Quiet seawatch & Redstart at Woolmer Pond.

Thursday 10th April 2025.

Dawn over the Solent.

It was back down to Southsea seafront this morning for yet another ‘Sea-watch’ on another clear and still morning over a flat calm sea. Then later this morning, I took my dogs for a nice long walk around Woolmer Pond in search of the Redstart that had been reported there. OK, it was a long drive up there with the dogs, but they behaved nicely in the back of the car. A quick look on Birdguides revealed that the Least Sandpiper was still at Medmerry RSPB Reserve and unbelievably, a Booted Eagle was found in Kent! Two in the UK perhaps? 

Southsea seafront:

Above and below, Sandwich Terns over the Solent. At least they were entertaining on such a quiet morning here. 

In all honesty, despite a two and a half hours there, it was very slow this morning with long periods of nothing but Gulls passing through. At least the Sandwich Terns kept me entertained. It kicked off nicely with two flocks of Whimbrel passing through heading east, with flocks of 5 and 12 seen. Though sadly, that was probably the highlight here with two adult Shags, an adult Gannet, 4 Common Tern, 12 Med Gulls and two flocks of Brent Geese (5 & 10 birds) heading east. A Linnet came in off the sea and flew straight into the Gardens behind me. I found out later that the same guy who was here last week and got a hatful of goodies was also here this morning, somewhere. He said he saw a Hobby and Peregrine coming in off the sea!! How lucky was that!

Above and below, Brent Geese heading east over the Solent.

Above, the Oil Tanker Ellie Nova was helped into the Solent by a Tug. Yes, it was that quiet! 

Woolmer Pond, Bordon:

This Treecreeper showed very well in the small wood on the edge of the Pond.

After doing a few chores at home, I grabbed the dogs and put them in the car and then drove up to Woolmer Pond. A Redstart had been reported here again yesterday and so I thought I would try my luck. A pair of Common Buzzards were on the wing high over the A3 on the way up to Woolmer, but nothing else of note to get the blood pumping! On arrival at the small car park, I carefully took the dogs across the main road (for they do speed down by the roundabout). Walking through the wood to the perimeter fence, a Treecreeper showed very well climbing a Silver Birch tree while Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were heard singing within the woodland.

Above, another photo of the Treecreeper and below, Tufted Ducks on the Pond.

Above, a Goldfinch high up in one of the Silver Birches by the footpath. Below, one of many Chiffchaffs here.

On reaching the Pond, a good scan over the water revealed good numbers of Tufted Duck, at least 4 Little Grebes and around a dozen Grey Lag Geese. Other birds here included Coots, Moorhens, Mallards and at least 10 Black-headed Gulls. I couldn't find any Hirundines over the Pond or the tree opposite, though the Red flags were up and the sound of gunfire echoed around the site and probably kept the birds down.

Above, one of the Common Buzzards soaring north of the Pond and below, I found this male Goldcrest searching for insects on the Cottage itself.

Above and below, the Buzzards were seen mating and luckily for them, they had a veil of leaves to hide behind!

Above, another photo of the Buzzard and below, the Red Kite came in to inspect a probable kill.

Above and below, the Red Kite. Notice below, the twisted tail of the Kite about to land.

Above, a Comma butterfly landed on the brambles by the footpath near the main road and below, a view of Woolmer Pond looking south.

I had the dogs on the lead all the time as we slowly made our way to the Cottage. Earlier, I bumped into Richard Ford making his way back through the woods and he told me that he had a Redstart by the Cottage, but it was quiet otherwise. On the way to the Cottage, a Siskin flew over and both a male Blackcap and Chiffchaffs were seen. There was very little wind which encouraged the raptors to show and a pair of Common Buzzards were soaring above and believe it not, they were later seen mating in the small wooded area near the Cottage! From here, after a lengthy search in the Cottage Garden of which a Goldcrest, Blackcap, a few Chaffinches and a singing Chiffchaff were noted; there was no sign of any Redstarts. But while I watched the Buzzards, I then heard the Redstart singing in the same wood. I only managed one glimpse of the bird high up on a Pine tree, but although the bird was constantly singing, it was obviously flitting from tree to tree and remained elusive despite my best efforts to view the bird.  Giving up in trying to get a photo of the bird, out popped at Red Kite circling over the wasteland to the north. Several Crows had gathered on the ground and probably had found something dead to eat hence why the Kite circled low and eventually landed out of view among the Crows.

