Waxwings in the village of Easton.

Saturday 30th December 2023.

The star bird today. One of the two Waxwings present in the village of Easton.

It looks as though 2023 is going to finish with a flourish as we took full advantage of grabbing another superb Hampshire ‘year-tick’ by adding Waxwing to our respective lists. Reported yesterday in the gorgeous little village of Easton, near Winchester; two Waxwings were seen on a TV aerial and although it was tempting to go for the ones in nearby Surrey, I took a chance and drove through the very wet Hampshire countryside to a village I have never been before. Birding pal, Geoff Farwell, had full knowledge of the area which was very handy as we eventually got to the village, parked up, grabbed our gear and took a walk around the village to hopefully find the birds.

Above, the northern entrance to the village. Below, a Great Tit sharing a tree with a Redwing.

Above, it looks like something out of the Wicker Man! I don't think I will be walking around this village at night with that thing there! Below, a turbulent River Itchen looking west from the road bridge.

Despite the inclement weather, which the rain was squally at times, we noticed a lot of berry-laden bushes around the village, which gave us hope in finding the Waxwings. There was a lot of Redwing around too; obviously taking full advantage of the abundant berries available. Geoff knew the village and eventually, we headed north up Easton Road to the bridge overlooking the River Itchen. From here, we had more sightings of Redwing as well as a Chiffchaff, up to three Little Grebes on the river and a Common Buzzard drifting over the nearby fields. Geoff had seen a Grey Wagtail earlier which settled somewhere on the river bank, but promptly disappeared.

Above and below, Andy found this gorgeous Fieldfare in a small orchard along a footpath, enjoying the many berries present.

Our first views of the Waxwings this morning. Andy ran back to tell us he had seen them and we soon got reasonable views of these amazing birds before they flew off and didn't return for another two hours.

We made our way back into the village via a footpath that took us past an orchard where Andy spotted a superb Fieldfare in one of the small trees. Luckily, it hung around and I managed to grab a few nice photos of the bird in one of the trees. More Redwing flew over as we made our way to the end of the footpath, enjoying a close Goldcrest  on the way. Andy got to the end of the footpath before us, adjacent to the Chestnut Horse Pub and then came running back saying he had seen the Waxwings. It didn't take us long to find the two Waxwings perched in a bush adjacent to a berry-laden bush in someone's front garden. Both birds were calling to one another as I got some record photos of the birds and although not great, one could clearly see they were Waxwings. I quickly put the info out on the ‘Lazee Birders’ App while Andy put the info on Hants Birding website and it didn't take too long for the first excited birders to turn up. However, the birds had disappeared up into a tall tree behind and flew off.

Above, some of the many Waxwing photos I took and also a steady stream of 'toggers' (photographers) getting their fill! A local resident passed us by and asked me if we were paparazzi or twitchers? Neither, I said, We are 'Lazee's'!!!

It took nearly two hours for the birds to reappear and this time, they showed superbly feeding on berries in a front garden opposite the pub. You really couldn't wish for better views as they occasionally got their fill and perched up on the neighbouring TV aerial and then went back down again for another feed. By now, some fellow ‘Lazee’s’ turned up including Pete Appleton and Trevor Griffith and during the birds 20 minute stay here, I think everyone present got to see one of the bird worlds true beauties. The birds eventually flew off and so we made our way back to the car and decided to try our luck at Beacon Hill (another good spot where I have never been before). Speaking to one of the birders present, he said that someone had seen a Hawfinch perched up in a tree behind the pub!

Some more photos of the Waxwings.

The drive to Beacon Hill was a pleasant one as it took us past Cheesefoot Head and Longwood Warren and across some of Hampshire's superb countryside. However, the car park at Beacon Hill is small and very muddy and so I had to be careful where to park, which was near full. There was a ‘yellow weather warning’ in place for the south coast and what with a very strong south-westerly blowing over the hill, it was a tad uncomfortable. Geoff knew the place well and so we went down into a gully that kept us out of the wind and then looked from a spot overlooking the superb countryside to the north. There was a small pond in the distance and another one further to the east, with also Old Winchester Hill in the distance.

My final photos of the gorgeous Waxwings.

From here, we had good numbers of raptors on the wing, despite the windy conditions, that included at least 7 Common Buzzards and four Red Kites. The local Wood Pigeons were in their hundreds and were scattered occasionally by an immature Peregrine flying around and even seen ‘stooping’ to grab a Pigeon. There were hundreds of Corvids down below over the fields and copses and among them, there were at least 7 or more Ravens seen. Four Little Egrets were searching for food in the damp grass in a Highland Cattle field, while passerines noted included a male Bullfinch and a couple of Yellowhammers passing over. There was a ‘shoot’ going on someone to the north as we heard the distant sound of gunshots and even a few ‘beaters’ were seen crossing the fields in the distance. An interesting statistic of around 60 million game birds are released for shooting each year in the UK and people wonder why the likes of Red Kite and Common Buzzard numbers are on the increase, although there are some ‘scumbags’ out there still shooting these superb raptors.

Above, from Beacon Hill, you can see Old Winchester Hill to the east and below, the view from Beacon Hill looking north. One could sit here all day and admire the amount of birdlife here.

Above, one of the small ponds seen from the hill. This pond held several Moorhens swimming on it. Below, one of several Red Kites drifting over the valley below.

We were trying to hang on till dusk for Woodcock are regularly recorded here in the winter, but the weather was getting worse and so we decided to make our way back. And it just so happens that three Woodcock were seen here late afternoon. There were two other ‘toggers/birders’ present while we were there too, so I wonder if it was these guys who saw the Woodcock. This is one species that has eluded me this year, but I still finished with a respectable 211 species for 2023 of which 203 were in Hampshire.