a subspecies.    

This two Gnat -like insects were mating on top of one of our vehicles this morning at our Fareham branch, making the most of the sunshine and getting 'jiggy with it!'

I regularly check Penny Clarke’s blog, ‘Penny’s Hot Birding and Life!’ to check up on what is happening in the birding world within North Norfolk. Becky and I are off there in a few weeks time for a relaxing week's stay in a Cottage within the village of Langham, which is only a stone's throw away from some superb bird reserve along the North Norfolk coast. This should help boost my year list and currently, there are Waxwing, Iceland Gull, Common Cranes, Taiga Bean Geese, Hen-harriers, Snow Buntings, Shorelarks and many other exciting species to add to my year list should I get lucky. I cannot wait. Even Becky has bought herself some new Walking Boots! Whether she uses them is another matter though!

This Mistletoe - clad tree by our Fareham branch, held a pair of Mistle Thrushes and good numbers of Wood Pigeons (on top of tree). 

Today (Wednesday), the weather changed much for the better, with a clear blue sky and hardly any wind. Yes, it was a bit fresh at first, but so much nicer than yesterday. Personally, I was working around both Portchester Crematorium and also Fareham Cemetery (for a change). The latter site had a Grey Wagtail flying over, my second of the year after the one I saw at The Oaks yesterday, but little else apart from the local Robins perching on the gravestones. Back at our Fareham branch, the neighbouring trees held a pair of Mistle Thrushes, though they didn't seem happy with all the Wood Pigeons occupying the canopy of the trees. A flock of Long-tailed Tits were joined by several Blue Tits as they roamed through the bushes and trees below the Pigeons. A Robin sang from one of the trees, while a rather tame male Blackbird allowed me a close approach as I made my way to the back of the site, where I disturbed our regular dog Fox that was resting in the sunshine. The Fox trotted off before my work colleague could get a look at him.

Above, Richard Tucker kindly sent over his photos of this superb Short-eared Owl hunting over Thorney Island recently. 

In the New Forest, the Great Grey Shrike performed well, albeit distantly to some of the ‘Lazee Birders (see photo) at Backley Bottom and the Long-tailed Duck was showing well from the car park at Hayling Oyster Beds along with 7 Black-necked Grebes. The Velvet Scoters are still off Hill Head and a Black-throated Diver was off Black Point again. Finally, I would like to thank those that have allowed me to use their superb photos on my blog; I really appreciate it.

No Green Woody over the Cemy.

Sunday 9th January 2022.

Goldfinch showing very well near the Mausoleum.

Scruff needed a walk this morning and by the time I had my chores done, it was midday before I got out of the house and made my way to Highland Road Cemetery. The day started a lot better weather wise, with bright sunshine and a bit of cloud overhead and no rain!! There was still a bit of a chill in the air (and so there should be at this time of the year!) as we eventually got into the Cemetery.

A Blackbird giving me the eye near the Mausoleum.

Greenfinch. One of four that flew off and headed northbound from trees in the northern end of the Cemy. 

I was hoping for the Green Woodpecker to put in an appearance today, but there was no sight or sound of one; as I need this species for a ‘year-tick’. I notched up 15 species here today, either heard or seen and though there was nothing unusual, it's always a nice challenge to see as many species as possible. The following birds were noted:

• Herring Gull
• Starling
• House Sparrow
• Blackbird
• Feral Pigeon
• Wood Pigeon
• Collared Dove
• Blue Tit
• Wren
• Dunnock
• Greenfinch
• Goldfinch
• Carrion Crow
• Jay
• Magpie

A pair of Jays. Both the birds were quite active throughout the area, but rarely settled. 

 There were a few plants on show during my walk round, which included Smooth Sow-thistle, Nipplewort, Daisies and most common of all, Common Groundsel. The only insects flying about were House Flies, which took a liking to the Ivy Plants again. It looks as though the Council have been tidying a lot of the graves, notably on the west side of the Cemy; clearing the gravestones from the Ivy plants. Another nice walk with our old Scruff (turning 14 this month!) in the sunshine.

Common Groundsel.

Singing Robin over on the south side. There were at least three singing birds. 

One of the ‘Lazee BIrders’ was birding over Gosport, particularly near the small Airport and while watching a Black Redstart, he also found a female type Wheatear! Either it was a very early individual or an overwintering bird? It looks as though we were looking in the wrong place for the Red-crested Pochard as it was on Ibsley North Lake and not from the Ivy North Hide! Doh! Both this bird and the Ferruginous Duck were seen this morning, the latter on Kingfisher Lake.   

A female House Sparrow enjoying the sunshine in the south-west corner. 

The race for 100 species for the year is won.

Saturday 8th January 2022.

The pair of Mandarins on Eyeworth Pond. Visibility was poor throughout the day and therefore the quality of the photos are somewhat darker than normal.  

Let us set the scene. I am currently on 85 UK bird species for the year while my compatriot, Mr Andrew Fisher is on 87 UK bird species for the year and so the race was on to see who would get to 100 species for the year first? It was always going to be close on who would get the Fly/Pye cup (our respective nicknames if you're wondering?!) and poor Andy had to settle for second place again (ha ha!) when I found a Chiffchaff outside the Ivy North Hide at Blashford Lakes.

