Three Pied Wagtails walked up to me on Pembroke Road this morning!
Well, that's the first month of the year gone already and it hasn't been too bad a month for the birds with 125 species recorded for January. The weather has played a major part this month, with plenty of rain, but a few nice days to get out and about, especially on the Saturdays with both Geoff and Andy.
This Fox, a vixen I believe, was on the main road in Henderson Park, Eastney. I took these photos using my phone through the car windscreen.
Today kicked off wet again although it virtually stopped when I started my first shift in Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth, where there were just 12 species seen this morning. Around lunchtime, I was driving through Henderson Park, Eastney; where a Foxwas seen having a scratch on the main road and then trotted off through the Caravan Park.
A quiet day in Hampshire with a Red-necked Grebe seen off Hill Head and a Ruff seen on Titchfield Haven.
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.
I love the first rays of light coming over Highland Road Cemetery when I am walking the dogs past there and also especially the first bird calls of the day.
It was cool and clear as I took my dogs for their early morning walk this morning, with hardly any wind at all; but even with the first bit of daylight showing over Highland Road Cemetery to the east, the first birds were calling in the darkness that included a scolding Wren, a ‘seeping’ Blackbird and ‘mewing’ Herring Gulls soaring overhead. This mornings clear, dry weather gave way to rain in the afternoon and remained so into the evening.
Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:
There were up to 14 species of birds recorded this morning, however, though a couple of small flocks of Brent Geese were seen flying over Governor’s Green, none actually settled on the grass therefore just the Herring and Black-headed Gulls plus a small number of Wood Pigeon were noted here. Again, all the usual birds were present, but a calling Chiffchaff was a bonus as it was heard somewhere deep within the Holm Oaks adjacent to Pembroke Road. Up to 5 Pied Wagtails were on the short grass of the Bowling Green, whereas up to 8 birds were present on the Green yesterday.
Above, a Purple Sandpiper at Southsea Castle and below, a superb Red-necked Grebe floated past on the sea. Photos by Ollie Crabbe.
Above, the regular adult Shag was also off Southsea Castle. Photo by Ollie Crabbe.
In Hampshire today, up to three Red-necked Grebes were seen in our waters here on the south coast: one at Hill Head, one at Weston Shore still and finally, fellow ‘Lazee’ Ollie Crabbe found one drifting close in on the sea at Southsea Castle while looking for the Purple Sandpipers! Two Purple Sandpipers were there along with an adult Shag. Four Velvet Scoters were still off Brownwich Cliffs along with 13 Common Scoters.
The male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Acres Down this morning.
Another busy days birding with Geoff and Andy and today, we paid a good visit to the New Forest and make our way to Acres Down for our annual pilgrimage to see the elusive Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. One of the ‘Lazee Birders’ saw and filmed one of the birds earlier this week and despite the recent Storm Eowyn blowing itself out here on the south coast, this morning produced a clear blue sky, sunshine but a very cold icy start. We took in various sites today that included Acres Down, Bolderwood (briefly) Fritham and Eyeworth Pond and finished off at a well-known Hen-Harrier site which shall remain nameless. Sadly, some ‘toggers’ have been disturbing the roosting site of these rare raptors and so I will not name the actual site on my blog. I managed to see 10 new species for my year list today, of which there were a few unexpected species.
Acres Down, nr Lyndhurst, New Forest:
My first moth of 2025, the micro moth Acleris notana/ferrguana.
My day kicked off with my first moth of the year. Andy had his moth trap out last night and it caught just the one moth, the micro moth Acleris notana / ferrugana. Sadly, one has to dissect the moth's genitalia to get a true ID on this species of which I will not do. Still, a good moth to start the year. After a refreshing coffee, we then set off westbound to join a small group of birders by the usual ‘Lesser Spotted Woodpecker’ tree.
Above, a singing Coal Tit showed well near Acres Down car park. Below, some of the woodland that holds a large variety of birds here.
On our way there, from the car park, we encountered our first Mistle Thrush of the year (for myself and Andy) to kick off our first ‘year-ticks’ of the day. A showy Coal Tit was singing high up in a conifer as we walked along the footpath to the main tree and though we didn't join the dozen or so birders already there, we got a good vantage point and waited for the next hour or so for the bird to put in an appearance. During that hour, our first Crossbills of the year flew in briefly with a small flock of 5 birds and a little while later, 9 more birds flew in though they quickly departed. Stock Doves were seen flying over and some were calling deep within the woodland. A small flock of three Siskins flew overhead, but poor Andy ‘dipped’ on them as the birds sped over the woodland and out of view.
