From Dawn till Dusk birding.

Sunday 1st January 2023.

Dawn over the Solent.

And so another new year begins. It was our annual ‘Dawn to dusk’ birding to get as many species for the year as possible and we actually smashed our New Year’s Day record. Despite a gloomy outlook from the weather guys, where there was supposed to be a 50% chance of rain all day, it never actually started raining till 4pm. Though it was mostly overcast all day and a breezy westerly, it was good for birding and I finished the day with a good total of 80 species.

One of the three Purple Sandpipers seen this morning at Southsea Castle. 

Andy done the driving today in his ‘Ash mobile’ and picked me up from my house at 7.45am where he had already notched up four species already: Herring Gull, Black-headed Gull, Carrion Crow and Blackbird! My first bird of 2023 was a Herring Gull flying over the houses, seen from my back garden. Though a Wren was heard ‘churring’ in the dark somewhere in the back of my garden, it was only heard not seen and therefore did not count. Harrumph! 

Brent Geese flew over the Solent from Eastney Beach.

Our first port of call was to be Southsea Castle for the Purple Sandpipers and on the way there, I suggested driving past Canoe Lake and then Southsea Common where we easily picked up the Mute Swans on the Lake. Driving along the seafront past the Common, both Brent Goose and Great Black-backed Gull were picked up easily and a Pied Wagtail flew past the car, which Andy missed, although he picked up this species a little later in the morning. 

The Rock Pipit seen on the spit by the Hayling Ferry Terminal at Eastney.

Parking up in the car park behind the D-Day Museum, a flock of Mallard flew over and both Black-headed Gull and Carrion Crow were added to my day total. A Magpie was seen skulking about in the ground vegetation and up on the footpath, a couple of Blackbirds were noted. Walking along the top footpath overlooking the Solent and the new Sea Wall below, we carefully scanned the sea and rocks and came up trumps with a pair of Shags close in on the water. A Fox was asleep on the large pile of rocks on the east side of the Castle (our first wild Mammal of the year!), but we struggled at first in finding the Purple Sandpipers. Eventually, I managed to pick one of the Purple Sandpipers sitting quietly on the rocks and then two more birds emerged in the gloomy conditions. Our target species had been achieved and so it was back to the car where we both saw a Wren on the top footpath. Both Feral and Wood Pigeon were also seen along with a few House Sparrows, which put us on 16 species for the year so far.

A drake Pintail at Farlington Marshes.

Andy wanted to try for the Sanderling on Eastney beach and on the way there, we picked up our first raptor of the day, a male Kestrel perched on a post by Fort Cumberland. A Great Tit was seen in the conifers along the muddy footpath to the beach. The tide was going out, but there were no Sanderlings to be seen. A good scan to the east over the sea enabled them to pick up a Common Gull and a Cormorant was seen on the choppy sea near the harbour entrance. 

A good number of Avocets were among the wildfowl and waders on the Lake at Farlington Marshes.

Parking up near the Hayling Ferry Terminal, both Starling and Dunnock were quickly added as we got out of the car. Andy picked up a small flock of Turnstone sat on one of the buoys within the harbour entrance before we made our way to the shingle spit to check Langstone Harbour. A Rock Pipit flew up in front of us and fortunately it did not fly too far for us to get a good view of it on the ground. A Great Crested Grebe swam close to the end of the spit, but nothing else was noted swimming out in the harbour. We were now on 25 species for the year.

This male Marsh Harrier on Farlington Marshes was joined by a female bird.

Our next stop was to be Farlington Marshes where we were to get the bulk of our sightings today. The drive up the Eastern Road produced the sighting of an Oystercatcher in the College Field with the Brent Geese flock. It did not take Andy long to park the car close (very lucky!) to the main entrance as we grabbed our gear and made our way to the Lake. The small exposed island close to the seawall held Redshank, Curlew, Teal and Pintail that was added to our year list and a male Greenfinch posed nicely on a bramble nearby.

This male Kestrel was hunting around by the Lake on the reserve.

