Nine species added to year list.

Saturday 6th January 2024.

You can just about see the Barn Owl peeking out at the back of the hole. My first of nine 'year-ticks' today.

I had a chance to catch up with Andy this morning regarding ‘year-ticks’, though I only had a half day to do it because I had a lot of chores to do and finally catch up in seeing our granddaughter, who we have not seen for quite some time. The weather was on the move with temperatures starting to drop considerably today and for the coming week. I don't mind the cold, but it's that horrible continuous rain I got totally ‘naffed off’ with. By the end of my days birding, I had another 9 species added to my year list and currently, I stand on 97 species for the year.

The two Mottled Umber moths this morning near Andy's moth box were my first moths of this year.

Our day started off at Andy’s house by checking his moth box and we had success. Two Mottled Umber moths were found; one on the garage door and another near the box on the outside wall. These were my first moths of 2024 and smart individuals were too. Andy was also presented with the Fly/Pye Cup for the second consecutive year before we then headed off to Warblington for my first ‘year-tick’ of the day. The aftermath of all that rain was evident as we drove down Church Lane and then on to Pook Lane, where we just about saw the Barn Owl slightly peering out of the hole. OK, not the best view in the world, but there was no way we were going to disturb the bird and so left it in peace and headed off to our next destination, Hayling Oyster Beds.

I'm handing over the Fly/Pye Cup to Andy for the second consecutive year. Mind you, he did have the advantage of having all this week off.

There was plenty of parking in the small car park at the Oyster Beds and on a receding tide within Langstone Harbour, we quickly checked out the many waders present on the foreshore that included Dunlin, Grey Plover, Curlew, Oystercatcher and Turnstone; but we simply could not find any Ringed Plover. Andy was already on 103 species for the year and he still had not seen this species, though I know they can be tricky to find. As we arrived at the Beds themselves, we could see three birders checking out the harbour in the distance and for us, it did not take long to find the female Long-tailed Duck on one of the pools to add to my year list. At least four Mergansers were present on the pools along with a few Little Grebes plus a pair of Rock Pipits chasing one another overhead.

Above and below, good numbers of Dunlin, Grey Plover and Turnstone were on the foreshore by the car park as well as Brent Geese. 

Above, a pair of Mergansers on the Oyster Beds and below, this Sandwich Tern was one of a pair flying close by in the harbour.

One of the birders seen earlier told us that he had seen the Black-necked Grebes, a female Common Scoter and a Great Northern Diver earlier today and kindly gave us directions on where they were. Top bloke! I have to say that it was ‘bloody’ cold here with a wind chill as well and could not have been much more than just above freezing as I checked out the harbour thoroughly. The female Common Scoter was seen well just south of the islands along with many Great Crested Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers and I soon found my first Goldeneye of the year. At least 6 drakes were in the northern half of the harbour along with a few females, but it took a while to finally get onto the four Black-necked Grebes, of which we later got excellent views of the birds from the Hayling Billy Trail.

Above, the guys enjoying a hot drink on the Hayling Billy Trail. Below, an awful photo of the distant Black-necked Grebes out in Langstone Harbour.

Above, one of the Sandwich Terns flying past the Oyster Beds. Below, the sun is beaming down over by the car park.

While scanning the harbour through the scope, the islands held at least two Peregrine, a Common Buzzard and our first Marsh Harrier of the year, a distant female bird, which was perched on Long Island. I thought I would check the spit behind us among the Oystercatcher flock for Ringed Plover and though there was no sign of any, I did find our first Mediterranean Gull of the year, which was a nice bonus. A pair of Sandwich Terns flew past, calling in doing so and at least two Greenshanks were found this morning also. We walked up to the big pool off the Hayling Billy Trail and got better views of the Black-necked Grebes in the harbour, but little else of note here and so made our way back to the car. Walking south, we heard three potential ‘year-ticks’, but failed to see the birds: Water Rails, Cetti’s Warbler and a distant Green Woodpecker!

Above, the pair of Sandwich Terns together flying past the Oyster Beds. Below, the female Long-tailed Duck is still spending winter here on this site. A second bird is in Portsmouth Harbour.

Above, another photo of the Long-tailed Duck and below, one of two Greenshank seen this morning.

Above, an Avocet flew in onto the Oyster Beds among a small group of Shelduck. Below, a large number of Herring Gulls of various ages, followed a fishing boat into Chichester Harbour.

After a quick stop at Greggs for something warm to eat, we finished our day off at Sandy Point where we picked up both Great Northern Diver and Red-throated Diver for our year lists. The former involved two birds by the harbour entrance and the latter was a distant bird flying eastbound low over the sea. Other birds noted included three Sandwich Terns fishing over on the West Wittering side and a couple of Great Crested Grebes on the sea. Sadly, no sign of the female Velvet Scoter on the sea that was here earlier this week rounded off a good trip here on Hayling Island. It was nice to see both Barry and Margaret Collins today, who we met at Sandy Point. 

To the victor, the spoils! Well done Andy for winning the Fly/Pye Cup for the first of us to get to 100 species for the year.