The male Green Woodpecker showed well early this morning.
A much better day today with wall to wall blue sky and sunshine. It must have been very cold overnight for there was ice on my windscreen at 7.30am before making my way to my first shift at Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth. The Brent Geese flock on Governor’s Green numbered exactly 50 birds this morning, busy grazing on the short grass and looked impressive when they flew up, circled and landed back down; even stopping some of the public who watched with awe. All the usual bird species were present, which included up to 15 species on my first shift.
Above, a dewy start to the day. Below, the Herring Gulls were down on the ground with a Magpie in attendance. I expect the old lady with the bag of bread had been in the Cemy earlier today.
Above, not many Collared Doves were seen today, with this lone individual seen in the fallen Conifer in the south-east corner. Below, Starlings were gathering up on the rooftops.
When I got back home, I took the dogs for their walk around Highland Road Cemetery. On the way there, I could clearly hear a Grey Wagtail singing, but I got no sighting of the bird as it must have been behind the houses in my road. Bugger! The weather was just glorious and while I was making my way to the Cemy, birding pal, Emma Parkes, was taking photos of a Kingfisher at Trinity Lake in Gosport (see below). The Cemy held at least 19 species this morning including the Green Woodpecker again, that was first heard calling in the big Oak tree to the north-east of the Cemy and then flew high over my head and landed in the trees to the south of the Mausoleum and showing well too.
Above, I liked this photo of the Starlings on the rooftops. It looks as though the top bird is giving a speech while the other is watching! Below, a male Blackbird being quiet and unobtrusive in one of the trees.
Above, one of several Robins in full song and below, the Cherry blossom attracted the insects in the sunshine.
Other notable birds included the female Sparrowhawk that soared through low over the Cemetery heading north. The tell-tale sign a Sparrowhawk is about is when all the Pigeons scatter and the Herring Gulls give off their alarm call; then its time to check the sky for any raptors passing overhead. The best sighting, however, was a Jackdaw flying over. This species is rare in or over the Cemetery and I even managed to grab a few photos of the bird flying high overhead heading south, calling.
Above, the same Robin as above but from a different angle!
Above and below, my first Jackdaw over the Cemy this year.
Above, the male Green Woodpecker again. I hope they get to breed here this year.
The birds seen in the Cemetery this morning included the following:
Green Woodpecker
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Carrion Crow
Magpie
Jackdaw
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Robin
Wren
House Sparrow
Starling
Blackbird
Sparrowhawk
Pied Wagtail
Blue Tit
Great Tit
There were some good photos around today, but I am not surprised with the gorgeous sunshine all day. Therefore I have borrowed some of both Emma Parkes and Rob Porters today.
Above and below, the Kingfisher on Trinity Pond in Gosport. Photos by Emma Parkes.
Above, two Red-legged Partridge with a Grey Partridge at North Baddesley. Below, a covey of Grey Partridge at the same location. Photos by Rob Porter.
Above and below, a male Firecrest at Hook-with-Warsash. Photos by Emma Parkes.
On my second shift, which incidentally, was lovely and warm with bright sunshine (I even wore my sunglasses!), a pair of Mute Swans were added to my day total here, with two bird flying together, no doubt heading east towards Canoe Lake. A few Bees were on the wing too, taking advantage of the nearby Daffodils in someones front garden that included a queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee, aDrone Fly and my first Hairy-footed flower Bee of the year!
The Purple Sandpipers finally gave themselves up on the rocks just east of Southsea Castle. At least 11 of these lovely waders were counted, though not easy to see at times as they disappeared below the large rocks.
Yet another wet start to the day here in Southsea, though it is supposed to get drier this afternoon. In rather mild conditions, a steady light rain came down throughout the morning, but it did attract 18 species to be seen around Pembroke Road this morning. Having got there earlier than expected, I did take a walk to Curtain Moat, behind Governor’s Green and it was nice to get close to a singing Dunnock and a pair of Goldcrests flitting about in the small bushes by the Green. The likes of Wheatears and Black Redstarts should be pushing through around now, but none on my ‘watch’ this morning. The four Brent Geese on Governor’s Green soon went up and up in numbers till eventually, at least 33 birds were there by 9am. The now usual Pied Wagtails on the Bowling Green numbered four birds and I had the pleasure of a Grey Wagtail flying high westbound; how I picked it up by its call first with all that noisy traffic going past, goes to prove how good my hearing is. Long may it last!