The Treecreeper in the small wood by the Pond.

I gave the dogs a good drink and a few dog treats before making our way back to the car, but nothing else of note was seen; but they enjoyed their walk and behaved nicely on the car journey back home. I shall be taking them out on journeys again in the near future, but I must take their drink containers on future journeys instead of drinking from my water bottle!  

First Reed Warbler of the year at Milton Lakes.

Wednesday 9th April 2025.

This Red Kite was a nice surprise flying over Fort Cumberland Common.

A bright blue sky with bright sunshine kicked off the day nicely but it was damn cold at 7.30am this morning as I checked my Moth Box. The Easter break is going nicely and so I had the opportunity to get out and about and late this afternoon, I took a stroll around Milton Lakes to see if any of the Warblers have returned. In between times, I was asked to let my daughter's dog Margot out to relieve herself both in the morning and in the afternoon, which was actually a pleasure. She really is a gorgeous dog.

The Moth Box:

My second Angle Shades moth of the year.

Late last night, I found a couple of moths perched on the kitchen door window pane of which they turned out to be a Bloxworth Snout and a Double-striped Pug. The signs were good that I was in for a lot of moths in the morning. How wrong I was. There was in fact just three moths present: and Angle Shades, probably last night's Bloxworth Snout and a Light Brown Apple Moth. Better than nothing, I suppose.

Bloxworth Snout.

Milton Lakes, Portsmouth:

From the southern end of Swan Lake, I could hear the Reed Warbler and a Water Rail calling from this very spot. Then a Brown Rat walked in front of me!

Earlier today, I was driving around Eastney and from Ferry Road, I watched, and was actually quick enough to grab my camera from the boot of my car, a Red Kite sailing over Fort Cumberland Common. Scores of Pigeons, Starlings and Crows took off in panic as this big superb raptor circled over the Common and then headed off eastbound. Very nice.

The Bluebells were out around Milton Lakes and below, this pair of Mallard were on Swan Lake.

After checking on Margot in the afternoon, I made my way down to Milton Lakes and parking up down Moorings Way, I made my way to Swan Lake. A Chiffchaff was singing its heart out in the trees nearby, as I kept an ear out for anything interesting. I was hoping for my first Common Whitethroat of the year, but despite doing a complete circuit around the Lakes, there was no sight or sound of one. I got a text from Matt Parkes to say there were good numbers of Sedge & Cetti’s Warblers present at Fishlake Meadows and minutes later, I heard the distinctive song of a Reed Warbler at the southern end of Swan Lake.

Above, Hogweed was growing beside Swan Lake and below, these Gadwall were also on the same lake.

I waited patiently for the bird to put in an appearance and after 5 minutes or so, the bird popped out briefly and then disappeared again into the thick reedbed. While waiting, a Water Rail called and a Brown Rat popped out in front of me and then scurried back into cover again. Swan Lake held a few birds that included pairs of Gadwall and Little Grebe. On the opposite side of the Lakes, there were sightings of Greenfinch, Chiffchaffs and a close Wren singing from the brambles. Near the end of the walk, the Reed Warbler started singing again, but proved too difficult to see, but I did get lucky with a singing male Blackcap that showed briefly and then flew off further south.

Above, one of two male Greenfinches seen singing and below, one of several Chiffchaffs seen singing in the area.

Above, a large area of scrub and bramble had obviously been cleared to help keep this place up together. Below, this Wren showed nicely by the footpath.

This Brown Rat was by the waters edge near where I was listening to the Reed Warbler.

My first Hogweed and Bluebells of the year were seen around the Lakes and a couple of Small White butterflies were on the wing to round off a nice day here. In Hampshire today, a male Hen-Harrier was seen at Hook-with-Warsash and a lot of migrant birds were seen by many birders out and about including Whitethroats, Sedge & Reed Warblers, Yellow Wagtails and even a Garden Warbler at Martin Down. 

