The female Black Redstart was again at the back of my garden within the tall tree for its 4th day.
The grey weather just does not want to disappear and so a very cold day with little sunshine was in store for us down here in Southsea. However, on a positive note, both the female Black Redstart and the male Blackcap were STILL present at the back of my garden and touring the neighbouring gardens as well.
While watching the Black Redstart, this Starling landed at the top of the tree and began singing.
Again, the Blackcap proved elusive to photograph as it sang quietly in my neighbours Holly Tree before flying off south to other gardens near mine. The Black Redstart remained faithful to the big tree at the back of my garden and even perched on the nearby rooftops briefly before flying off north. It was again seen later in the afternoon briefly as dusk approached, perched up in the same tree before disappearing into nearby gardens. I heard a Grey Wagtail flying over my house as I was about to get into my car, but failed to get a sighting of the bird. At least two birds are wintering on the rooftops around my area of Southsea.
Another photo of the female Black Redstart.
Matt Parkes was birding on his own today and took the trip to Posbrook Floods to get his ‘year-tick’ of the drake Ferruginous Duck swimming on the big pool there having been found earlier in the day.
Above, the drake Ferruginous Duck had returned to Posbrook Floods. Photo by Matt Parkes.
Yesterday, birding pal Geoff Farwell took a trip to the West Tisted area, near Alresford, where he had sightings of 65+ Yellowhammers, 180 Chaffinches, 45 Linnets, 3 Marsh Tits, a Raven,2 Red Kitesand 6 Common Buzzards.
In Hampshire today:
It was virtually the same as yesterday, with all the scarcer birds still present in their respective areas and addition to this, a Black Brant was found by Jason Crook, the bird feeding in fields adjacent to the Hayling Billy Line. A Short-eared Owl was seen to fly south over fields near Andover at Harewood Forest.
This juvenile Great Northern Diver was one of two at Eastney Point.
The end of the year is fast approaching and I could not resist taking another trip around the Eastney area, notably around the Outfall area and the Solent. Again I took my dogs with me so they could have a good run around the beach, while I checked out the very calm sea. It was another grey start with heavy cloud overhead. I don't think it was as cold as yesterday with a light easterly wind, but still only around 7 degrees centigrade.
Eastney Outfall & the Solent:
One of the two Great Crested Grebes seen this morning off Eastney Point.
It has been a while, but I decided to take the boys onto the beach and after I parked opposite the ruined buildings near Fort Cumberland Common. Along the shoreline of the beach, there were several Common Gulls present and swimming among them was a Great Crested Grebe. After yesterday's Razorbill sighting off Sandy Point, I thought I would give the Solent a good scan from Eastney Point. There was no sign of an Auks during the 30 minutes or so I was there, but I did find two distant Great Northern Divers swimming between the Point and Gunner Point over on Hayling Island.
Above, an adult Cormorant swam close to the shoreline and below, an immature Shag was preening on the jetty.
Above, one of several Common Gulls on the beach and below, the concrete promenade looking east towards Hayling Island.
I decided to walk east up the concrete promenade to get a better view of the Divers and though I found one of them, the other had simply vanished. The remaining bird did get a bit closer and so I obtained a few half decent photos of the bird of which, judging by the barring on the upperparts, it was a juvenile bird. Another Great Crested Grebe was also swimming close to the Diver and on the jetty, a juvenile Shag was preening its feathers. Apart from more Common Gulls and a lone Black-headed Gull, the sea, though very calm, was relatively quiet. I could not find any Sanderlings either on the shoreline, so maybe they were congregating over on the Hayling side of the water?
Above, the concrete promenade looking west and below, one of several Stock Doves present. Sadly, no Owls in the holes.
Above, photos of the juvenile Great Northern Diver.
I couldn't resist checking the holes in the Fort Cumberland concrete wall for Little Owls, but all were empty. The only birds around were several Stock Doves perched on the perimeter fence and so I made my way back to the car.
My back garden:
The female Black Redstart was again in the back of my garden.
Earlier today, before I took the dogs for their walk to Eastney Outfall, I checked the garden out to see if the Black Redstart was around. There was no sign of the bird, but the male Blackcap was again showing well, though briefly. I thought I heard it sub-singing in the tall Bay Tree and I think I must have flushed it as it flew to the tree at the back of my garden. I only just wish I had my camera to hand. Hopefully, I just might capture a few photos later.
