Tree Pipit & Little Gulls on today's menu.

Saturday 5th April 2025.

Chiffchaffs were abundant today, with many singing males at both Woolmer and Blashford Lakes.

I thought about going for a very early morning ‘seawatch’ from Southsea but I struggled to get out of bed at 5am this morning and so decided to leave it till tomorrow instead. Yesterday, a Redstart and Tree Pipit were seen at Woolmer Pond and so I decided to take the guys there this morning. It was another cold start to the morning with a nagging north-easterly wind blowing yet it was wall to wall sunshine with a cloudless sky with a promise that it was going to get a lot warmer as the day wore on. I didn’t have my Moth Box switched on last night, but Andy did and thankfully, even though it was very cold overnight, he did have some Moths.

Andy’s Moth Box:

Above, Common Quaker & Hebrew Character. Below, Common Quaker.

Just the four moths from Andy's Moth Box this morning, including this Brindled Pug.

There were just four moths present at Andy’s gaff this morning of which the egg trays held two Hebrew Characters and a Common Quaker. On the window of his small conservatory, a Brindled Pug sat on one of the panes. Several Crane Flies were also present along with one Lacewing. Yesterday, fellow Lazee and Fareham birder Dave Wallace put a photo of a Blossom Underwing moth on the Lazee Whatsapp site, a species I have yet to encounter. Incredibly, he said that he had 250 moths!!!

Woolmer Pond, Bordon:

Woolmer Pond looking north from the southern end. There was a good variety of birds on the water and a flock of Sand Martins over on the east side.

It was a gorgeous morning at Woolmer Pond today, but as mentioned before, it was damn cold in the north-easterly wind; however, if you could keep out of it, it was positively balmy! Singing Chiffchaffs were abundant around the area and high over the Pond itself, a flock of at least 7 Sand Martins were seen hawking overhead.

Above, one of the singing Chiffchaffs and below, our first Damselfly of the year; a Large Red Damselfly.

On the Pond itself, there was plenty of birdlife to be seen that included good numbers of both Canada and Grey Lag Geese and a pair of Egyptian Geese on the water. At least two pairs of Little Grebes were seen and wildfowl included Shoveler, Mallard, Tufted Duck and at least one pair of Teal. Sadly, no Garganey hid among them.

Above, Horse-tails just coming through the soil and below, Common Storks-bill.

We walked anticlockwise first of all where we had sightings of Long-tailed Tits, a male Stonechat, singing Dunnocks and a few Siskins overhead. Geoff was keeping an eye on the plants growing around the perimeter and found the likes of Common Storks-bill, Thal Cress and Scurvy Grass growing close to the ground. But it was the flowering Gorse bushes that stole the show with their vivid yellow flowers and lovely scent.

Above, a Goldfinch close to the main footpath and below, a Mistle Thrush.

Above, Geoff identified this plant as Scurvy Grass and below, our first Common Heath moth of the year.

From the Cottage Garden, there was no sign of any Redstarts, though a Chiffchaff sang just above our heads from where we sat. Gorgeous. We checked around the garden after a quick drink, for the Corrugated Iron sheets to check for snakes, but we could not find any. There were a few Goldfinches and Chaffinches around to keep us happy, but little else of note here in the garden. We then took a walk through Woolmer Forest to view the heath on the other side. The devastation of last year's Forest fire here was still very much evident and believe it or not, I found a discarded beer bottle laying in the dried bracken nearby of which I grabbed it and put it out of harm's way. What absolute bastard thought it would be a good laugh to start another fire!???

Above, Thal Cress growing by the footpath near the Cottage and below, our first Tree Pipit of the year.

Above, walking through the Forest with these Pines adjacent to the main footpath and below, Longhorn Cattle grazing in the water by the edge of the Pond.

It was quiet within the woodland and thankfully, on the other side of the Forest, we came across our first Tree Pipit of the year perched up in one of the few remaining trees. I hung around long enough to check it out through the scope, but that wind did not help buffeting my tripod; but I got enough on it to be happy for our first ‘year tick’ of the day. Out over the heath, a pair of Common Buzzards sailed high over the woodland and a male Kestrel was seen hunting over the heath. Some distant Red Kites were also noted and a small flock of Meadow Pipits were seen to fly off northbound. A distant Woodlark was seen singing high over the heath to the north and another bird was heard singing on the outskirts of the Forest as we walked back to the car. Up to three Swallows were seen flying north, but no sign of any House Martins seen this morning here.

This Chiffchaff was one of many seen today. A true sound of Spring.

Ibsley Water, Blashford Lakes, Hampshire:

One of six Little Gulls flying over Ibsley Water this afternoon.

Once we reached the car, I checked Birdguides and also the Hampshire Bird Sightings on the web. No reports of the Garganey on Posbrook Floods, which was going to be my next destination; but there were two Little Gulls on Ibsley Water. It was a bit of a gamble, but the long drive along the A272 and then onto the M27 westbound had us at the site around 1.45pm. We first went up to the viewing platform to see the Little Gulls from there, but I could not find any at all, so we went inside the Tern Hide instead. At first, there was still no sign of the birds, but a pair of Mediterranean Gulls were sitting on the water among the Black-headed and Lesser Black-backed Gulls and then the shout went up by a fellow birder that two Little Gulls were on show flying over the water. It took a little while to find them, but two birds suddenly turned into SIX birds with a mixture of both adults and juveniles. Excellent stuff. I managed to get some film footage of the Little Gulls, though they always remained in the centre of the Lake. Our second ‘year-tick’ of the day.

A few of the Little Gulls among the Black-headed Gulls.

There were plenty of other birds to keep us entertained which included a variety of waders. A Common Snipe was on the end of a spit and shared it with a pair of Redshanks. Three smart Black-tailed Godwits in full summer plumage, stood on the spit and a pair of Oystercatchers were seen on the spit behind the nearest one. Sadly, no sign of the Little Ringed Plovers today, despite a good search for the birds, but good numbers of Lapwing present.

Above, a female Mallard, Redshank and a Common Snipe and below, the male Hen-Harrier flying away with Sand Martins nearby.

There has been a big fall in numbers of wildfowl since the last time we were here because there were no Wigeon, Teal or Pintail present. A pair of Goldeneye were still here along with Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler and Tufted Ducks and over on the west side of Ibsley Water, I found three Black-necked Grebes in full summer plumage swimming on the water. The Macao Duck was seen in front of the Hide and I could fully understand how it was mistaken for a female Ruddy Duck for it looks identical to this species.

Above, Sand Martins flying over the reserve but always remained distant and below, a close up of today's moon.

There was a healthy flock of Sand Martins over the reserve and when Andy rushed back into the Tern Hide to ask if anyone had seen the male Hen-harrier flying over the Hide, we honestly thought he was joking. But when he said it was still here flying over the distant woodland, we all rushed out and I even managed to grab a record photo of the bird heading south! That was the last bird I expected to see here today. To add to the Harrier; both Red Kites and Common Buzzards were seen over the site and on the way back home, just before dropping Geoff off at his house, we watched a male Sparrowhawk soaring high over the houses. Our fifth raptor of the day to round off yet another great day's birding.