Wheatear by Eastney Outfall.

Friday 6th October 2023.

The juvenile Wheatear by Eastney Outfall this morning.

On my first shift today, all was fairly quiet, although a flock of 5 Siskin flew west and minutes later, a single bird also flew in the same direction. The Goldcrest was heard again in the trees on the opposite side of Pembroke Road, but little else to raise the pulse here this morning. The weather was looking good for today with plenty of sunshine and a bit of overhead cloud in a westerly wind.

This Little Egret flew over from Hayling Island and settled on the shoreline over on the Eastney side of the harbour entrance.

After my shift, I then took the dogs back over to Eastney Harbour entrance for a good walk and this time, the tide was well out. After carefully parking the car, a quick scan over the harbour entrance revealed a Little Egret making its way across the entrance over to my side and eventually, it plopped down on the shoreline. A second bird was seen a little further up the road, opposite the Hayling Ferry Terminal. I did scan the harbour for waders, but all I could find was a distant flock of Oystercatchers and a lone Curlew on the mudflat ajdacent to Milton Lakes to the north. A Redshank put in a brief appearance, but simply disappeared when I took my eyes of it briefly. 

Above, as expected, the large number of House Sparrows were still present near the Burger Van and below, the lone Little Egret opposite the Hayling Ferry Terminal.

Overhead, Meadow Pipits, Siskins (both very high up and invisible!) and a few ‘alba’ Wagtails flew over, while the usual large numbers of both Starling and House Sparrow were never too far away from the Burger Van! As I was walking back to the car, something in the water close in caught my eye and thinking it was going to be the Razorbill from earlier this week, it was in fact a juvenile Shag that was fishing close to the waters edge. However, the bird was very difficult to photograph and I gave up in the end for it only surfaced for a few seconds.

Above, a distant flock of Oystercatchers on the mudflats within Langstone Harbour. Below, a Small White butterfly nectaring on Buddleia.

Climbing back into the car, we made our way to the Ferry Road Car Park to explore the area thoroughly. As I got out of the car, I was confronted by another large number of House Sparrows ‘dusting’ on the ground and a few more in the neighbouring Brambles. A Robin was nearby, singing its heart out and a small flock of 3 Greenfinch flew off south. Apart from Wood Pigeons, there was nothing in the grassy compound of the Water Treatment Works and so I took a stroll with the dogs to the Outfall area.

Above, sadly, the litter louts and fly-tippers still use this lovely part of our coastline. It's a blight on the landscape, but it is so hard to police this particular area at anytime during the night or day. Below, an adult Cormorant making its way out of the harbour. A few minutes later, the immature Shag followed the bird out of the harbour.

Behind the fenced off area, on the broken concrete seawall, I found a juvenile Wheatear sat quietly. Not an easy task photographing the bird with fidgety dogs in hand, so after scolding them to keep still, I did eventually manage to grab a few photos of this delightful little bird before it disappeared from view in the hole it stood over. I then took the dogs for a walk on the sandy beach and into the rockpools, trying to get them used to seawater and I think they didnt mind a jot. Great stuff. The Wheatear was in exactly the same area where I saw my first of this species earlier this year. An adult Med Gull briefly flew by, but disappeared north with a few other Gulls. 

Above, another photo of the juvenile Wheatear and below, a Drone Fly was sunning itself nearby.

The walk back to the car was rather quiet with just a few Gulls making their way out of the Harbour entrance and some chap seen swimming in the water nearby. Mad! A few people over the years have misinterpreted the strength of the tide here and consequently drowned. So rather him than me! There were plenty of Small White and Red Admiral butterflies around the area and I did find a Drone Fly sunning itself on a leaf on the ground. A Common Field Grasshopper was seen & heard briefly, but disappeared when I went to photograph the insect. Cannot win them all. Geoff Farwell identified a purple flowering plant for me that was growing in clumps in the area - Lucerne (also known as Alfafa) alongside Oxford Ragwort, Smooth Sow-thistle and Mayweed.    

Above, when I took this photo of the Cormorant on the spit adjacent to the Outfall, I didn't realise that a Great Crested Grebe was also in the frame flying away! Below, this stunted form of Viper's Bugloss  was growing by the Water Treatment Works. Thanks to Geoff Farwell for the ID.