Large number of Mute Swans on Canoe Lake.

Friday 12th January 2024.

An impressive count of Mute Swans on Canoe Lake this morning.

Though overcast this morning, it was still damn cold today, with a north-westerly blowing making it seem near freezing again. Snow (allegedly) is set to arrive on the south coast next Wednesday, which could bring in something interesting this way, but for now, it was my sightings at Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth followed by a walk with my dogs to Canoe Lake, east along the seafront and then through the gardens leading to the Park by Canoe Lake and home.

A Great Black-backed Gull flanked by Herring Gulls.

This morning's total of species at Pembroke Road reached 15 species where the female Sparrowhawk put in an appearance by sailing low over the road and over my head. A lone Redwing flew high over heading south then dropped like a stone into vegetation south of Governor’s Green. There were no Brent Geese on there this morning, but good numbers of Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls and Wood Pigeons.

The lone Cormorant with Herring Gulls on Canoe Lake.

The walk to Canoe Lake was quiet but when I reached the Lake, I did a quick count of the Mute Swans present and there was an impressive 102+ counted. I'm not sure I have ever seen so many here and probably due to a lot of lakes and ponds being frozen further north in the County. I couldn't find any Yellow-legged Gulls among the many Herring Gulls here, but a lone Great Black-backed Gull was perched on one of the Swan Boats as was an adult Cormorant. Walking along the seafront, the sea was calm and quiet, with only a few Gulls and a distant Cormorant fishing. The walk through the gardens produced a pair of Goldcrests flitting through the trees. A passer-by was curious about what I was looking at and so explained to her what they were. She said she would look them up when she got home.

One of the two Goldcrests in the trees near the Park.

Already, there are some nice birds being reported on the Lazee’s and Hants Birding that includes sightings of both Black-throated Diver and Black-necked Grebe off Hill Head and Sandy Point has hosted the same species as well as several Great Northern Divers.  The Northern Waterthrush is still in Essex this morning, but there was incredible news of a 1st winter Golden Oriole in gardens at Gulval, near Penzance, Cornwall for its second day!  

The usual suspects in a very cold Cemetery this morning.

Thursday 11th January 2024.

Sunny and bright over the Cemetery this morning, but bitterly cold. 

The cold weather is set to continue well into next week according to the Met Office and by God, it was cold this morning! Yes, clear blue skies overhead and the wind had dropped a lot, but it was still just above freezing. Yesterday afternoon, I notched up just 11 species during my hour spell at Pembroke Road, but the seven Brent Geese still remained on Governor’s Green. A Kestrel was seen hunting over the old Football pitch, south of the Bowling Club and was later seen hunting over by the seawall near the Garrison Church minutes later. This is only the second time I have seen it here.

Above, a male Greenfinch perched on a gravestone. Good to still see them here as there numbers do fluctuate at this site. Below, a reasonable sized flock of Goldfinch this morning.

Above, plenty of Carrion Crows keeping guard. Below, one of several Wrens noted today.

This morning, I notched up 14 species here, which included three Brent Geese on Governor’s Green all the time I was there at Pembroke Road and a male Sparrowhawk going into a stoop towards the garden behind the house opposite me. Even without binoculars to hand, I still managed to get a good view of the bird as it closed its wings and went into its stoop. Was it successful? It scattered a lot of Wood Pigeons anyway!

Above, Goldfinches are always so photogenic in bright sunshine and below, so is this stunning Great Tit.

Above, another photo of one of the Goldfinches present this morning.

Above and below, the Starling flock seen in the Cemetery this morning.

When I got back home, I grabbed the dogs and took our usual walk around Highland Road Cemetery, where up to 18 species were recorded this morning. Though there were no real surprises, it was nice just to take some photos of the more common birds in the bright sunshine. Up to two Jays were seen today, a pair probably, with one sighting of both birds together on the path by the Mausoleum. A healthy flock of around 30+ Starlings were searching for food within the tall grass and a mixed flock of Goldfinch and Greenfinch were flitting about in the trees throughout the area. Sadly, no sign of any Woodpeckers this morning. There is talk of snow next week, which could bring in more winter thrushes to the Cemetery and maybe something rarer perhaps?

