My first Wheatear of 2024. I found the bird perched quietly in Highland Road Cemetery this morning while taking the dogs for their usual walk. Well chuffed!
I was expecting a bit of a downpour first thing on my 1st shift this morning, but it never happened, thankfully. It was very overcast though and the threat of rain was definitely in the air and with a blustery south-westerly wind blowing, the signs did not look good. No moth box on last night as I like to put it on every other night now to avoid recapturing the same moths. This morning, there were a few notable sightings on my first shift and when I got home to take the dogs for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery, I would be in for a nice surprise there.
Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:
A reasonable total of 16 species of birds seen this morning here on my first shift and it kicked off nicely at 8am with a male Sparrowhawk flying low overhead, with a Pied Wagtail, of all things, following the raptor! Very brave indeed! Up to 14 Brent Geese were on Governor’s Green and again, no sign of any Wheatears hopping about on there, though there were at least 30+ Wood Pigeons picking off the new shoots of grass coming through, as were the Geese. Sadly, not a great deal else of note this morning, bar a pair of Pied Wagtails on the Bowling Green nearby.
Above, the Herring Gulls had gathered in the Cemetery this morning on my arrival with around a dozen birds present on the wet grass. Below, a Goldfinch was singing in the remaining Pine in the south west corner.
Above, the remains of the fallen Pine tree in the south west corner and below, the female Wheatear.
Above and below, two more photos of the Wheatear.
Above, my final photo of the female Wheatear and below, this male Blackbird was giving off his alarm call as I walked slowly past over on the north-east side of the Cemetery.
Highland Road Cemetery:
A total of 18 species were seen on my walk around the Cemetery this morning and best of all was my first Wheatear of the year; a stonking female bird perched on one of the Gravestones. When I got to the southern half of the Cemetery, I took a few photos of what was left of one of the Pine Trees that had been chopped down. Yes, it's a sad sight, but I suppose for safety reasons, it had to go. Walking on, a quick look on the gravestones to the north and I spotted something interesting. As soon as I saw it, I was in ‘panic mode’ trying to get the camera working and after a few swear words and scolding the dogs to keep still, I was soon taking photos of my first Wheatear of the year! I had one here in exactly the same spot several years ago, so a repeat performance was simply superb. Probably having just flown in early this morning, I noticed the bird looked tired as it was hunched up, but it soon perked up and flew to a nearby gravestone, flashing that brilliant white rump, where I took some more photos. What a good start to my walk.
Sadly, no sign of the Green Woodpecker today and I suppose the only other really notable birds seen this morning in the Cemetery included a brief sighting of a male Sparrowhawk flying south over the houses on the east side and also a Chaffinch flying overhead; calling in doing so. All the usual birds were present and correct, but no butterflies on the wing here again and just the one Bumblebee seen too. It is supposed to be getting very mild over the weekend and into next week; then maybe we will start seeing more around at last?
The following bird sightings were recorded this morning:
The Guillemot off Bedhampton Slipway late this morning. This is my first 'Hampshire Bird' for a couple of years and showed very well too. Whether it is an ill bird, we will never know, but it had a flap of its wings several times while I was watching it, though the local Gulls took an interest in the bird too, which sounds ominous.
Despite an hour of heavy rain this afternoon, it was actually a nice day with the occasional bright sunshine and a light southerly wind, which helped a good number of migrants fly into the UK today. I had the moth box on again overnight and was rewarded with more moths and there was a nice surprise when I did my first shift at Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth, early this morning. Checking the ‘Lazee Birder’ Whatsapp site when I got back, I was surprised to read that a Guillemot had been found swimming just off Bedhampton Slipway and so I had to go and see my first ‘Hampshire’ Guillemot for the year.
Above, the micro moth Water Dropwort Brown and below, one of two Beautiful Plumes.
The Moth Box:
It is getting much lighter in the mornings now and with no rain overnight and it being fairly mild, I was rewarded with a total of 6 moths in and around my moth box in my garden. All were micro moths that included 3 Common Plumes, 2 Beautiful Plumes and best of all, my first Water Dropwort Brown (Depressia daucella) of the year. If you are not interested in moths, then I am sorry as it is officially time for a lot of moth news from various sites where I set my moth box and I am so looking forward to the coming months. Not only the moths get my attention early in the morning, but there is also the ‘visible migration’ going on overhead and this morning, the only bird of note was a Meadow Pipit flying over. I pick out most of the birds by their call and I make the most of it, all the time my hearing is A1.
Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:
There was a reasonable haul of bird species this morning and among the 16 species recorded on my first shift here, there was a calling Firecrest within the Holm Oaks and I even managed to see the bird fly out and flew into the garden behind the house opposite. A Jackdaw was also a good species to see here and makes a lovely change from the usual Carrion Crows. There was bright sunshine on my first shift and the potential for a migrant or two was on. I was hoping for my first Wheatear on Governor’s Green, but there was no sign of any; but a flock of 27 Brent Geese was compensation for that. My second shift this afternoon was a damp affair, with heavy rain at first for around 20 minutes and then all was dry again. A male Sparrowhawk flew south low over the Green and a Cormorant was seen flying west over the same field to make it 18 species for the day here.
Above and below, a couple of photos of the obliging Guillemot off Bedhampton Slipway.
Above, the Guillemot was seen to be harassed by several Black-headed Gulls and below, a small flock of Brent Geese flying over Langstone Harbour in the sunshine. They will very soon be off to their breeding grounds.
Above, Wigeon were near the foreshore within the harbour and below, at least 6 Mergansers were off the Slipway with four birds shown here.
Above, a pair of dapper Red-breasted Mergansers were off the Slipway and below, this tidy flock of Mediterranean Gulls were joined by a Black-headed Gull.
Above, these Med Gulls were joined by a single Common Gull. Below, one of the noisy Med Gulls in flight.
Another Med Gull flew right over my head and showed superbly in the sunshine. Below, some film footage of this morning's Guillemot.
Bedhampton Slipway:
As mentioned before, I noticed that a Guillemot had been found and photographed at Bedhampton Slipway and even birding pal, Andy Fisher, couldn't resist going down to see the bird. I gave him a quick ring as I was making my way down to the site and he confirmed the bird did swim out into the harbour by the time he left and it would take a scope to find the bird off Bedhampton Slipway. By the time I got there, the tide was up and there was a good variety of Gulls swimming just offshore that included around 20+ Mediterranean Gulls that were quite vocal. I strolled around the footpath and walked west. Scanning the harbour with my binoculars, it didn't take me long to find the Guillemot and thankfully, it was swimming fairly close to the shoreline where occasionally, it was being harassed by the Gulls. I got a bit nearer, not to disturb the bird, where it was now swimming near the other car park further west and from here, I got some excellent views of this lovely Auk. This was my first ‘Hampshire’ bird after seeing them in North Norfolk earlier in the year; but having not seen one in Hampshire last year, it was good to catch up with this species.
Happy with my views and getting some nice photos, I then made my way back to the car park, but not before checking the harbour. There was a Black-necked Grebe in near summer plumage reported earlier this morning, but I could not locate the bird, but instead, there were at least 6 Red-breasted Mergansers, a female Goldeneye and a nice sized flock of Wigeon nearby. As mentioned before, there was a good variety of Gulls present and as well as the Med Gulls, there were Black-headed, Herring, Great Black-backed and Common Gulls swimming on the water. The Med Gulls were now sporting their neat black heads and were very vocal here too. My Hampshire list now currently stands at 143 species for the year and with the advent of all the migrants coming through, no doubt it will climb very much higher over the coming months.
Andy Fisher had a surprise visitor in the shape of a Hedgehog by his porch, in his back garden, this morning! I have personally not seen a 'live' Hedgehog in years! I should have gone up to his house to 'twitch it'!!
My second Hebrew Character moth of the year and my first in my garden moth box.
I put the moth box on overnight and was disappointed to wake up to the sound of rain belting down outside. After Andy Fisher’s small haul of moths last Saturday, I really fancied my chances in attracting a few moths and lucky for me, a total of six moths were present of four species; two of which were new for the year. Though it was a thoroughly wet affair this morning, there were a few species seen this morning in Pembroke Road and I rounded the day off with a quick walk around Highland Road Cemetery with my dogs after my second shift now that the rain had stopped.
Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:
Up to 12 species were seen this morning with only 11 Brent Geese seen on Governor’s Green during the time I was there. A Great Black-backed Gull flew over the same field and headed off west, but very little else that was noteworthy in the rain. Even this afternoon was very quiet. The same toadstools I had found yesterday were still present on the flower bed, but the guys on a couple of Facebook Toadstool sites failed to ID the said toadstools.
The end of an era. This Pine was finally started to be chopped up by the Council in the south-west part of the Cemetery.