More photos of this gorgeous bird.
When I got back from Eastney, after a hot drink, I made my way to the garden and sure enough, the female Black Redstart was showing again in my neighbours garden; again, it was taking a liking for the Yucca tree in my neighbours garden and every so often, it was fly off and land in the tall tree at the back of my garden. I watched the bird for around ten minutes and grabbed a few photos of the bird. It was joined by at least three Blue Tits that enjoyed the apple halves I actually put out for the Blackcap and also a male Blackbird that was enjoying the Cotoneaster berries. With New Years Day fast approaching, hopefully, the Blackcap and Black Redstart will hang around enough to be ‘ticked off’!
In Hampshire today:
Yesterday’s Tundra Bean Goose was still in the same area of Pennington Marshes (near the car park) this morning along with 4 Russian White-fronted Geese and other Russian White-fronts were reported over Farlington Marshes, Titchfield Haven, Chilling and Vyne Lake, near Basingstoke. How many others are there waiting to be discovered in Hampshire. There was a report this morning of a drake Ring-necked Duck on a private lake at Yateley this morning, but viewing there is going to be near impossible.
Hayling Oysterbeds and the harbour held the same scarce birds as yesterday that included 4 Great Northern Divers, Red-necked Grebe, Slavonian and Black-necked Grebe and a Whimbrel plus 3 Goldeneye. There was just the one Purple Sandpiper seen this morning at Southsea Castle.
An adult with two juvenile Russian White-fronted Geese at Harbridge. They were among a group of eight birds here.
Finally the weekend was upon us again and so after picking up both Andy Fisher and Geoff Farwell, it was off to Wicor, Portchester for the long staying male Cirl Bunting and then hopefully for one of the Tundra Bean Geese and White-fronted Geese over at Harbridge, near Fordingbridge. The weather was spot on with a clear blue sky overhead, but a very chilly north-easterly wind kept the temperatures very cold indeed.
Wicor, Portchester:
The overgrown Pond where the Cirl Bunting had been seen over the past three days. But not today.
Despite a two and a half hour wait in rather cold temperatures, there was no sight or sound of the male Cirl Bunting this morning. Both Graeme Loader and Chris Geary were already at the site by the pond as they greeted us on our arrival here. I have never been to this site before and getting the exact location thanks to the guys on the ‘Lazee Birders Whatsapp site’ with a ‘pin-drop’, it didn't take long to find where to look. And so the long wait had begun.
Above, there were many Wood Pigeons here at the site and below, Greenfinches were also abundant.
Above, a flock of around 20+ Linnets dropped into the site and below, a large flock of Magpies were in the trees nearby.
Though the weather was perfect, as was the light, sadly, the Cirl Bunting did not appear for us as we found out later that there was no sighting of the bird all day. Has the bird actually gone? We shall see over the coming days, but there were a few notable birds around during our time there. At first, there were a good number of both Greenfinch and Goldfinch around to keep us on our toes and seeing that the Bunting likes to hang around with the former, we checked all the Greenfinches that were popping up all over the place. Even a large flock of Linnets came into the nearby bushes behind the Pond. A Grey Wagtail flew over and landed somewhere on the Pond but the vegetation in front of us obscured our view of the bird. It later flew off along with many other passerines when a male Sparrowhawk flew over.
One of several Wrens flitting about in the vegetation and below, a female Greenfinch perching nicely in the early morning sun.
This Song Thrush was seen enjoying the berries along with both Redwing and Blackbirds.
There were a lot of berries in the surrounding bushes and this attracted several Redwing along with a Song Thrush and several Blackbirds. Both Wrens and Dunnocks were noted as well as several Robins, but the star bird did not appear. Andy picked out a Little Egret flying over having probably just come off Portsmouth Harbour, which incidentally, was at low tide; so we could hear both Redshank and Curlews calling behind us. So after spending some time here (and I would like to thank Andy immensely for lending me his Hand Warmers!) I was actually grateful to get into my warm car. Our mobile phones were going off throughout our stay here and one of the ‘Lazee’s’ sent a text that the Tundra Bean Goose was seen this morning among the Russian White-fronted Geese at Harbridge. So, despite the M27 still being closed, we took the trip through Segensworth to get back onto the M27 westbound.