Above, a pair of Pied Wagtails were two of four birds on the Bowling Green this morning. I shall be keeping an eye on them should a White Wagtail turn up. A Hoopoe would be nice too! Below, this singing Dunnock was in the bushes by the footpath.
Above, this Herring Gull joined the four Brent Geese at 7.50am this morning on Governor's Green. Below, a view of Curtain Moat. Nothing of note was seen on or around it, bar a few Feral Pigeons this morning.
Above, three photos of a few of the 11+ Purple Sandpipers present on the rocks this morning. Below, some film footage of the birds.
I wasn't done this morning as I brought along my binoculars and camera and so took a drive after my first shift to Southsea Castle. Surely, a Black Redstart must be hiding away there this morning? Nope; or if it was, I didn't see it. Groan! However, after a bit of searching, I did find the Purple Sandpipers feeding on the algae on the rocks, which was a bonus as I have failed to find any on my previous attempts. At first, there was absolutely nothing on the rocks and then on my third sweep through the binoculars, one popped up, then another, until at least 11 birds were counted either preening, searching for food or bathing in the small pools. When this new seawall is completed, it certainly is going to look good for passing waders to roost or rest. I had a good scan over the calm Solent, but apart from a few distant Gulls, all was very quiet.
Some of the Brent Geese on Governor's Green this morning.
The Brent Geese on Governor's Green this morning (honest). Yes, through my mobile phone, they do seem a bit distant.
There was a bright start to the morning in Southsea and thankfully, I missed the rain which came in around 4pm. Surprise, surprise! I think everyone is getting a bit fed up with it; I know I am. On a better note, there was a good number of Brent Geese on Governor’s Green this morning as I counted at least 45 birds feeding on short grass and a further four more birds flew in to join them. I just love the chatter they make when they are together. 15 species were noted this morning that included a pair of Mute Swans heading east among the more common birds noted.
The pair of Cirl Buntings at Stolford last Saturday and below, one of the many Wigeon we saw in Somerset. Photos by Emma Parkes.
Yesterday, birding pal Geoff Farwell went birding around the Coombe / East Meon area where he saw a staggering 32 Common Buzzards in the area! Also present included 13 Red Kites, Sparrowhawk, 2 Little Owls, Raven, 180 Common Gulls, 16 Mediterranean Gulls all in summer plumage, 120 Fieldfare, 5 Stonechat, 2 Siskin and a Lesser Redpoll.
The vocal Green Woodpecker showed well again today, though I had to shoot this photo into the sunshine.
After I had finished updating my blog from yesterday's birding, I took the dogs over to Highland Road Cemetery for their morning walk and what a glorious morning, with wall to wall blue sky and mild conditions too. Though it was supposed to be around 6 degrees, it felt a lot warmer than that in the sunshine.
Above, the very bright conditions (very unlike yesterday) helped in getting some sharper photos this morning that included this Magpie (above) and this interesting Carrion Crow. There are two in the Cemetery with the same colouration.
Always nice to see the Greenfinch in the Cemy including this lovely smart male bird. Below, this Great Tit was singing in this Cherry tree by the main footpath.
Yet again, a rather low count of species present, but at least the Green Woodpecker put in an appearance again this morning and I even managed to grab a photo or two while it was calling up a tree near the Mausoleum. Earlier it had been seen over on the ground on the east side of the Cemy, but was annoyingly flushed by a dog-walker of which were numerous this morning. Could you blame them on such a sunny morning after all the rain we have had this week? At least two Jays were heard squawking by the Holm Oak trees, with just the one seen. It shouldn't be too long now for the first singing Chiffchaff to arrive here.
Above, a few plants were in flower this morning including the Daisies (above) and Self-heal (below).
It was no surprise that a few Bees were on the wing this morning and after seeing a queen Buff-tailed Bumblebee speed low over the grass, a blossom covered Cherry tree held at least one, maybe Early Bumblebees as well as a few Drone Flies; my first of the year. Sadly, no butterflies were seen this morning, but this pleasant weather will probably encourage me to get my moth box on again.
Above, an EarlyBumblebee nectaring on the Cherry blossom.
Above and below, my first Drone Fly of the year.