Looking east behind the main Lake, Andy picked up a male Marsh Harrier quartering the reedbeds. A Grey Heron stood by a small bush, while a large flock of Canada Geese were seen along with good numbers of Coot. From the viewpoint by the main Lake, I counted 53 Avocets resting on the north side of the Lake along with Lapwing, Shelduck, Gadwall and Wigeon. Andy picked up our first Little Grebes of the year swimming at the back of the Lake and I noticed how high the water level was on the Lake. It did not look good in finding any Common or Jack Snipe on the edge of the Lake as there was no mud to be seen, but a Kestrel flushed a flock of around a dozen Common Snipe from the tall grass in our direction as they rested close to the fenceline! A Reed Bunting flew over, which was a spot of good fortune, but no sign of any Bearded Tits.

Common Snipe in the tall grass just south of the Lake.

The tide was ebbing quickly and the mudflats were now exposed out in the harbour. Looking south, I was amazed to see so many Dunlin out on the mudflats where I counted at least a 1000+ along with Grey Plover that was also added to our list. I found a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers out in the harbour  and a Lesser Black-backed Gull was picked out among a flock of Gulls heading west over the reserve. Two Marsh Harriers were now on show over the reedbeds, a pair this time as they entertained the many birders now turning up on the reserve.

Some of the large flock of Dunlin south of the reserve on the mudflats.

Nearing the Point Field, a group of birders kindly pointed out a small group of four Harbour Seals sat out on the mud in the harbour, which constituted our second wild mammal of the year! The only birds of note by the  Point Field were Moorhens, but at least they were new for the year. Apart from the Moorhens, it was very quiet with hardly anything seen here. On reaching the Deeps area, there were good numbers of wildfowl including Shoveler, Wigeon and Teal, but little else of note. Looking out over to the islands within the harbour, our first Little Egret of the year was seen. Phew! We thought they would be picked up easily on the reserve. Passing the pools behind the Blockhouse, I picked up a pair of Skylarks walking with Starlings and a Goldfinch flew overhead and flew off north. A small flock of Meadow Pipits settled briefly by a small puddle and then quickly flew off south.

The Harbour Seals south of the reserve on the mudflats.

There was a good number of Geese within the Hayfield and from the gate overlooking the Geese, I got busy checking the Brent Geese for anything unusual. Andy then spotted some ‘grey’ Geese within the field and sure enough, these were the long staying family flock of Russian White-fronted Geese grazing in front of the Brent. That was lucky and it got better when I found both the Pale-bellied Brent Goose and the Black Brant among all those Brent Geese. Well pleased with these birds, we took the cycle path (because of the muddy conditions) back to the car park. From here, a quick look on the pool opposite the Info Building where we picked up three Black-tailed Godwit to add to our year list. Behind the Building, Andy spotted a female Pheasant among the many Moorhens present! Finally, we got to see our first Robin of the year, when I spotted one high up in a bramble on the Cycle Path. A good total of 31 species were added to our year list on the reserve, which put us on 57 species for the year so far.

The Russian White-fronted Geese with Brent Geese and a Curlew in the Hayfield.

Next stop was to be Southmoor where I could scan the harbour looking south towards Long Island. The car park was a bit busy, but a car exiting the car park gave us the green light to park nicely and then scan the harbour. A single Black-necked Grebe and at least 3 Goldeneye were quickly picked up and knowing that the 4 Velvet Scoters had been seen from the Oyster Beds this morning, I kept scanning the area to see if I could hopefully pick them up. Sadly not, though at least 20 or more Great Crested Grebes and a dozen or so Mergansers were seen. However, I did pick up a Greenshank and a Ringed Plover, but the latter species proved a nightmare for Andy as he failed to pick up the bird, despite looking through my scope. This bird proved to be his downfall as he remained one species behind me for the rest of the day!

The Pale-bellied Brent Goose among the Brent and Curlew in the Hayfield.

The pools at Budds Farm was our next stop where we picked up both Tufted Duck and Pochard, but no sign of any Kingfishers (though I was sure I heard them) or Med Gulls. I picked up Jays and Common Buzzard the last time I was here, but though we did not spend a lot of time here, those Velvet Scoters proved irresistible.  