Highland Road Cemetery:
So around 4.30pm, I took the dogs for a walk around the Cemetery again, but this time without my camera. I really wasn't intending to spend too long here as I had enough to do at home, but the Green Woodpecker was heard (but not seen) and good numbers of Greenfinches (10+) and Goldfinch (15+) were noted. A total of 15 species were seen in all. Sadly, the fallen old Pine tree in the south-west corner had been all but chopped down by the Council today (see photo); probably due to health & safety I assume. Such a shame as it provided a good roosting spot for the Collared Doves and Wood Pigeons and many Goldcrest and Chiffchaff have been seen in this very tree over the years.
Above, there were two Light Brown Apple Moths in the moth box and below, my first Double-striped Pug.
Above, my first White-shouldered House Moth and below, one of two Common Plumes.
Moth box:
After making my wife a cup of tea and now that it was dry, I went back into the garden to check the moth box. Carefully taking off the rainguards, I first found my first Double-striped Pug of the year, sitting on the edge of the plastic trunk my box sits on. A good start. I then found my first White-shouldered House Moth perched on the fence behind the box and within the box itself, there was a Hebrew Character, two Common Plume and two Light Brown Apple Moths. Let there be many more moths in the coming months.
The female Green Woodpecker in Highland Road Cemetery this morning. She was seen earlier on my walk 'anting' on one of the graves near the main footpath.
Migrant birds are now starting to trickle in with numerous sightings of Wheatears, Little Ringed Plovers and even Ospreys being reported throughout the UK; something I am so looking forward to in the coming months. It is still chilly first thing in the morning and today, there was thick heavy cloud overhead, but, thankfully, very little wind and dry as I kicked off the day at Pembroke Road on my first shift. Yesterday was quiet for me and the only significant bird sighting I had was a Common Buzzard perched on a lamp post on the M275 as my wife and I made our way to Garcons Garden Centre. After my first shift this morning at Pembroke Road, I took the dogs out for their walk around Highland Road Cemetery.
These toadstools were growing in a flower bed close to where I stood this morning in Pembroke Road, Old Portmouth. These are most likely to be Spring Fieldcaps toadstools.
Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:
I logged a good total of 18 species this morning that included at least two Meadow Pipits heading westbound. This species is now starting their Spring passage back to their breeding grounds. A Chiffchaff was a nice bonus too, flitting about in one of the roadside trees close to the Bowling Green and the Brent Geese flock on Governor’s Green got up to 53 birds. I was hoping for a Wheatear hopping about on the grass, but not today. It was much quieter on the second shift, though I did add Greenfinch to my day total, with two birds calling nearby.
Above, a Wood Pigeon eating Ivy leaves near the main entrance of Highland Road Cemetery. Below, a female Blackbird searching for food in the tall grass.
Above, a singing Great Tit was joined by a singing Starling in one of the tall trees near the footpath. Below, the female Green Woodpecker 'anting' on one of the graves. Despite an awful lot of dog-walkers around this morning, the bird was quite content in letting people pass by.
Above, my first Dandelionsof the year, which were beginning to flower and below, this was one of three Chiffchaffs seen this morning. I was lucky to grab a photo of this bird because it didn't hang around too long and headed off north. Possibly a migrant bird?
Highland Road Cemetery:
A good total of 22 species were seen this morning in and over the Cemetery that included my first singing Chiffchaff of the year within my local patch. Two more birds were seen nearby, flitting about in the bushes and shrubs in the north-east corner, just before the Oak Tree. After briefly watching the Great Spotted Woodpecker flying over my head and heading off westbound over the houses, a passing chap asked me if I had seen the Green Woodpecker yet. He then pointed out where he saw the bird and sure enough, I found it searching for ants in a grave not too far from the main footpath. I even managed to grab some film footage of the bird going about its business. It was the male bird and was seen later on my walk high up in one of the trees as well. A pair of Meadow Pipits flew west overhead and a lone Song Thrush (not common here) was seen searching for food among the graves in the centre of the Cemetery.
Just the one Bumblebee seen this morning, but too fast to get an ID and another ‘first of the year’ this morning was a Dandelion just starting to come out in flower. I think the cold temperature and the overcast conditions put paid to any insects on the wing, unlike last week; though yesterday, when I was at Garcons Garden Centre, there were large numbers of Drone Flies feeding on the plants outside.