The birds recorded this morning included the following:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Carrion Crow
Jay (2)
Magpie
Blackbird
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Greenfinch
Goldfinch
Green Woodpecker
Robin
Wren
Starling
In Hampshire today, two Sand Martins were seen at Pennington Marshes early this morning, while on Posbrook Floods, the 3 Glossy Ibis was still present along with the drake Ferruginous Duck. A Bittern was seen from the bridge at Titchfield Haven and a lone Spoonbill was present also on the reserve. A female type Black Redstart was by the Daedalus Airfield at Lee on Solent (see below) and a Long-tailed Duck was still present in Portsmouth Harbour.
The female type Black Redstart at Lee on Solent. Photo by Emma Parkes.
The view from one of the Hide's at Greylake RSPB Reserve. Huge numbers of Wigeon and Teal were scattered about due to a hunting Peregrine.
It had been arranged earlier this week that I was to take a trip into Somerset with both Emma and Matt Parkes, to the excellent Greylake RSPB reserve to hopefully see the long staying drake Baikal Teal. Sadly, the bird had not been seen for several days and it was not to be seen today either. Bugger! However, there was a super supporting cast to cheer me up. Matt had kindly done the driving this morning, picking me up around 6.30am to take the 81 mile trip through a very snowy Wiltshire (!) into a damn cold Somerset; enjoying a few Buzzards and Kites on the way and good numbers ofHaresout in the countryside fields.
Above, a Cetti's Warbler greeted us on arrival and below, one of many Marsh Harriers seen during the couple of hours we were there at Greylake.
Above, this big female Peregrine hunted over the reserve and was also seen perched with a nearby male bird on the Pylons nearby.
On arrival, we parked up in the car park and made our way to the two Hides present on the reserve. Matt and Emma had already been to the reserve a few weeks back and also had seen the Baikal Teal, but despite a good search through the hundreds of Teal present, there was no sign of the star bird. A Cetti’s Warbler greeted us with its loud song and showed well in a block of reeds by the footpath and seconds later, we flushed a Water Rail from the edge of the footpath, but the bird quickly settled into the reedbed opposite and out of view.
Above, large numbers of Teal were in front of the Hide and below, Wigeon too were numerous here.
Above, good numbers of Common Snipe were in front of the Hide and below, a juvenile Great White Egret was stalking the reedbeds nearby. Many more were seen around the reserve.
A Common Snipe in front of the Hide at Greylake.
From the Hide, there was a large number of both Wigeon and Teal in front of the Hide, intermingled with good numbers of Common Snipe that performed superbly. Though there was no rain at the time, the skies were heavily overcast and therefore, a lot of my photos were not of the quality I would have liked, however, the birds painted a different picture. The site was infamous for its raptors as we enjoyed good numbers of Marsh Harriers quartering over the reserve. Buzzards were seen on the fence posts and a distant Kestrel could be seen hovering in the distance. A female Peregrine making sorties over the reserve, scattering the hundreds of Teal and Wigeon into panic, but it gave me a chance to check out the Teal that were hiding in the reeds and vegetation; but to no avail; for there was no sign of the Baikal Teal this morning at least. To round off an impressive list of raptors seen this morning, a superb male Hen-harrier soon sailed past us and headed off behind the Hide and over the fields behind the car park. Stunning!
Above, Common Cranes were on the reserve; my first for the year. Below, a Great White Egret gracefully flying over the reserve.
This site boasted Common Cranes on the reserve and it didn't take long for me to find a pair of birds in the distance, but I could even hear one ‘honking’ way in the distance. The birds eventually flew off (see film footage) and another pair were seen later that morning while we were there. Both Great White Egrets and Little Egrets graced the reserve also and the former easily outnumbered the latter; with at least 8 possible 10 birds seen in the whole area? Among the wildfowl, there were smaller numbers of Mallard, Pintail and Shoveler and close to the Hide, a Chiffchaff put in a brief appearance. We checked out the second Hide which was adjacent to the first Hide overlooking the same area and it seemed to be surrounded by the ‘invisible’ Water Rails that called close to where we stood.
The following photos were all taken at Calcott RSPB Reserve. Above, a small island in front of the Hide held Wigeon, Shoveler, Lapwing and even a Starling! Below, Glastonbury Tor in the distance.
Above, a view from the screen and below, incoming Wigeon.
