Another excellent trip to Sandy Point.

Saturday 27th January 2024.

Dunlin and a Ringed Plover at the Black Point wader roost, digiscoped from Sparkes Marina this morning. This was our first sighting of a Ringed Plover this year! A Purple Sandpiper was found among the waders later in the afternoon.

It was back down to Sandy Point on Hayling Island this morning, having contemplated both Pennington Marshes or Acres Down; but I went for Sandy Point instead and with both Andy Fisher and Geoff Farwell in attendance, we had a good days birding on this superb island. All three Diver species were noted today including a distant Black-throated Diver, which was fishing in the harbour. We watched the bird catching crabs and devouring them, with a few Great Crested Grebes in attendance. The ‘Black-throat’ was our first ‘year-tick’ of the day and greatly appreciated by Andy Fisher. Also near the Diver was several Mergansers and a flock of Pintail; the latter eventually flying out into the Solent a bit later along with a large flock of Wigeon.

Above, incoming Dunlin arriving on the sands at Black Point and joining the Ringed Plover already there.

Above, a flock of Pintail flying out into the Solent and below, a large flock of Wigeon following them.

We parked ourselves by the RNLI Building and from here, we picked up at least four Great Northern Divers of which two were in the harbour entrance and another two within the harbour. I also picked up three Red-throated Divers swimming together also in the harbour entrance before they all flew off heading eastbound. At least 6 Sandwich Terns flew out of the harbour before we left to take a look at the wader roost off Sparkes Marina. We encountered a female Goldcrest along the footpath back to the car, but little else of note along there. While enjoying a hot cup of coffee overlooking the waders coming in on the sandbank off the Marina, we finally found our first Ringed Plovers of the year. Well, Geoff did actually! The majority of the waders were Dunlin with at least a 100 birds present along with 20+ Sanderling, 6 Ringed Plover, 4 Turnstone and a lone Curlew. Around 6 Grey Plover came into the roost, but there was no sign of the wintering Purple Sandpiper here, though it was seen by some fellow ‘Lazee’s’ later in the afternoon. Andy spotted a Greenshank flying high over the roost heading into the harbour, while nearby, at least 4 Redshank were present nearby among the small number of Brent Geese.

Waders in the roost at Black Point, including this large flock of Dunlin, with Sanderling and Ringed Plover among them. Below, one of the four Great Northern Divers seen from the RNLI Building.

Above, the waders pouring onto the sands at Black Point.

We were hoping for a Slavonian Grebe today and seeing we had no luck from Sandy Point, we tried our luck overlooking Hayling Bay. Parking off Southwood Road, we had lunch by the beach and picked up three Common Scoters on the sea, a drake and two females. A couple of Great Crested Grebes were seen offshore, including a flying bird heading east and an adult Mediterranean Gull flew east close in over the sea. After lunch, we made our way to the eastern end of Southwood Road and took a stroll along the edge of the reserve. We found a male Stonechat perched on one of the Gorse bushes and after a conversation with a couple of birders who told us that they had seen some Dartford Warblers earlier, we made our way to the area where they said they saw them. On arrival, Hayling birder (now Shetlands!) Andy Johnson joined us and after a good chat, we made our way back to where he recommended to see the Warblers. However, I caught sight of a male Dartford Warbler flying onto a sprig of Gorse and quickly got the guys onto the bird. It was then joined by another male bird and so quickly got the camera onto them and filmed the birds.

Above, the top shell of a Spider Crab (a rather small one!) Below, a male Stonechat on Sandy Point Nature Reserve.

Above, three Meadow Pipits popped up on the reserve and below, we finally found our first Dartford Warblers of the year, also on the reserve; both male birds.

Above, the pair of male Dartford Warblers on the reserve and below, Andy pointing out the Common Scoters from the beach.

We did round the day off by the Toilet Block Car Park along Southwood Road, hoping for an outside chance of a Black Redstart; but as expected, it was a long shot and so after another cup of coffee, we called it a day. Not a bad day, with three more ‘year-ticks’ under our belts (127 species for the year so far) and a nice variety of birds to be seen. Also good to bump into Andy Johnson again too. Emma and Matt Parkes got to see the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Acres Down early this morning and even managed a good photo of the bird too. A Whimbrel was seen on Hayling Oyster Beds today and the drake Ferruginous Duck was still on Posbrook Floods along with the nearby Glossy Ibis.   

The two male Dartford Warblers on Sandy Point Nature Reserve this afternoon.

Purple Sands & Razorbill from Southsea Castle.