The birds logged this morning on my walk round included the following:
Herring Gull
Feral Pigeon
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Chiffchaff (3 birds including one singing briefly)
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
House Sparrow
Wren
Dunnock
Starling
Robin
Blackbird
Song Thrush
Carrion Crow
Magpie
Green Woodpecker
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
The female Green Woodpecker searching for ants on one of the graves.
A second calendar year Caspian Gull was found on Saturday and was present yesterday also among Gull flock on the Stream area at Farlington Marshes and a Hoopoe was seen briefly flying over a road at Hedge End today, but could not be relocated, which obviously, would of sparked a big ‘twitch’ in Hampshire. A male Wheatear was found on Farlington Marshes today and the drake Ferruginous Duck was on Posbrook Floods again. Birding pal, Geoff Farwell, went to Brockwood Copse, near West Meon, yesterday and logged the following sightings: 3 Woodlark, 3 Firecrest, 2 Marsh Tit, 280+ Redwing, 2 Siskin, Redpoll, Raven, 6 Red Kite and 10 Common Buzzards.
Above, one of the Grey Partridge at North Baddesley on Saturday. Photo by Emma Parkes. Below, the 2nd calendar year Caspian Gull on Farlington Marshes. Photo by Andy Friend.
Above, the drake Ferruginous Duck (centre) with a Black-headed Gull and drake Tufted Duck on Posbrook Floods this morning. Photo by Mark Francis.
The adult Little Gull on Testwood Lakes this afternoon.
It was back to birding with my good pals Geoff Farwell and Andy Fisher today and we had a cracking day birding around some of the best areas of Hampshire and notch up three more Hampshire ‘year-ticks’ on our travels. We went to five locations in all; kicking off with Implacable Road in Lee-on-Solent for a possible Black Redstart, then off to the countryside in North Baddesley for Grey Partridge, then off to Blashford Lakes for possible Sand Martin and Little Ringed Plover, then Testwood Lakes for a Little Gull and finally rounding off a superb day at the tiny hamlet of Coombe, near Old Winchester Hill for Little Owl. Phew. Though we were not successful with all the areas, there were some nice sightings around. The weather was a bit indifferent, with a cold blustery easterly wind blowing all day, but it mostly remained dry all day, barring a few spots of rain around the Blashford area.
Above, the micro moth Duirnea fugella and below, Hebrew Character. Both were by Andy's moth box this morning.
The day kicked off with the moths. Andy had his moth box on overnight and we scored this time with four moths that included two that were new for the year: Hebrew Character and the micro moth, Diurnea fagella (also known as the March Dagger moth). There was also one Common Plume and one Light Brown Apple Moth found close to the box itself and was nearly overlooked. You really need a sharp eye sometimes for the smaller moths! What a good start to the day and it was only to get better.
Above, the male Black Redstart in Implacable Road. Sadly, the bird gave fleeting views and this was the best of a poor bunch of photos. Below, this poor Fox was riddled with mange in the same road.
Implacable Road, Lee on Solent:
There had been reports of both a female and a male Black Redstart at this site over the past few weeks and after seeing the superb photos of various birders on Facebook (including Emma Parkes and Rob Porter), I was hoping the birds would still be here. We strolled around the road, looking at all the possible sites the birds could be lurking about, including Archers Drive and Daedalus Drive, but to no avail and so we back-tracked on ourselves and returned to walk along Implacable Road again. From here, we had sightings of a Med Gull flying over and several Linnets and Goldfinches going over. A poor dog Fox, with a bad case of mange, was seen (see photos) by the old factories, but moved on as we continued to search for the Black Redstart. We started to walk back to where the car was parked and then I saw a male Black Redstart fly over the road and land in a compound; but it quickly flew on the ground and out of sight. Thankfully, it popped out again and landed on a small brick wall. But that was the longest it settled for and quickly flew off and out of sight behind the buildings. Happy with our first Black Redstart of the year, we then made tracks for our next quest - the Grey Partridge.
Above, the Grey Partridge in North Baddesley and below, Lesser Celandine flowers were all along the roadside.