Above, another of the smaller islands with resting Shoveler, Wigeon and Lapwing. Below, a female Marsh Harrier scattering the Wigeon as she sailed over the reserve.
Our next stop was to be Calcott RSPB Reserve for more Harriers and we were not to be disappointed either. The reserve only has one Hide and it was pretty much full when we arrived and so both Matt and I viewed from the screens adjacent to the Hide. From here, there was a lot of wildfowl present on the lake in front of us and an adult Great White Egret patrolling the edge of the reedbeds to keep us entertained. We regularly scanned the marshes and water meadows behind the lake and a few Marsh Harriers kindly obliged, quartering the whole area and eventually, some chap from the Hide gave us the ‘heads up’ that a ‘ringtail’ Hen-harrier was flying over the reserve. We quickly got onto the bird which eventually flew down and settled out of view within the water meadows. It did fly up only to fly off over the trees in the distance, though the same bird was seen right in front of the Hide some ten minutes before we arrived here! Several Ravens were seen flying over the reserve and through the scope, I did pick out a male Stonechat perched on one of the fence posts.
A female Cirl Bunting along with a female Chaffinch came down to the seed put out for the birds on the footpath at Stolford. My first ever Cirl Buntings outside of East Prawle!
The rain had started to fall now and as it was nearing midday, we decided to have lunch in the car before heading to our next destination - Stolford. Yesterday, I had checked on Birdguides of any interesting birds in the area and a small flock of four Cirl Buntings were seen on the footpath by Stolford seafront Car Park and see that Emma had never seen this species before and Matt had only ever seen this species in France, the guys were more than happy to take the 40 minute drive to this lovely location. The car park was very quiet, bar one elderly couple of birders who were also wanting to see these lovely birds. We walked north along the footpath for a couple of hundred yards then the shout went up that a couple of passerines had flown into a bramble nearby. Bingo! It was a female Cirl Bunting sitting quietly in the bramble and through the scope. However, we didn't realise that we were standing in the seed that was put out for the birds and so stepping well back, we let the birds come down to feed, including a superb male bird. From then on, we enjoyed cracking views of these rare Buntings; the first of this species I have ever seen away from East Prawle in Devon.
Above, Emma taking photos of her first ever Cirl Buntings. Below, a superb photo of the male bird that was taken by Emma. Mine were bloody awful!
The male Cirl Bunting with a female Chaffinch on the footpath at Stolford.
Where next? Apparently, there was a flock (!) of Ring-necked Ducks at Shapwick Heath nature reserve, but I also knew that a female Kentish Plover wasn’t too far away at Burnham-on-sea beach. This is a species both Emma and Matt had not seen before and this is where we went next! Another 30 minutes later, we parked up along the Esplanade and made our way down to the sandy beach to find this wader; but it wasn't going to be as easy as one hoped. While searching the huge expanse of beach in front of us, we enjoyed views of both Raven and a female Peregrine before I eventually found a flock of Ringed Plovers distantly on the opposite mudflats in Bridgewater Bay. The light was now excellent, but I had to use my highest magnification to go through the twenty plus Ringed Plover some distance away to locate the Kentish Plover among them. I went through the plumage details very carefully (sandy coloured upperparts, incomplete breast band, short tail giving the bird a stumpy appearance compared to the other Ringed Plovers) and concluded we had our bird. Matt was ‘over the moon’ with his first Kentish Plover under his belt as we enjoyed distant views of the bird. This was my first Kentish Plover for many a year; the last being on Sandy Point, Hayling Island, I believe. This bird has been wintering here, which explains why there were no birders present and though reported on Birdguides this morning, it was probably a lot nearer to the promenade with the tide up?
Above, the Raven showing nicely at Burnham-on-sea (photo by Emma Parkes) and below, the bird in flight before settling down on the embankment. Sadly, the Kentish Plover was too far away for any photo, which was unfortunate.
Time was getting on and seeing it was now close to 4pm, though the Ring-necked Ducks were very tempting, I knew we were going to be very late home should we have gone to Shapwick and so made our way home, with a long list of great sightings for our trip into Somerset. Great company and great birds. Meanwhile, back in dear old Hampshire, my birding pals Geoff and Andy, took a trip to Acres Down for the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker again and missed the bird by 10 minutes!!!