The birds recorded in the Cemetery this morning included the following:

• Herring Gull
• Wood Pigeon
• Feral Pigeon
• Collared Dove
• House Sparrow
• Starling
• Wren
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit
• Goldcrest
• Jay
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie
• Robin
• Goldfinch
• Greenfinch
• Pied Wagtail 
• Blackbird

This fabulous photo of a Long-tailed Tit by Fort Brockhurst was taken by Emma Parkes recently.

Green Woody & Lesser Black-backed Gull added to my year list.

Tuesday 9th January 2024.

This female Blackbird allowed me a close approach as she fed on the Ivy berries in Highland Road Cemetery this morning.

Well, the temperature has most certainly dropped this week. It was much brighter today than yesterday where we had several sleet showers during the day as temperatures plummeted down to around 3 degrees and with the wind chill coming from the north-east, it was easily around -2 degrees! This morning was ACTUALLY colder, with a bitter north-easterly blowing, it felt like minus 5 degrees! I was frozen after my first shift! Despite the cold weather, I notched up 17 species yesterday during my two spells at Pembroke Road, that included a small flock of 7 Brent Geese settling early morning on Governor’s Green!

Above, a record photo (taken from my mobile phone) of the 7 Brent Geese on Governor's Green this morning at 8am. Below, a couple of Starlings on a Chimney Pot at the southern end of the Cemy.

Above, a flock of Goldfinches flying over the Cemetery and below, my first sighting of the Green Woodpecker this year. This species took several months to be seen in the Cemetery at the beginning of last year, so I was very pleased they were here today.

Today, the Brent Geese were back there again and probably the same 7 birds as yesterday. I only managed 15 species this morning, though the Jay showed well briefly. When I got home, I was a bit hesitant at first as I needed to really thaw out, but I did take the dogs for their walk around Highland Road Cemetery, which actually paid off with two new species added to my year list; a Green Woodpecker and a Lesser Black-backed Gull, which currently puts me on 99 species for the year. What will be the 100th?

Above, the female Blackbird listening out for anything tasty and below, the male Blackbird turning over the leaf litter on a grave.

Above and below, this Wren was rather showy this morning for such a skulking bird.

19 species were recorded in Highland Road Cemetery this morning, despite the freezing temperatures and I was well pleased in seeing my first Green Woodpecker of the year fly south across the Cemetery and land up in one of the Chestnut trees. It called a couple of times as I soon carried on with my walk. Seconds later, I clocked a Lesser Black-backed Gull flying low over the Cemy heading south towards the houses. It got close enough for me to ID the bird comfortably and also add to my year list. Excellent. However, I think the best sighting of the trip here was the female Blackbird eating Ivy berries just several feet away from me (see photo above). I had raised my camera very slowly to not flush the bird, then it allowed me to take some nice photos of it in the sunshine. A 'charm' of Goldfinch, numbering around a dozen birds, flew over the Cemy and landed in nearby trees and a pair of Chaffinches also flew overhead, heading northbound. There were a few hardy plants still in flower, notably Smooth Sow-thistle and a few Daisies, but, as expected, no insects at all on the wing.  

The birds recorded this morning within the Cemetery included the following:

• Herring Gull
• Black-headed Gull
• Lesser Black-backed Gull
• Wood Pigeon
• Feral Pigeon
• Collared Dove
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit 
• Goldcrest
• Blackbird
• Starling
• Wren
• Robin
• Green Woodpecker
• Goldfinch
• Greenfinch
• Chaffinch
• Magpie
• Carrion Crow 

The Northern Waterthrush at Heybridge in Essex. Photo by Steve Arlow with more photos at  http://www.facebook.com/steve.arlow.71

Last week, arguably the UK’s rarest bird turned up in someone’s back garden in Heybridge, Essex. It turned out to be a Northern Waterthrush, an American species that has since attracted some large crowds to see this superb little bird. These really are very rare in the UK and had a couple of ‘Lazee’s’ going down there to grab a ‘lifer’ on their life list. It is still present today and yes, I am really tempted to go for it this weekend if it is still around, but with this cold weather settling in, I wouldn't be surprised for it to depart to a warmer area. Anyway, there have been some lovely photos of the bird and some good film footage of it too. Many thanks to Steve Arlow for allowing me to put his superb photo of the bird on my blog.

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.