Thursday 25th January 2024.

One of just two Purple Sandpipers on the rocks just east of the Castle this morning.

A much milder morning today with the temperature actually climbing into double figures (10 degrees) with a breezy south-westerly wind thrown in. Just the 14 species seen this morning in Old Portsmouth with the regular Brent Geese on Governor’s Green numbering 12 birds and a brief view of a female Sparrowhawk flying and landing into the Holm Oak trees on Pembroke Road. 

A Razorbill was a nice find on the Solent this morning. Below, a flock of Brent Geese were making their way to Southsea Common to join another flock of around 50 birds on the short grass.

After my first shift here, I took along my binoculars and camera this morning and took a stroll around the Southsea Castle area. Looking down onto the rocks below on the shoreline, just east of the Castle, I eventually found a couple of Purple Sandpipers searching for food on the rocks. There were 14 birds recorded here yesterday and so I was happy to see the birds despite a lot of activity going on from the workmen here. I assume the birds are simply used to all the work going on by now? The completion date for the promenade is around March this year, but it should look good when it's finished. There was no sign of any Black Redstarts here or by the Castle this morning, though they have not been seen here for a few weeks. However, a scan over the Solent produced a Razorbill fishing offshore, which was my second for the year.   

The Water Pipit at Bridge Street Floods. Film footage by Rob Porter. We were lucky enough to see this bird last Saturday through the scope.

Sparrowhawk showing well in the Cemy.

 Wednesday 24th January 2024.

One of my favourite winter visitors, the Redwing. The Cemy was blessed with two of these this morning.

And yet another winter storm batters the UK (Storm Jocelyn) with near 100 mph winds in places and heavy rain, but apart from a strong breeze this morning, the south coast got off lightly; though it was very windy overnight. On my first shift this morning, though a tad breezy with a westerly wind, it was bright and sunny with a near cloudless sky. 14 species were recorded this morning during the hour I was at Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth, which included a flock of 14 Brent Geese on the Governor’s Green.

Above, this is the most Collared Doves I have seen in the Cemy this winter and below, a male Greenfinch perched high up in one of the trees.

Above, both Greenfinch and Redwing in the same tree and below, a male Blackbird looking on nearby.

When I got back home, I took the dogs for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery where I recorded 20 species today, during my hour there and included a couple of Redwing in the trees and a female Sparrowhawk perched high up in one of the taller trees within the centre of the Cemetery. Just the one Jay was seen here this morning as it literally flew just feet away from me, but did not reappear behind vegetation.

Above, the female Sparrowhawk keeps a watchful eye over the Cemetery.

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

• Herring Gull
• Black-headed Gull
• Wood Pigeon
• Feral Pigeon
• Collared Dove
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie
• Jay 
• House Sparrow
• Starling
• Robin
• Wren
• Blue Tit
• Blackbird
• Song Thrush
• Redwing (2)
• Pied Wagtail
• Sparrowhawk (female)
• Greenfinch
• Goldfinch 

I found this Common Plume moth, my first of the year, perched on the wall where I was working this afternoon.

Interestingly, I completed a questionnaire last night on Facebook regarding Farlington Marshes. It was mostly asking why I go there and how many times a month, which begs the question, what are its future plans there and why is it so important. Possible flooding due to Global Warming? Someone interested in buying the land? Lets just hope its good news and hopefully be in the hands of Conservationists long after I am gone. One bit of good news, personally, I have found out why I couldn't take film footage on my Panasonic Lumix Bridge Camera and now look forward to rectifying that in the coming days. Good old You Tube came to the rescue! Despite the strong winds of late, nothing to really add to the weekend's goodies. Both the Water Pipit and Glossy Ibis are still frequenting the Bridge Street Floods to the north of the road, while further west, Normandy and Oxey Marsh hosted a Spotted Redshank, 3 Spoonbill and 7 Slavoniam Grebes. One more species was added to my day list at Pembroke Road, Old Porstmouth this afternoon; a pair of Great Tits. I also found my first Common Plume moth of the year perched on a nearby house wall.

My friends photo gallery.

Monday 22nd January 2024.

The drake Ferruginous Duck on Posbrook Floods which was still present today. Photo by John Manley.

As Storm Isha (our 9th big storm of the winter!!!) rips through the UK, causing chaos and extremely strong winds throughout, on a positive note, I thought I would share some of the superb photos my friends on Facebook and also the ‘Lazee Birders’ have taken over the past few days, with their permission of course. We were blessed this weekend with some amazing birds, which had all us ‘listers’ on the run and I am wondering what this latest storm will bring to our shores?

