Very quiet in the Cemy.

Sunday 29th December 2024.

Carrion Crows and a Magpie in the treetops within the Cemetery. The Crows do like gathering up in numbers here occasionally.

With just a few days left of this year, I thought I would add this post to my blog even though there were very few birds to be seen today. This morning, I took the dogs for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery and later in the afternoon, I took a walk with my wife Becky around the new promenade in front of Southsea Castle. It was yet another overcast day with hardly any wind again, though still quite cool.

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:

A female Blackbird over on the south-east corner.

An early morning walk around the Cemetery with the dogs produced very little I’m afraid. All the usual birds were noted, including a pair of Jays that flew off north over the houses from the Cemetery; but little else of note apart from them. Again, the light was poor this morning but at least it wasn’t foggy like it was over the Solent and further north in Hampshire. If it wasn't for the fact that I recognised a lot of birds calling by the call, the only birds seen were the Herring Gulls and the Crows, though I did see a lone Collared Dove high up in one of the trees to the south of the Cemetery.

Just the one lone Collared Dove seen here this morning.

The birds noted this morning here included the following:

• Herring Gull
• Collared Dove
• Feral Pigeon
• Wood Pigeon
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie
• Jay x2
• Blue Tit
• Blackbird
• Robin
• Wren
• Starling

Southsea Castle, Hampshire:

Parking up in the D-day Museum Car park, Becky and I took a slow walk to the new promenade in front of the Castle and it was teeming with people out for a stroll. I did take my spare binoculars with me, for I had a chance of finding the Purple Sandpipers that had already been seen by Rob Porter (fellow Lazee) this morning. Sadly, despite a good search, there was no sign of the birds, however, I did find a Harbour Seal swimming westbound just off the rocks and quickly got my wife onto the Seal using my binoculars. Further out in the Solent, an adult Shag was swimming well offshore. Despite a sign clearly marking that people should stay off the rocks, there were three idiots upon them. Despite having a moan to one of the parents, I wasted my breath.

Birding pal, Geoff Farwell, went to a fogbound Longwood Warren in the north of the County and notched up the following birds: 7 Red Kites, 3 Common Buzzards, 2 Ravens, Woodcock, 2 Stonechats, 140+ Chaffinch, Brambling and 300 Rooks. He also heard some Golden Plovers but failed to see the birds in the gloom.