Two more species added to year list.

Thursday 30th January 2025.

A much better start to the day with bright sunshine, a clear blue sky though still remaining quite cold at around 6 degrees and a north-westerly breeze. Not only did I resume back at Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth this morning, but afterwards, I treated myself to a walk by Southsea Castle in the hope of seeing the same birds as Ollie Crabbe saw yesterday morning at this location. I did take the dogs for their early morning walk again first thing and apart from the noisy Herring Gulls overhead, it was nice to hear a Blackbird singing at first light.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

I suppose the rarest bird here I saw this morning was the Collared Dove! I rarely see them at this site as I watched the bird land in a tree opposite me and even began calling; so I can assume it is a male bird. Still, a good spot and eventually the bird flew off northbound over the houses. The Jay flew in briefly (the first sighting of one this week here) and showed very well in the tree opposite me, hopped around in the branches for a while, then also flew off northbound. A couple of flocks of Brent Geese, including one containing 16 birds, flew over Governor’s Green, but never settled and all carried on eastbound. Up to a total of 13 species were counted this morning and if the weather stays good this afternoon, that number could increase.

Four Brent Geese were in front of the Garrison church till they were flushed by a dog.

The weather remained sunny and bright in the afternoon while I was on my second shift in Pembroke Road. The only new bird species seen during my hour there was a distant Great Black-backed Gull that was flying behind the Garrison Church. There were four Brent Geese grazing on Governor's Green during my time there up until someone decided to let their dog loose on the Green and the Geese flew off! The biggest surprise this afternoon was when I found a Red Admiral butterfly fluttering by the houses, but I was too busy to take a photo of the butterfly and on returning on where I saw it, there was no sign. Bugger!

Southsea Castle and the Solent:

The rocks on the foreshore where one might encounter the Purple Sandpipers, preferably the rocks with the green algae upon them.

Above, the three Purple Sandpipers at Southsea Castle this morning.

I was really hoping that yesterday's Red-necked Grebe was still around off Southsea Castle, especially that there was a flat calm sea for it to sit on; but despite a good search over the Solent, the best I could find was the adult Shag fishing way offshore. It took some searching, but I eventually found three Purple Sandpipers resting together on the rocks below the promenade. Counts of up to 14 birds have been recorded over the winter here, so where on earth do they go to? Apart from a few Black-headed Gulls on the rocks, all was very quiet here. Another bird that seemed to be missing here now that all the repairs have been done here, is the Rock Pipit. I have not seen one here this winter and none, I believe, have been reported by other birders.

The adult Shag was some distance away from the Sandpipers.

Eastney Harbour entrance:

Black-headed Gulls resting on one of the boats at Eastney.

As the day was looking good, I thought I would try my luck by the Harbour entrance and so parking up on the small spit opposite the Hayling Ferry Terminal, I took a walk to the end of the spit and searched the area for anything of note. Among the many Black-headed Gulls loafing on the water and some on the boats, I found my first Mediterranean Gull of the year flying north over the harbour. A good start. A pair of distant Mergansers were over near Milton Lakes, but little else of note bar a pair of Curlews heading north low over the water and four Oystercatchers passing over my head.

Above, a heavily cropped photo of my first Mediterranean Gull for the year. Below, I couldn't resist taking a photo of this resting Herring Gull on a post near the Hayling Ferry Terminal.

Above, three noisy Oystercatchers passed over my head.

I searched around the House boats on the foreshore for a possible Rock Pipit, but none were to be seen or heard. However, when I reached the road, something caught my eye and sure enough, my first Black-throated Diver was seen heading south out of the harbour. I only had a few seconds to take some photos of the bird as it headed out into the Solent. There has been one reported around both Langstone and Chichester Harbours and most likely, the same bird. Still, picking up two new species for the year was totally unexpected.

I managed a couple of record photos of the Black-throated Diver flying out of the harbour entrance.

Another scan over the harbour toward Hayling Island produced just the one Great Crested Grebe and another Merganser; but apart from a small flock of Brent Geese heading low over the harbour, all was fairly quiet as I made my way back to the car and headed home to warm up! 

Later this afternoon, birding pal Andy Fisher took himself to Farlington Marshes today and notched up at least four more species for his year list. A Ruff was discovered early this morning there and with the likes of Spoonbill, Dartford Warbler and Bearded Tit, he most certainly had a good trip there.