Above, a Cattle Egret at Warblington. Photo by Emma Parkes. Below, this Bittern was seen and photographed by Mark Francis at Titchfield Haven this morning.

Above, a Ring-necked Parakeet at Queens Park, Southampton. Photo by Andy Tew. Below, a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in the New Forest. Photo by Rob Porter.

Though I had many household chores to do and also a ‘Tip run’ to do yesterday, I still managed to see the female Blackcap in my garden again, feeding on one of the Apple halves I put out earlier in the morning. Birding pal, Geoff Farwell, took a walk from Woodcroft Farm (just north of Waterlooville) to Head Down and recorded the following bird sightings: 253 Redwing, Stonechat, Firecrest, Brambling, Sparrowhawk, Red Kite and a Common Buzzard. This morning, there were 23 Brent Geese on Governor’s Green, Old Portsmouth this morning, but nothing all that exciting among the 12 species I saw on my first shift. A Bittern was seen this morning from the Bridge near the Reserve Centre and the two Waxwings were still in the Braishfield area again. 

Above, the Siberian Chiffchaff in the churchyard near the Bridge Street Floods. Photo by Mark Francis. Below, a Tawny Owl in the New Forest last weekend. Photo by Pete Appleton.

The long staying Long-tailed Duck on Hayling Oyster Beds. Photo by Emma Parkes. Below, Andy Fisher successfully 'year-ticked' the Water Pipit on the Bridge Street Floods and also the Siberian Chiffchaff in the nearby churchyard. There is no stopping this man!

Another 11 'year-ticks' today.

Saturday 20th January 2024,

One of the Braishfield Waxwings this morning. Having seen the Easton birds at the back end of last year, we had to go and see these birds as soon as possible before they all fly off. I read today that there was even a flock on the Isle of Wight now!

Another full day's birding produced another 11 ‘year-ticks’, all in Hampshire, today, with my trusted friends Andy Fisher and Geoff Farwell. The weather was on the move with much warmer temperatures coming in on Storm Isha over the coming days; but this morning, there was a lot of frost and ice around to keep us wrapped up against the cold and plenty of hot coffee to hand. There were some good birds around as we travelled to four destinations to increase our year list of birds in Hampshire, of which, one was a real welcome surprise.

Above, just some of the photos I took of this delightful pair of Waxwings, which drew an appreciate crowd.

My plan was to go for the long staying Waxwings at Romsey and then a trip to Fishlake Meadows to hopefully pick up a few more year ticks. Negotiating our way through Romsey, we eventually got to the village of Braishfield and parked up opposite King Chase Allotments, where a pair of very much appreciated Waxwings had drawn a small crowd of birders (and toggers!) and onlookers. Apparently, the birds are a 1st winter male and 1st winter female, according to the experts. As we made our way to view the birds, a Grey Wagtail (our first of the year) flew over and a few Redwing also were seen. I had stupidly left my memory card for my camera at home, but thankfully, I had a spare in the back of my car. Phew!!! The Waxwings performed superbly again, showing down to around 20 feet at times, picking off the many berries present on the edge of the allotment. They did fly around a bit, but everyone seemed to be very happy with these birds. This species is a good one to get as these birds only invade the UK once every five or six years. Happy days indeed. Good to have a chat with fellow ‘Lazee’ Pete Appleton here too.

Above and below, this male Goldcrest fluttered about the undergrowth by the Canal Path. It allowed us some very close views of our smallest UK bird.

Above, this Cetti's Warbler finally came out in the open for me to grab a few photos. Normally a very shy bird, very occasionally they come out in the open and thankfully, this bird did the honours. Below, good numbers of Common Buzzards soared over the reserve, including this bird that flew low overhead.

Above, this male Kestrel was seen stooping over the reserve and this Robin sang right by my car in the car park. You cannot beat a nice close Robin in full song.

