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!
An early start this morning around my local patch.
It was bitterly cold today with a biting strong north-easterly blowing over Southsea as I took my dogs for their walk around Highland Road Cemetery before I headed off to work. Arriving around just after 8am, the sun had not quite risen over from the east and therefore, it lit up the few clouds with an orangy hue. I must admit, finding birds to photograph was a bit of a struggle at first, with only the local Herring Gulls and Wood Pigeons mostly being on show and amazingly, I did not see one Robin during my 45 minutes here.
Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:
Wood Pigeons high up in one of the Horse Chestnut trees.
As mentioned, birds were hard to come by for a decent photo, but eventually, a few showed relatively well that included several Blackbirds and a Great Tit (see photos). A small flock of four Greenfinch flew over but they did not settle this time around. I think I notched up around 15 species in all, though a lot of them were simply brief sightings as the smaller birds remained elusive throughout the morning.
Above, the Jay showed fairly well and below, a Great Tit within a Buddleia Bush.
Above, this 1st winter Blackbird was vocal and below, a pair of Collared Doves was within the Conifer within the south-east corner.
A single Jay put in a brief appearance and I managed to grab a couple of photos of the bird with a clump of Buddleia bushes. Yet again, there was no sign of any Woodpeckers and I strongly believe that the regular Green Woodpecker here has gone for good. The cold strong wind did make it feel a tad uncomfortable walking around my local patch, but nonetheless, it's always enjoyable here whatever the weather. Even the dog-walkers were far and few between and all were quite friendly (and their dogs too!).
Above, Common Knapweed was growing in the south-east corner and below, the old lady feeding the Herring Gulls and Feral Pigeons.
Above, this male Blackbird popped out and showed nicely and below, the orange hue on the clouds made this a more interesting photo.
An old woman (a regular here) came in with a bag full of bread and fed the local Herring Gulls and Feral Pigeons and the sight of so many Gulls was quite something. Sadly, nothing unusual among them, but the sheer numbers and noise of around 100+ Herring Gulls was notable.
One of many Wood Pigeons here in the Cemy this morning and below, flowering Smooth Sow-thistle were abundant around the graves.
Of the plants still in flower, it included a clump of Ox-eye Daisies, Smooth Sow-thistle, Common Groundsel and I even found a small clump of Common Knapweed, which took me by surprise. Not surprisingly, there were no insects on show today here in the Cemy. Yes, it was cold, but it was always a pleasure to be here.
In Hampshire today:
The male Cirl Bunting at Wicor, Portchester today. Photo by Andy Friend.
For those birders escaping the Xmas shopping, what better than getting a Hampshire ‘tick’ with the male Cirl Bunting showing well at yesterday’s site of Wicor, in Portchester. The bird was found again this morning and got a good steady stream of admirers. This is a real gem of a bird to get in Hampshire and just a pity that I was working most of the day. Could it hang around a few more days? Another amazing find was a pair of Bean Geese that was found by Jason Crook on Farlington Marshes today. The birds were with a pair of White-fronted Geese and a further 18 more White-fronts were also on the Reserve!
The Hayling Oysterbeds hosted a variety of notable species that included a showy Long-tailed Duck. Up to 5 Great Northern Divers were in Langstone Harbour along with the female Scaup and a Whimbrel on the Oysterbeds too. I don't think this year is quite done yet for more potential ‘year-ticks’!