Above, a female Crossbill perched high up in one of the trees and below, a singing Song Thrush echoed throughout the woodland.
After around an hour or so and a few cups of coffee from my flask, the male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker flew in, but was on the opposite side of the bough of the tree. We quickly rushed over to join the other birders and got much better views of the bird, but it remained all of around five minutes, ‘drummed briefly’ then flew off into the woodland and out of view. Happy with our annual sighting of this gorgeous little bird, we made our way to the viewing area overlooking the woodland from the heath.
Above, there were plenty of Stock Doves seen within the woodland this morning and below, another photo of the male Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
A very brief film footage of the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker.
Though I didn't take my scope, there was always a chance of a Goshawk over the woodland and some birders gave the shout that one was soaring over the nearby woods. It didn't take long to find the bird, a female soaring high over the trees, though some distance away. Sadly, a bit too distant to get a decent photo, but I managed a record shot of the bird. It got better when our first Hawfinch of the year flew north over the heath and then dropped into the woodland. This was quickly followed by a singing Woodlark of which we eventually got to see singing over the heath. A few Fallow Deer were seen running down by the edge of the woodland and a Raven, another ‘year-tick’ for Andy, flew over the heath and headed off north, ‘cronking’ in doing so. On the way back to the car, a flock of 7 Redwing flew across our path of which Andy grabbed another ‘year-tick’ to his already increasing year list. Another single bird quickly followed the seven birds as we walked back down the hill to the car park.
Above and below, Geoff and Andy admiring the amazing views at Acres Down.
Above, Andy's first Nuthatch of the year and below, the soaring female Goshawk over the woodland.
Above, several Fallow Deer were seen from the viewpoint.
Bolderwood, New Forest:
Though we had already seen a Hawfinch briefly at Acres Down, I fancied my chances in getting better views by the large Bolderwood car park. However, there were none to be seen despite a lengthy search around the Holly trees. Andy managed to pick up his first Treecreeper of the year while down in the field near the Cottage, we had good views of several Redwings and a pair of Reed Buntings. Marsh Tit was on the agenda, but as we walked further down into the woodland, we came to realise there were simply too many people around and a lot of dogs too. So we gave up on being here and made our way to Eyeworth Pond instead.
Fritham & Eyeworth Pond:
The male and female Goosander on Eyeworth Pond.
As we made our way to Fritham, just before turning off to Eyeworth Pond; Andy’s sharp eyesight picked out a few Fieldfare among a flock of feeding Redwing on the short grass. I quickly pulled over and looked through Andy’s binoculars to view the thrushes as both Andy and myself added Fieldfare to our year list. I did get out of the car to try to take some photos of the birds but they all flew into a nearby tree and remained there.
Above, the pair of Goosanders on Eyeworth Pond and below, my first Marsh Tit of the year in the same area.
As we pulled into a packed car park by Eyeworth Pond, we quickly found a pair of Goosanders swimming quietly on the Pond; our first of the year. What a good start to our trip here and totally unexpected. Eyeworth Pond is famous for the Mandarins here, but, according to an old Birder nearby, who was taking photos some ten feet away from a line of Titmice, there had been no sightings of any Mandarins here for some time. There were plenty of passerines here that included a few Nuthatches; Blue, Great, Coal and our first Marsh Tits of the year………..at last! Many a ‘togger’ can get some good photos of the birds here as long as they put plenty of seed down!
Above, there were plenty of passerines making the most of the free seed put out by the photographers at Eyeworth Pond including Dunnocks and below, Blue Tits.
Above, a Nuthatch showed well and below, Chaffinches got in on the act too.
Another Nuthatch joined in.