A drake Pochard in front of the Tern Hide. 

The weather was always going to be awful, with heavy rain forecast throughout the day, but we did get a few breaks in the weather and at least we had the Hides at Blashford Lakes to take shelter and view the superb birds from. Our first stop was to be Eyeworth Pond for both Mandarin Duck and Goosander and while we took the slow drive down to the Pond through Fritham, I finally saw my first Redwing of the year by the side of the road, while Andy quickly got onto his first Song Thrush! On entering the car park, the rain was still falling down, but undeterred, I grabbed my binoculars and it didn't take long to get onto our first Mandarin Ducks of the year; a pair feeding on the opposite side of the Pond with Mallard. There was no sign of any Goosander, which was disappointing, but a small flock of Siskins flew over (another year-tick for both of us). Standing by the bush next to the gate, it didn't take long to attract a lot of Titmice for they probably thought we were going to feed them. Photographers regularly put out food for the birds here, hoping to grab some decent photos. Us being here attracted my first Marsh Tit of the year and therefore I had clawed one species back from Andy.

A female Goldeneye on Ibsley Water.

We spent long enough here not getting a soak and so took a drive first to the Shell Garage at Blashford to stock up with our lunch. Our first stop was to be the Tern Hide and we quickly got onto some nice birds. A pair of Goosander were seen over on the west side among the many Shoveler, Mallard, Gadwall and Teal and at least 10 Goldeneye were seen, including at least four drakes. My second ‘year tick’ was quickly followed by a third with Pochard added and Andy quickly got onto a Kingfisher passing the Hide at speed! Finally, we both added Linnet to our year list when a single bird flew close past the Hide and landed on the ground in front of us. Sadly, there were no Geese present on Ibsley Water. Andy already had an Egyptian Goose on his year list, but there were no sightings of any today. 

The female Brambling kindly climbed onboard our year list (bottom right) with Siskins and a Goldfinch.

To show you how heavy the rain was, I took a photo of this poor soaked Chaffinch from the Woodland Hide.

Though the weather was poor, we made our way next to the Woodland Hide for Brambling. And we were in luck! A chap by the open window (the only one in this particular Hide) who was taking photos kindly told us that two Bramblings had been present only minutes ago and it didn't take too long for a female bird to show on one of the feeders. Also present were a good number of Siskins, Chaffinches and Goldfinches; that was until something flushed them and it all went quiet except for the constant dripping of rain coming through the roof of the Hide!

The Great White Egret looking quite displeased with the heavy rain. A second bird was seen flying over Ibsley Water from the Tern Hide. 

A female Goosander in front of the Ivy South Hide among the Wigeon.

Recently, there has been a female Red-crested Pochard seen from the Ivy North Hide, but first, we made our way to Ivy South Hide and it turned out to be a good decision to go there first. It was virtually neck and neck between us to get to the 100 species for the year as we picked up a superb Great White Egret in the reeds and a pair of Green Sandpipers flying over the water. I scanned the many wildfowl present for the rare Pochard but there was no sign, though I did find a female Goosander among the many Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall and Mallard. When we left the Hide, I heard a Treecreeper calling and I was extremely lucky enough to find the bird climbing a small tree by the footpath. I had now taken the lead! I was on 98 species and Andy was on 87. Minutes later, a female Bullfinch flew up from a bramble and now I only needed just one species! Apparently, yesterday, the Bittern had been seen and photographed from the Ivy North Hide and so should we see this bird, that would be a superb 100th species to be seen.

Andy walking along the soggy main footpath to the Ivy South Hide.

Sadly, there was no sighting of any Bitterns, Water Rails or even the Red-crested Pochard from the Ivy North Hide, but, wait for it……………..up popped my 100th species for the year! Yay! Andy popped outside the Hide for a smoke as I spotted a small bird on the Phragmites and it was a Chiffchaff! The Fly/Pye cup was retained for another year, but that's the closest race for many a year between us. Now I could relax. I called Andy in to view the bird and another couple more Chiffchaffs were seen, but nothing else new for us. 

The tiny Candlesnuff Fungus was growing on the trunk of this small bush (left). You can just about see it in this photos.

Andy was still on 99 species and so we went back to the Tern Hide to hopefully pick up something else and it didn't take long for me to point out a flying Lesser Black-back Gull flying over Ibsley Water. There were a lot of Herring Gulls on the small islands over on the west side of various ages, but I could not find a Yellow-legged Gull among them, even though there had been quite a few reported among the Gull roost late in the afternoon. Both Kestrel and Common Buzzard drifted over the lake and a flock of Meadow Pipits were seen to the east of the Hide, but no sign of any Water Pipits today.

Shoveler, Tufted Duck, Wigeon and Herring Gulls in front of the Ivy South Hide.

The New Forest in Winter has a lot to offer so hopefully I shall be back again here soon. We rounded off our trip here in the Forest by parking up in a small car park along Furzley Lane, which paid off when I spotted my first Mistle Thrush of the year. The rain was soon coming in again and so we made our way back home after a very exciting day.   

Wildfowl and Gulls in front of the Ivy South Hide in the rain.