Harbridge & Ibsley Bridge, nr Fordingbridge:
The eight Russian White-fronted Geese coming into land near Ibsley Bridge.
We arrived at Harbridge around 12.30pm and looking both north and south from Kent Lane, near Ibsley Bridge, all we could see was a lone Lapwing in one of the fields. So I took a drive up Churchfield Lane to view the fields to the east, but I had to stop eventually as there was no sign of any Geese in the fields. While parked up in a layby, Geoff picked out a male Stonechat on a fence post before we turned round and made our way to the layby beside Ibsley Bridge. I know I was starving and so decided to take lunch there and that is when Andy saw a small flock of ‘Grey’ Geese flying over heading east towards Blashford Lakes. While chomping on a Turkey sandwich, curiosity got the better of me and the flock of Geese did actually look a bit smaller and darker than the abundant Grey Lag Geese here and so I got out of the car and watched the birds flying north through my scope. Thankfully, the birds soon turned and flew all the way back towards us and sure enough, they flew close enough to see them clearly now including some sporting the white facial patch above their bills. There were six adult White-fronted Geese (our first of the year) and two juveniles and all the birds eventually landed in the field to the north.
Above and below, the Russian White-fronted Geese coming into land.
The White-fronts eventually landed in the field near Ibsley Bridge and below, a small group of Roe Deer in the same field to the north.
Andy found this Great White Egret flying north up the River Avon.
I told the guys who then joined me in watching the birds and Andy found a Great White Egret flying north, following the River Avon below. A little earlier, I saw a pair of Goosanders flying high over the fields towards Blashford Lakes and a male Kestrel was seen hunting nearby over the reedbed near the Bridge before flying off. Earlier today, the White-tailed Eagle had been seen and the raptor put up all the Geese in the area and as Andy still wanted the Eagle for his year list, we kept a vigilant watch over the skies during the rest of the time we spent here.
Blashford Lakes, near Fordingbridge:
This drake Goosander was seen from the Tern Hide flying over Ibsley Water.
Having had our fill of the Russian White-fronted Geese at Harbridge, we then spent the next hour within the Tern Hide on Blashford Lakes. As expected, the wildfowl here was packed with the usual species, but most of the ducks and geese spent their time at the northern end of Ibsley Water. A few Pochard, Wigeon and Tufted Duck showed very well near the Hide and in this light, taking photos of them was very easy. I had my scope with me, of course and managed to see a lot more of the wildfowl present. At least 4 Goosanders were seen that included one drake and two redheads and I counted three female Goldeneyes and one drake. Just before we left, a drake Red-breasted Merganser flew in and landed out of view near the Goosander Hide.
Above, a group of Wigeon swam close by the Tern Hide and below, this was the nearest a Goldeneye to the Hide during our stay here.
Above, this drake Pochard also came close to the same Hide and below, this female Goosander was seen preening by one of the spits.
There were a few waders present on the site that included mostly Lapwing that were on the islands, but I did find up to three Green Sandpipers distantly on the waters edge. Surprisingly, there were no raptor sightings at all during our hour here and also nothing unusual among the many Gulls either. The only passerine of note during our time here was a Meadow Pipit walking close to the Hide and so we headed off back home with at least one ‘year-tick’ under our belt today.
Above, another photo of the female Goosander. Another female bird was swimming behind the spit and below, a female Tufted Duck swam close to the Tern Hide.
Above, the view from the Hide and below, a mixture of Egyptian Geese, Gulls, Canada Geese, Wigeon and Cormorants on one of the small islands over on the west side of Ibsley Water.
I got a text from Matt Parkes early this evening to say that he saw the Tundra Bean Goose at Lower Pennington Lane, near Pennington Marshes along with a flock of 18 Russian White-fronted Geese. Well done Matt.
In Hampshire today:
There seems to be a massive influx of Russian White-fronted Geese in the UK and especially in Hampshire too with flocks seen over Portsdown Hill (61 birds), two flocks consisting of 94 birds at Titchfield Haven, two birds at Dibden Bay and 50 birds over Fleet. Off the Hayling Oysterbeds, a Red-necked Grebe was found by Jason Crook along with sightings of Long-tailed Duck, Slavonian Grebe and Black-necked Grebe. A Merlin was also present there this morning. Despite searching for an Auk earlier this week off the harbour entrance at Eastney, low and behold, a Razorbill was found today within the harbour entrance off Sandy Point.