Our final destination was for the Hen-harriers and Merlins out on the heath and though I will not mention exactly where, we spent the next couple of hours freezing our nuts off overlooking a vast expanse of heathland in front of us. We were joined by a fellow ‘Lazee Birder’ Tim Doran, who Geoff chatted with and then a large number of ‘Lady Birders’ (they have their own Whatsapp group) were seen and was headed by Keith Betton who also came over to us for a chat. During our long wait, a flock of 5 Mistle Thrushes were resting in the bare branches of a bush in the distance. A Raven flew off north over the heath and a splendid Red Kite drifted over and then headed off west over the heath only to land in a small bush way in the distance. Some Linnets flew over and a probable Reed Bunting was seen on a bush down in the valley below.
The Red Kite was a nice surprise flying over the heath.
When we arrived here, a ‘togger’ (photographer) stopped for a chat and he showed us the photos he took of a superb male Hen-Harrier he had watched earlier in the morning. The chap said he had his own farm near Fordingbridge and regularly took photos of all nature. Judging by the huge length of his lens on his camera, he was seriously dedicated to photography. We made our way to a good spot overlooking the heath and heard a Dartford Warbler ‘churring’ someone amongst the Gorse bushes; but there was no sighting of the bird. Bugger! After nearly two hours here, the shout went up from Keith Betten that a male Hen-Harrier was showing. Both Geoff and I managed to see the bird slowly flap low against the heath and then along the top of the hill in the distance until it flew over the hill and out of view. Poor Andy failed to see the bird and as it was now 4pm, I had to blow the final whistle on today's birding. Yes, we were very lucky with the weather and the birds really performed for us today.
Above, the Brent Geese (and some Wood Pigeons) on Governor's Green, Old Portsmouth.
Another cold morning here in Southsea and though there was a very light south-easterly wind, temperatures remained in single digits throughout the morning. Pembroke Road was blessed with the Brent Geese popping in to feed on the grass on Governor’s Green and the Jay put in an appearance too. Later in the morning, I took the dogs for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery again, of which it was rather quieter than normal and very few dog-walkers too.
Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:
As mentioned, the Brent Geese were already present when I arrived at Pembroke Road, with a small flock of 5 birds grazing on the northern end of Governor’s Green. They were joined over the next 45 minutes by another 40+ birds; whereas yesterday, there were at least 75+ present late afternoon. Just the one Jay was seen today, going about its business in the trees opposite where I stood until flying off over the rooftops to the north. I got up to 16 species seen here yesterday, but only 12 were noted this morning, which included a small flock of Pied Wagtails on the Bowling Green.
Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:
Two juvenile Herring Gulls on the Chapel roof.
After a few chores done after my first shift at Pembroke Road, I took the dogs for a walk back over my local patch. Unfortunately, no sign of any Woodpeckers this morning, but there was a roving flock of Long-tailed Tits back in the Cemetery (scarce here), with at least 8 birds seen in one of the small ornamental Cherry trees, but before I could get any reasonable photos, a dog-walker flushed them and they flew off to the Mausoleum area. At least four Blue Tits were with them also.
Above, one of the Long-tailed Tits and below, up to three Greenfinches were seen including these two birds.
There was just the one Jay seen and though elusive at first, it eventually gave good views in the treetops by the Mausoleum. There were a lot of Magpies here again with at least 8 birds seen in the trees and a few more in the long grass.
Above, there was just the one Jay seen in the Cemy this morning and below, the large Oak Tree in the north-east corner of the site.
The birds seen or heard this morning in the Cemy included the following:
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Feral Pigeon
Long-tailed Tit (8)
Blue Tit
Great Tit
Wren
Robin
Starling
House Sparrow
Blackbird
Carrion Crow
Magpie
Jay
Above, looking south from the centre of the Cemy and below, another photo of the Jay.
In Hampshire today, both the Red-necked and Slavonian Grebe were seen near Hythe Pier and I read a report on the ‘Lazee Birder’s’ App that two Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers were seen ‘drumming’ on the usual tree at Acres Down, New Forest. I shall have to pay a visit there soon for my ‘year-tick’ of this rare Woodpecker. Four Velvet Scoters are now off Brownwich Cliffs and a Slavonian Grebe off there too. Nationally, the Booted Eagle was reported at Marazion, Cornwall, yet again and seems well settled there. However, for the more adventurous, the drake Spectacled Eider is still on the sea off Texel, North Holland! I was reading about this bird on Birdguides last night and it said that for this bird to move away from its usual breeding area way up in the Arctic Circle is exceptional and the bird has been recorded as the most southerly bird ever recorded in the Western Pelearctic!