An amazing view of a male Sparrowhawk.

Tuesday 7th April 2025.

The male Great Spotted Woodpecker showed nicely again this afternoon.

I took the dogs for their walk again this afternoon back over Highland Road Cemetery. Finally, the nagging north-east wind had dropped and it was actually quite warm this afternoon as me and the boys took a slow walk around my local patch again. It was 5pm when I arrived in the Cemy and noticed how much of the grass here had been cut except by the graves in most places; it therefore attracted a lot of both Blackbirds and Starlings to forage among the cut grass.

Above, one of the many Starlings present late this afternoon and below, this adult Herring Gull was collecting nesting material.

Above, a Robin singing under the moon and below, a close up of the same bird.

There were some memorable moments I had during my walk and one particularly stood out when a male Sparrowhawk was seen flying low over the grass and heading towards me. It then veered to my right at the last moment and flew over the perimeter wall heading south at speed. Simply, a ‘wow’ moment! Unfortunately, it was far too quick to get a photo, but that is one moment that I will not forget in a hurry.

Above, the Horse-chestnut trees are well in leaf now and below, this male Blackbird was perched up in a lone tree; one of many here this afternoon.

Above and below, the male Great Spotted Woodpecker preening.

Another good sighting was of the male Great Spotted Woodpecker high up in one of the trees over in the north-east corner. In this bright sunshine, it showed superbly in the tree preening itself for around ten minutes until flying off heading south over the Cemetery. The last memorable moment was of a Jay. I saw the bird hopping about on the ground by a grave in search of something to eat and as it was so close, I managed to film the bird for around a minute or so.

Above, the Jay that showed extremely well while I was walking the dogs.

There was a 'Willowchiff' calling quietly somewhere in the bushes near the Mausoleum, but no sighting of the bird this time. Unusually, there were not many insects around apart from a few Buff-tailed Bumblebees skirting over the grass. Still, a lovely evening around my favourite part of Southsea.

Above, the female Western Subalpine Warbler in Weymouth today. Photos by Emma Parkes.

Much quieter off Southsea seafront.

Tuesday 8th April 2025.

Dawn over Southsea seafront.

I was most certainly in the mood for another ‘sea-watch’ this morning and therefore I had to be up before dawn. However, after the ‘Lord Mayor’s Show’ yesterday by one lucky birder, it was slow going this morning during the hour and a half I was there. I had to be back by 8.30am because my wife had us take our granddaughter out to the Mountbatten Centre and so, with less time that I hoped, I did manage to see a few birds of note.

Spitbank Fort at dawn.

Many Sandwich Terns fishing way offshore with only a few coming in fairly close and only the one Mediterranean Gull was seen this morning. Yet again, another clear blue sky overhead and the barest of north-easterly winds blew across the Solent, but some birds did make their way eastbound which included three small flocks of Brent Geese.

Photos of the birds were hard to come by, but I did see this Sandwich Tern fairly close in and below, three Brent Geese on the move back to their breeding grounds.

A small group of three Common Scoters actually stole the headlines on such a quiet morning here on Southsea seafront, while the other highlights among the many Gulls flying past included a female Kestrel heading east over the sea (probably heading to South Parade Pier), a pair of Oystercatchers heading west and a Shelduck heading east. A pair of Linnets flew in off the sea heading northbound. Finally, a small group of three Shags headed west close in too, but too quick for a photo. And that was it folks! I will probably be back on Thursday and hopefully a bit busier and with more time.

Both Herring and Black-headed Gulls on the beach kept me entertained while it was quiet, Below, a singing Dunnock in the Southsea Gardens behind me.

Emma and Matt Parkes had a near successful trip to Weymouth, but there was no sign of the Subalpine Warbler in Weymouth. So they went onto Portland and scored with sightings of both Redstart and Ring Ouzel! Meanwhile, the UK is currently experiencing an ‘irruption’ of Hoopoes that included one coming in off the sea at Barton-on-sea and another close by at Medmerry RSPB Reserve for those ‘twitching’ the Least Sandpiper. An Osprey was reported on Pilsey Island in Chichester Harbour and three Spoonbills on Farlington Marshes.