The female Black Redstart in my garden this afternoon.
Over the last few days, it was very tempting to go off birding to grab two potential ‘Hampshire ticks’ with a Cirl Bunting at Wicor, Portchester and the Tundra Bean Geese on Farlington Marshes; but if I did, I would probably be facing a divorce!!! Hopefully, both species will be around tomorrow, so for now, I took my dogs for a pleasant, but very cold, walk around the harbour entrance at Eastney. Again, it was overcast at 8am this morning though the cloud was soon thinning and by 11am, there was a sunny blue sky over Southsea.
Harbour entrance, Eastney:
The Sandwich Terns by the jetty at Eastney Outfall.
It was damn cold while birding down by the harbour entrance and thankfully, the brain kicked into gear as I eventually put my gloves on my numb hands. From the spit near the Hayling Ferry Terminal, I found a pair of female Red-breasted Mergansers between Lock Lake and the northern end of the harbour, busy fishing, but no sign of any male birds in the area. Further south, a pair of Great Crested Grebes were swimming in the channel while on the mudflats (it was low tide within the harbour), Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher and a single Grey Plover were seen busy in search of food. Again, there were numerous dark-bellied Brent Geese on the mudflats and skeins of the same species flying overhead. Always busy here with birds at this time of year.
Above, beams of light bursting through gaps in the cloud off the Outfall. Below, the wrecked scaffolding holds up the old seawall near the Jetty.
Above, four of the five Oystercatchers on the jetty this morning and below, while checking out the above birds, a flock of Brent Geese were seen flying over heading east.
The harbour entrance itself was rather quiet, though a single Great Crested Grebe was seen to fly north from the Solent and into the harbour. A large number of House Sparrows were squabbling about in the car park as did a small flock of Starlings and the Gulls present here included Black-headed, Herring, a couple of Common Gulls and a single juvenile Great Black-backed Gull.
Above, the jetty that attracted the Oystercatchers and below, two of the Oystercatchers on the shoreline.
Above, a large rock pool is created when the tide is out here and below, a Common Gull on the shoreline.
I took the short drive to the Ferry Road Beach car park, which was near empty and clean (!!!), got the dogs out of the car and took a walk by the Eastney Pier, so the dogs could have a good run on the sandy beach there. There were no sea fishing guys on the Pier this morning as I checked out the sea for anything of note. I found at least three distant Great Crested Grebes just off Gunner Point, Hayling Island and nearby, up to 5 Oystercatchers were on the jetty busy in search of shellfish among the seaweed. Behind the jetty, a pair of Sandwich Terns were resting on posts, which was a pleasant surprise.
Above, a flock of House Sparrows were 'dusting' by the car park and below, a Black-headed Gull is flanked by Starlings.
Above, a juvenile Great Black-backed Gull on the beach by the car park and below, looking back south to the Ferry Road.
Above, a pair of Great Crested Grebes within Lock Lake and below, the pair of female Red-breasted Mergansers swimming out of Lock Lake and into Langstone Harbour.
Above, another photo of the Mergansers and below, a small flock of Brent flying north.
There were hardly any passerines were noted within the Perimeter Fence, but before we left the car park, a Greenfinch and a Meadow Pipit were heard calling somewhere nearby to round off my trip here this morning.
The female Black Redstart in my garden.
When I got home, I was checking the garden for the Blackcap that had been around recently and soon found something interesting up in my neighbours tree. At the speed of light (well, something like that), I grabbed my binoculars from indoors and managed to check the bird out. It wasn't the Blackcap that I first thought, but was in fact a female Black Redstart!!! The bird then flew off over my head and landed on my roof and then flew off north. I rushed back indoors to grab my camera, but there was no further sign of the bird. Hurrumph! Still, a superb ‘garden tick’ nonetheless.
Above and below, the female Black Redstart.
I went outside to my garden about 30 minutes later, this time armed with some dried Mealworms, and again saw the Black Redstart and this time I also had my camera. The bird was most obliging, though a bit tricky to photograph as it perched up in my neighbours tree. Also, the Blackcap briefly showed itself and a little later, gave excellent views but I didn't have my camera to hand this time. Hurrumph again!
