Nine species of Raptor & a Ring-necked Duck!

Saturday 23rd December 2023.

The drake Ring-necked Duck on Linbrook Lake, Blashford. Is this the same bird that was present in the area in the Spring? Though scarce, this North American duck regularly turns up in the UK in small numbers.

A busy days birding took in four locations in Hampshire (of course!) which ended with another ‘year-tick’ added to my year total which now stands at 210 species for the year of which 202 of those are in Hampshire. A drake Ring-necked Duck was up for grabs having spent most of the week on a small lake at Blashford and we also had a good total of 9 species of raptor seen today. On a sour note, poor Andy Fisher had toothache most of the day, but he still persevered and came along with Geoff Farwell and myself for another superb day's birding. Sadly, Andy’s moth box attracted bugger all, though he did have a Harvestman Spider by his front door!

Above, the Tufted Duck flock on Linbrook Lake. The Ring-necked Duck is second from the end on the right. Below, the flock swam towards where we were viewing and the Ring-necked Duck is now third to last duck from the left. 

Above, arguably the best photo I took of the drake Ring-necked Duck.

Above and below, this female Goldcrest was above us on the footpath by the lake.

Above, 6 of the 7 Little Egrets resting in the trees at the centre of the lake and a flock of Mallard swimming by. The Kingfisher flew a little deeper into the stand of trees and out of view.

This Treecreeper showed very well by the footpath.

Above, a gorgeous tranquil stream was adjacent to the footpath and below, that tranquillity was shattered when we saw the upturned car at the end of the stream near the main road! 

Without further ado, we headed straight for Linbrook Lake in Blashford for the drake Ring-necked Duck and we were not to be disappointed. The bird, mixing with a large number of Tufted Ducks, was easily picked out using my scope, though getting a good photo of the bird was a bit of a challenge with the trees in front of us in the way. In bright sunshine, the bird stood out well among the other Tufties and eventually I did get some nice photos of the bird. We also bumped into fellow ‘Lazee’, Rob Porter of which we had a nice chat with. Also on the lake, there were 5 Goosander (4 drakes and a female) over on the far side, but while I was watching the star bird, Geoff said that a further 11 more birds flew up from the lake and disappeared from view. Up to 7 Little Egrets were resting in the trees on the island and a Kingfisher showed well briefly and settled on the same island. The footpath between this lake and Northfield Lake to the south held a small flock of Long-tailed Tits and accompanying them were at least a pair of Goldcrests and a Treecreeper, all of which showed very nicely. On arrival here at this location, we parked in a small layby and on return to the car, we saw a car upside down in the river beside the road! How the hell that happened is anyone's guess, but it didn't look good for whoever was driving!

Above, this Great Crested Grebe swam close to the Tern Hide, but everything else kept its distance. Below, one of the three Great White Egrets standing on the east bank of Ibsley Water.

Our next stop was to be the Tern Hide on Blashford Lakes itself and also a chance for a nice cup of coffee from my flask. From the Hide, most of the wildfowl was over on the east or north bank, with only the occasional Great Crested Grebe coming close. There was a bit of a westerly wind blowing across Ibsley Water and it seemed to get stronger as the day wore on. Up to three Great White Egrets could be seen standing motionless by the edge of the lake on the east bank and a good scan through the many wildfowl present included the female Red-crested Pochard and at least 5 Goldeneye. Overhead, a female Marsh Harrier showed nicely in the sunshine plus one Red Kite and a Common Buzzard.

Above, now that the windows open in the front of Ivy North Hide, you can get a better, clearer view of Ivy Lake and its birds. Below, a good variety of wildfowl present in front of the Hide.

Above and below, among the wildfowl we had Mallard, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler and Tufted Duck as well as a few Coot.

Above, this Great Crested Grebe swam with a small group of Teal. A Little Grebe was nearby as well. Below, a Great White Egret flew high over in front of the Hide.

Next stop was the modernized Ivy North Hide. Arguably, the worst Hide this superb reserve had to offer, due to the fact that the front windows were always blurry and dirty, therefore viewing was near impossible; these have now been replaced by two front windows out of the three that can be opened up for far better viewing. The two side windows of the Hide are still possible to open, but these were always taken up by a birder hoping for a view of a Bittern. A vast improvement, I might add, to the whole Hide itself. Sadly, no Bittern sightings today (although I don't think there has been one this winter here at all!), but there were plenty of the usual wildfowl present to sift through. Notable sightings here included a fly-by Great White Egret, a Cetti’s Warbler in the reedbed, a calling Kingfisher flashing past, a pair of Goosander flying over and best of all, a male Goshawk flying high over, which Andy spotted. Well done that man. After seeing a female Sparrowhawk flying over the M27 earlier this morning, we were now on 5 species of raptor for the day.

Above, this superb Peregrine flew over Blackgutter Bottom as we made our way down the hill. Below, a small flock of Fieldfare was seen near the old runway. 

Our final stop was to be Blackgutter Bottom, which is off the B3078 Cadnam to Fordingbridge road. Earlier today, a pair of Hen-Harriers were seen and also a Merlin, so the chances of these birds being seen this afternoon looked good, but it was very windy here. Would that put off our chances of seeing the birds? Another pair of ‘Lazee Birders’ soon joined us, Pete Appleton and Graeme Loader, both armed with their long lens cameras as we all made our way down to the bottom of the hill, over the stream and back up another hill to the old runway at the top. On arrival at the site, a superb female Peregrine flew over (see photos) to add to our raptor total, but little else was seen until we got to the other side of the runway area. The few large bushes here at this site attracted both Fieldfare and Redwing to the berries and both species gave reasonable views. During our time looking down in the valley to the south, I picked out a distant Kestrel hovering over in the opposite direction. I was sure I was looking at a very distant Harrier gliding over the tree line in the distance, which could have been only a Hen-Harrier? Sadly, no close views of the latter and so we turned back round and made our way back to the car. A male Stonechat was seen as was a Mistle Thrush, but little else.

Above, up to four Ravens flew over together. Here are two of the birds.

Above, Ollie Crabbe was lucky to see this gorgeous male Hen-Harrier and get a photo of the bird over Blackgutter Bottom just minutes after we met up with him. Sadly, there was no sign of it later. Below, up to 16 of the 'Lazee Birders' gathered together overlooking the same site.

As we were ascending the hill back to the car, I spotted a line of birders by the Gorse Bushes and sure enough, there were another eleven more ‘Lazee Birders’ present (see photo), all waiting for a Hen-Harrier show no doubt. Sadly, none came close, but I picked out a distant bird again in the distance to our left flying over the tree line (I’m claiming it anyway!), but a female Merlin nearby showed very well hunting over the heath to end up as our 9th species of raptor for the day. Incredible! Interestingly, a flock of non-calling finches (which was unusual) flew over our heads and fellow ‘Lazee’ Nigel Crook was convinced they were Brambling! Yet again, another great days birding and I hope Andy’s toothaches goes away. To all the ‘Lazee Birders’ and all that take the time to read my blog, have a very Happy Christmas.