Next stop was Fishlake Meadows, which was just ten minutes away. The wind had got up a bit when we arrived and the temperatures were most certainly on the increase as our target species were both Water Rail and Cetti’s Warbler of which we were eventually successful. Walking along the Canal Path, a flock of 30+ Siskin flew over and a little later, a flock of Redpoll also flew over. Our first Common Snipe of the year quickly flew north over the reserve, quickly found by Andy and I spotted a distant Great White Egret over the west side of the Reserve along with several Grey Heron and a large flock of Wigeon and Teal. Raptors seen here this morning included at least 8 Common Buzzards, a Red Kite, Sparrowhawk and a male Kestrel. There were plenty of Cetti’s Warblers heard in the reedbeds and along the Canal Path, but it took nearly 30 minutes for us to eventually find one and after that, for they seem to be everywhere. Similar to the Cetti’s, a Water Rail was also eventually seen below the Canal Path searching for food on a small pool, though it proved difficult to photograph with all the branches in the way. Many more were heard on our walk, but only the one sighting today. A Kingfisher kindly climbed aboard our year list too, a dashing bird heading fast low north over the reserve close by and Andy found our first Chiffchaff of the year flitting about in the vegetation by the Canal path. Andy then received a text to say that a drake Ferruginous Duck was showing well on Posbrook Floods with Tufted Ducks (probably the same bird seen off Oxey Marshes earlier in the week). I have not seen this species for several years with the last being on Kingfisher Lake, Blashford. So off we went to see the bird.

Above, one of the pair of Stonechats seen as we walked down the Canal Path near Titchfield. Below, some ropey photos I took of the drake Ferruginous Duck.

Above, some film footage I took of the drake Ferruginous Duck on Posbrook Floods this afternoon.

I would've guessed the car park would be full by Bridge Street, Titchfield; and so we had to carefully park up on the street itself. Making our way down the path, we bumped into Dave Wallace who kindly told us that the Ferruginous Duck was still present with the Tufties. Great stuff. A pair of Stonechats were seen by a trough in the field adjacent to the path as we soon joined a good number of other ‘Lazee's' and ‘toggers’ (bird photographers) searching for the Duck. Apart from a few false claims of the bird showing (female Tufties!), the drake Ferruginous Duck showed very well out in the open (see video and photos) and one could get to see all the distinguishing features of the bird that included its slightly smaller size, chestnut colouring and the white vent under the tail. I even managed to ‘christen’ my mobile phone adapter on my scope to grab some nice film footage of the bird. While watching the duck, Andy spotted our first Black-tailed Godwit of the year flying south over Posbrook Floods. Having failed to find any on Farlington Marshes on New Year's Day, we finally caught up with this wader and comfortably climbed onboard our year list. Several Common Snipe flew in and flew off the Floods to keep us entertained and after a good chat with Andy Friend and other ‘Lazee’s’, we decided to join some of the ‘Lazee’s’ in viewing the Glossy Ibis and possible Water Pipit on Bridge Street Floods to the north.

Above and below, the Glossy Ibis on the Bridge Street Floods.

Above, both Geoff and I gave walking through this flooded path in just walking boots a miss, unlike our Superman, Andy! The Water Pipit was seen using my scope; the bird was by the far pool in the distance. Below, some of the 'Lazee's' with Andy making their way to the Siberian Chiffchaff that was showing in the nearby Churchyard. 

Above, more photos of the showy Glossy Ibis.

Above, film footage of the Glossy Ibis at the Bridge Street Floods, north of the road.

The footpath on the opposite side of Bridge Street was very much flooded and only those with Wellington Boots dared to venture further north. However, Andy was undeterred after we enjoyed prolonged close views of the three Glossy Ibis, and proceeded to join the others for a view of the Water Pipit that was feeding on the short grass within the flooded field. He risked getting a boot full of water as Geoff and myself stayed behind and setting up my scope overlooking the field to the north, I eventually picked up the Water Pipit and added it to my year list. Other birds present here included a couple of Common Snipe, several Teal, both Pied and Grey Wagtails and at least three Redwing in the trees nearby. Geoff found a Chiffchaff flitting about in the garden vegetation behind us, which rounded off a good trip here.

Above, this colourful male Pheasant hot footing it across a nearby field by the Church and below, Redwing were flying in to roost in the trees.

One of several Fieldfare seen on their way to roost late afternoon by the Church.

It was now 2.30pm and I decided to round off our day with a trip to South Boarhunt. Parking up within the car park at St. Nicholas Church, overlooking the farm to the south. This is where I saw my Little Owl last year and so waited up to 4pm for the bird to show. Sadly, it wasn't to be, but we did see a variety of other birds to keep us entertained. Good numbers of both Fieldfare and Redwing flew over and most were heading in to roost in trees by the Church, while a few Goldcrest and Long-tailed Tits were seen flitting about the hedgerows. Several Red-legged Partridges were seen walking around the Barns and out in the fields with Pheasants and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew high over the fields. So the day ended on 124 species for the year so far for myself, while Andy is now on 126 species and with many more potential winter species to be seen, I am looking forward to next Saturday.