A drive along Southsea seafront.

Friday 30th December 2022.

Gulls aplenty on Southsea Common today.

You cannot put a keen birder down. Here on the south coast, more squally weather and a strong wind to go with it kept a lot of people indoors and as I retrieved my dog Scruff's ashes from the Vets this morning, I took a drive along the seafront and then back to my house. I noticed a good sized flock of Brent Geese, but what really grabbed my attention were the amount of large Gulls on Southsea Common. Interesting. Could there be a ‘large white-winged Gull’ among them?

Above, a large flock of Starlings were present on the Common and below, a pair of Pied Wagtails were on the Memorial building including this male bird.

After a spot of lunch, I jumped in the car and took a drive down to Southsea Common, parking opposite the large mound of rocks that are being used for the new sea defences, I walked over the road and used the Naval Memorial Building for cover against the strong south-westerly wind. Checking the Gulls, I couldn't find anything more unusual among the many Herring, Black-headed or Great Black-backed Gulls and the 30+ Brent Geese also held nothing exciting among them either. Starlings were abundant here also, with at least a hundred plus present, swirling about in the breeze or busy searching the grass for anything to eat. Though despite the large number of birds present, nothing out of the ordinary was seen along here.

Above, a couple of Great Black-backed Gulls were among the Herring and Black-headed Gulls on the Common. Below, around 30+ Brent Geese were present also on the Common.

A quick look at the sea defence rock piles proved fruitless and after taking a bit of battering from the wind, I gratefully got back into the car and then took a drive further east towards Eastney.  I checked out the Brent Goose flock by the old D-Day Museum and again, all dark-bellied Brent Geese with plenty of juveniles among them too. Over on the beach opposite, there were a few large flocks of Black-headed Gulls with a few Common and Herring Gulls among them, but no sign of any Mediterranean Gulls present, which was disappointing.

Above, a mixture of Common, Herring and Black-headed Gulls over Southsea beach. Below, a juvenile Herring Gull with a Starfish in its bill.

Next stop was to the harbour entrance where it wasn't so windy. I drove down and parked up at the spit opposite the Hayling Ferry Terminal. Thankfully, there weren't too many people around and so I took a walk along the spit to get a better view of a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers bouncing on the water within Langstone Harbour. Too distant to get a decent photo, at least a Rock Pipit played ball as it flew up and landed close by along the shingle until flying off over my head and out of view. A Great Northern Diver was seen from here yesterday, but nothing on the water apart from what's already mentioned, though I did see a flock of Turnstone and a lone Oystercatcher flying out into the Solent.

Above, the Rock Pipit seen on the spit opposite the Ferry Terminal. Below, some of the many Starlings on the foreshore among Black-headed Gulls, near the Terminal. Just sad to see how much rubbish is washed up here in the tide line.

The usual Starlings were in large numbers again on the shingle here, getting to within touching distance at times and always fascinating to watch as they upturned the seaweed near the shoreline in search of food. The drizzle eventually came in and so I made my way back home after enjoying a couple of hours birding. Not a great deal reported today in Hampshire, but Andy J reported an adult Little Gull, 2 Kittiwake, 2 Great Northern Diver and a Slavonian Grebe from Black Point, Hayling Island this morning.

Above and below, some of the Starlings on the beach near the Hayling Ferry Terminal.

A cold trip to Southmoor and Budds Farm.

Thursday 29th December 2022.

The view from Southmoor looking south into Langstone Harbour.

It seems quite a while since I have added anything to my blog and so I had the opportunity to take a drive this morning to Southmoor Car Park to check the northern end of Langstone Harbour. However, I did not count on the strong westerly wind blowing in off the harbour making it not only a bit difficult to view the harbour but also damn cold! There were a few cars within the car park, but no birders present; leaving me to find the goodies; if there were any?

Above, a Grey Plover on the foreshore at Southmoor. Below, the Great Northern Diver in front of Long Island.

Using my noddle, I got between two vehicles within the car park, using the taller of the two to keep out of the wind. High tide was not till 4pm and therefore a bit of the mudflats were exposed for the waders and wildfowl to exploit of which there were many. All the usual waders were present including Dunlin, Redshank, Turnstone, Curlew and Grey Plover; while Brent Geese and a few Wigeon were along the foreshore.

This male Kestrel was hunting by Southmoor.

Out in the choppy harbour, there were a few nice birds on show. A lone Black-necked Grebe was seen a couple of times bouncing on the water to the east of Long Island and nearby, a Great Northern Diver (see photo) was close to Long Island. Three Goldeneye and at least three Great Crested Grebes were also seen, but viewing was never easy with the buffeting wind. Yes, it was damn cold too and after 30 minutes or so, I decided to take shelter by giving the pools at  Budds Farm another try. 

Above, the Greenshank at the back of the Pools and below, three Little Grebes among Shoveler.

After parking the car and double checking that the occupants of the parked cars were not dodgy, I grabbed my scope and stood overlooking the pools looking north. Again, all the usual wildfowl were present and as I had my scope handy, I checked the many Teal here for a Green-winged Teal. Sadly, I was to be disappointed as there was none to be seen. Right time of the year and having seen one here many years ago, it was certainly worth checking. Gadwall, Shoveler, Mallard, Tufted Duck and a few Pochard joined the many Little Grebes present here on the pools. The regular small flock of Redshank were resting in their usual place at the back of the pools and was joined by just the one Greenshank that was walking up and down by the concrete wall.

Above, Teal were again in good numbers and below, large flocks of Black-headed Gulls flew up from the water tanks and I found this Mediterranean Gull among them while checking the photos.

Other notable birds present included a single Kingfisher that was first heard several times and then eventually seen perched on the concrete wall near the waders. A pair of Jays flew around the area and soon left heading east. A Cetti’s Warbler was heard calling down in the scrub below, but no confirmed sighting during my hour here. The male Kestrel seen earlier flew low over the pools and briefly landed on a lamp post behind the pools. The Gull on the water tanks behind Budds Farm were in good numbers and I noticed that among the Black-headed Gull photos I took, a Mediterranean Gull was present! Just goes to show its worth taking photos of flocks of birds for you never know what could be hiding among them. 

From top to bottom: drake Shoveler, Redshank with a lone Mallard, Mute Swan with Gadwall, a view of Budds Farm and finally, a drake Pochard.

A couple of Little Egrets and a Grey Heron were resting on the north end of the pool among the wildfowl and a good number of Moorhen were resting on the edge of the Pools. I soon made my decision to make my way home because it was getting rather cold as the temperature in the wind was probably only just above freezing, or so it seemed! In Hampshire today, one of the ‘Lazee Birders’ Andy Tew, had one of the re-introduced White-tailed Eagles over Blashford Lakes today. The ‘family five’ Russian White-fronted Geese were still on Farlington Marshes and the four Velvet Scoter were still in Langstone Harbour from Hayling Oyster Beds (sadly, I could not locate them from Southmoor). Over in West Sussex, a Red-necked Grebe was off Selsey Bill throughout the day and a female Rough-legged Buzzard was seen over on the Isle of Wight. Some good birds around today.       

The White-tailed Eagle over Bashford Lakes today. Photo by Andy Tew.