Three Black-tailed Godwit on Farlington Marshes added to our year list.

We therefore made our way to the Oyster Beds car park (though I did pop into the nearby Greggs for a bit of lunch!) and after negotiating the flooded entrance, Andy managed to grab probably the only spot available as we set up the scope overlooking the harbour. Yes, it was packed with people out for a walk, but that did not matter as I gave the harbour a good look and eventually, Bingo, I found the Velvet Scoters. I could clearly see a male bird, showing the white on the face, as I quickly got Andy onto the birds and within a few minutes, we also had our first Sandwich Terns of the year fishing in the harbour. Both Redwing and Blue Tit were added to our year list, seen from the brambles behind the car park, which put us now on 67 species for the year.

Pintail flying off the Lake at Farlington Marshes and then into Langstone Harbour.

Now that we were on Hayling Island, I suggested Sparkes Marina for a good look at the waders on Black Point. From here, I set up the scope only to discover that the low tide and many walkers had put paid in getting anything significant here. However, I did pick out our first Bar-tailed Godwit of the year among the feeding Oystercatchers, but the juvenile Kittiwake I found flying low over the harbour quickly disappeared behind the Sailing Club, leaving Andy now two species behind my total! He was not happy! Watching two people riding their bikes on the sand at Black Point was sad to see for this wader hot spot and so we made our way to the footpath leading to the harbour entrance.

The juvenile Kittiwake flew over our heads by the Lifeboat Station.

Walking down the muddy path, we were hoping for at least a Goldcrest, but all was quiet here. On exiting the footpath, it looked as though the tide was coming up again and judging by all the people around, we knew it was going to be challenging to find anything of note here. We reached the Lifeboat station and sat on the benches provided, with me setting up the scope to scan the area. Again, a very good spot for Sanderling, we found none; but we did find our first Great Northern Diver of the year which was quickly followed by a smart Slavonian Grebe! Two quality birds, but little else of note and it was now nearly 3pm and potentially, just an hour's worth of daylight left. Fortunately for Andy, the Kittiwake seen at Sparkes Marina was seen again as the bird flew over our heads and headed off south towards Sandy Point. That put a smile back on his face.

The Great Northern Diver seen from the Lifeboat Station within the harbour entrance.

I suggested the Warblington Churchyard for Cattle Egret and some woodland birds to round off our day and on the drive there, we scored with Collared Dove (yes, our first of the year! Even common birds can prove difficult at times) and a superb male Peregrine, which Andy spotted as we drove over Langstone Bridge. My 73rd species of the day.   

The female Marsh Harrier over Farlington Marshes.

Taking the footpath behind the Church and walking slowly round the new graveyard, a Grey Wagtail flew overhead and quickly followed by at least four Cattle Egrets seen flying up from the Cattle field opposite. A small flock of Rooks were seen in nearby trees and a Chaffinch was heard and then seen in a nearby hedgerow. I found a Song Thrush near the hedge at the east end of the graveyard and a Jackdaw flew over our heads. Could I get one more for my 80th species of the year? I suggested a walk through the old graveyard for possible Woodpeckers as I did hear a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling distantly a few times. Though no Woodpeckers were encountered, we did get our first Goldcrests of the year, which were seen in the small trees and then flew over our heads and out of view. 

The Common Snipe flock swimming on the Lake near the viewpoint on Farlington Marshes.

The rain was starting to fall now and though we took a drive down nearby Pook Lane to check out the large flock of Brent Geese in a roadside field to the south, we did not see any more new species for the year. A nearby pool within the field held a Greenshank, which was a surprise and although it was tempting to check out the fields at Southmoor for possible Owls, the rain put paid to that idea. 80 species were seen today, smashing our record by at least seven species. We certainly put the effort in and were well rewarded with some very nice birds. I imagine that Andy will be trying his damn hardest to grab a load more tomorrow to get the Fly / Pye Cup and be the first one to a 100 species for the year. But we shall see!   

 

All the Russian White-fronted Geese among Brent and Curlew in the Hayfield.