North Baddesley:
Birding pals, Emma and Matt Parkes were already at the sight where the Grey Partridge were and Emma had taken some excellent photos of the birds. I had already seen Grey Partridge this year up in Norfolk, but I still needed to see my first Hampshire birds (which is not an easy bird to connect with) and on arrival within the countryside at Nutburn Road, we parked up on the lay-by and took special care with the passing traffic going past. Lesser Celandine plants were in flower along the roadside, adding a splash of colour among all the green leaves present. One had to climb a steep bank to view the birds and so I gingerly made my way up to view the fields and all that was present was two white farmyard Geese and a pair of Canada Geese in the fields! Boo! The guys had tried their luck on the opposite side of the road and though there was a Red-legged Partridge and a small herd of Roe Deer, there was no sign of any Grey Partridge. I gave Emma a quick call and she gave me directions on where to view the birds and before long, we had our first Hampshire Grey Partridges under our belt! At least three Grey Partridge were tucked up low by the fence posts segregating the two fields, but they were distant. So we moved further up the road, climbed the steep bank yet again and this time got reasonable views of at least one of the birds. A Red-legged Partridge was also present with them, but moved off into the field. Happy days. Two more Hampshire ‘year-ticks’ and it was only 10.30am. Next stop, Blashford Lakes.
Above, several Red Kite were flying over Ibsley Water including this individual and below, a flock of Lapwing flew up from the spit near the Tern Hide.
Above and below, a couple more photos of one of the Red Kites. They were easily the most numerous raptor here at Ibsley Water.
Pintail, Wigeon and Shoveler on Ibsley Water. Most were tightly packed on the east side of Ibsley Water.
Blashford Lakes:
Realising that the Tern Hide was going to be packed (judging by all the birders' cars present), we decided to do our birding from the Viewpoint overlooking the Tern Hide and Ibsley Water and spent the next couple of hours here. Most of the wildfowl were in front of the Goosander Hide, which was probably due to the horrible easterly wind blowing across the water. Sadly, no migrants were seen, but there was plenty to look at during our time there including good numbers of Red Kite flying over and occasionally, Marsh Harriers and Common Buzzards. The wildfowl mostly were Pintail and Shoveler, with smaller numbers of Tufted Duck, Mallard and around 5 Goldeneye, including two drakes. While scouring the Lake through my scope, I saw a Kingfisher briefly fly across the lake and at least 8 Pied Wagtails were on the spit in front of the Tern Hide. Checking Birdguides on my mobile phone, the Little Gull had been seen again on Testwood Lakes and so, our next destination was set in stone.
Above, the adult Little Gull on Little Testwood Lake. Below, some film footage of the same bird.
Testwood Lakes:
The Little Gull, an adult winter bird, was still present on the smaller of the two lakes, Little Testwood Lake and after parking in the car park (first time Geoff has ever been here, apparently), we made our way hastily to the said lake and before long, Geoff and I were watching our first Little Gull of the year. Andy had seen one earlier this year off Sandy Point, but I quickly got into photographic mode, though the bird remained mostly over the other side of the lake. It was very active, picking off small flies off the water or just over the water as it flew back and forth up and down the small lake, showing off its attractive darker underwing. It was virtually the only bird here, though we did see a pair of Great Crested Grebes and a drake Tufted Duck just before we left.
Above, a male Kestrel on one of the Barns at Coombe and below, Fieldfare among the Starlings in the nearby fields.
Coombe:
Our final stop was to be the tiny hamlet of Coombe, which is not far from Old Winchester Hill. An area of lovely farmland, surrounded by steep hills, barns and very few houses, it was an idyllic setting. Me and the guys had been here before in search of the Little Owls and like today, the birds were not on view again. We even stayed up to 5pm, hoping for a glimpse of these lovely birds, but to no avail, but we did have a nice list of birds and mammals to look at during the couple of hours we spent there. Getting out of the car, after carefully parking on the roadside, we were greeted by a singing Firecrest deep within some Ivy clad trees, but we never got a sighting of the bird. We hastily headed further up the road to view the Barns to the south and even got a glimpse of a Barn Owl flying into one of the Barns. Both Red Kites and Common Buzzards hunting over the countryside here (Geoff saw 32 Common Buzzards here recently and also the two Little Owls bathing in the sunshine!). A male Kestrel perched on one of the Gables and several Ravens flew over. Out in the fields, there was a huge number of Fieldfares feeding with roughly equal numbers of Starlings; approximately 200+ of each, which was easily the highest number I have seen here. To continue with the raptor sightings, a female Sparrowhawk sped across the field towards the Barns with prey in its talons, hotly pursued by a Crow. Skylarks were seen distantly over the hills to the south and a Red-legged Partridge was seen in a field nearby. Mentioning mammals earlier, several Hares were seen out in the fields and showed well through the scope. It was now turning rather cold at 5pm and so we made our way home, happy with another superb day's birding.
