Hants Birding - 26th July

Very little birding going on for me of late but today I did get out and twitch a rather unseasonal Red-backed Shrike a cracking male showed reasonably well near Cheriton. Since I was out I figured high tide at Farlington could be worth a look. There was nothing unexpected on the lake but a Short-eared Owl hunting the grassland to the south of the lake was a nice surprise. It was using the fence posts and posing in the evening sunlight. For photography purposes it could have been closer, this is heavily cropped but I can’t complain really!

Farlington Lake at this time of year attracts passage waders which gather here at high tide when they can’t feed out on the mudflats of Langstone harbour. It’s a good place to check for something unusual but also if the high tide coincides with a sunny evening it can be an excellent place to photography birds in flight (BIF) in this case waders coming off the lake to return to the harbour. The light, wind and tide were just right this evening to bif some waders, here’s some examples below.

Hants Birding - Late May/Early June

I have not managed very much birding over this period but i have been able to catch up with the Black-winged Stilts at Pennington Marshes as well as obtaining brief views of the singing Marsh Warbler at Ibsley water meadows. Stilt pics and a recording of the Marsh Warbler below.

Singing Marsh Warbler, Ibsley water meadows, 6-6-2012

Owling - 17th May

With a little time to spare before dusk this evening and some reasonable weather it seemed appropriate to attempt to locate and photograph some Owls locally. The result was a least three pleasing images so it went pretty well! See below.

Two Juvenile Tawny Owls

Barn Owl at dusk

Juvenile Tawny Owl

Patch update - mid May

A few hours on the patch over the last week have kept things ticking over nicely with new migrants added on most visits. The Common Tern at Kingsley sand pit remains in residence adding weight to the theory that they do breed somewhere locally. A sunny afternoon last week saw me scanning for raptors from the Wyck road and tally up five species, a nice close flyby Hobby the highlight. 6+ Wheatear in a ploughed field here were also very nice. Lesser Whitethroat and Garden Warbler are now on the list and Little Ringed Plover along with the previously recorded Common sandpiper make up the waders I could reasonably expect to get.

I will doubtless remain in the lower half of the table but Kingsley is hardly evenly matched against the likes of Blashford, Fishlake, Fleet Pond etc. I set myself a goal of 100 species and that looks well within reach since I’m currently on 93 with I’d like to think a few easy ones still to fall

Proper May Birding in Hampshire – 4th May

Male Whinchat,
Sinah Golf Course, Hayling Island

I have managed a few days out in the field over the last week. I had a good sea-watch on Monday and I’ve seen most of the migrants that I might reasonably expect to have done. Overall the weather has been poor and the birding not much better considering this should be the best time of year. Today however was a good one with admittedly no major quality but plenty of quantity. I was out of bed late due to lack of enthusiasm frankly, though on arrival in the west corner of Hayling island it was quickly apparent there had been a reasonable fall of migrants. Fiveteen Wheatear in a very small area of the public golf course was a good start and these quickly became twenty five with at least six Whinchats among them, including a couple of males which are always worth seeing. A quick look at the sea then produced a distant Great Skua sat on the sea bathing and flapping around for a bit before it flew off east, I’ve seen several Arctic Skua and a couple of Poms this week so a Bonxie was a welcome addition. The lure of land birds was strong and the sea too quiet so I was soon back bashing the scrub. The Kench and Sinah Warren area was heaving with birds to keep the bins active. Many of the Willow Warblers, Chiffchaffs, Whitethroats and Blackcaps were perhaps breeding in the area but many were clearly migrants. On top of these I had Redstart, Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler and at least five Spotted Flycatchers to keep things interesting.

Spotted Flycatcher at The Kench, Hayling Island

There has been a group of five White Storks roaming the south of England over the last few days and they have been threatening to enter Hampshire airspace. I refused to chase them around Sussex yesterday and aborted a twitch once I had heard they were back in the air. Hampshire is a different matter mind you and with late news (there’s a chance I could have scoped them from where I was, frustratingly) of them flying over Havant towards Portsdown, I decided it was worth a scan from the top of the hill. I didn’t give it long but I also spent a while driving the fields north of Portsdown hoping to find them on the deck with no joy.

By this time news had reached me of a quality bird on my proper patch of Woolmer pond. Steve Mansfield had found a Bar-tailed Godwit there mid morning and this would be a Woolmer tick for me if it hung on for long enough. There is no doubt I literally over looked and looked over this bird initially since I didn’t expect it to be mostly motionless and at such close range! 

Bar-tailed Godwit, Woolmer Pond

The pond has benefitted greatly from the recent rain and is looking very attractive for waders now; the six Common Sandpipers also present seemed to agree. Clearly it had been a good day for migration and there had to be a chance of finding Common Sandpiper nearby on one of the pits at Kingsley for the patch list. Two Common Terns and three Common Sandpipers on the south pit was a welcome sight and Whitethroat and Cuckoo were also new additions for the patch-yearlist. All in all a pleasant days Hampshire birding.

Patchlist 2012 - 22nd April

Very few chances to get out on the patch in the last few weeks have meant that there are probably several migrants i should have seen there by now. However i have managed a few hour over the last week and have added Swallow unsurprisingly. More surprising though certainly hoped for is a semi resident Common Tern that's been present for a few days at Kingsley south pit, interestingly it is sporting a ring. I had hoped this pit would be good enough to attracted Terns and I know hope there will at some point be more than just this one species!!

Patch meanderings

Grey Partridge

Various meanderings locally over the last couple of weeks have produced little of note except a trickle of the first summer migrants. Chiffchaffs have been everywhere for a while now and i have had two singing Blackcap and Firecrests seem to be in every bit of vaguely suitable woodland in the Hants/Surrey/Sussex border area, however it took me until yesterday to find a male singing on my patch! I also picked up the first Sand Martins at Kingsley sand pits where they will no doubt be a continued feature through the summer since they are likely to breed here.

Another resent highlight was a daytime Tawny Owl which I located due the local Jays and Chaffinches kicking off over its presence, a shame it wasn’t a LEO!

Grey Partridge seem to be cropping up in various places around the patch, so it's good to know they are around in what seems to be good numbers.

Iceland Gull, Broadmarsh

My favourite shot of the Broadmarsh Iceland Gull

Rose-coloured (and uncooperative) Starling, Hordle, 11th March

Nice bird to see but unfortunately, as you could guess from the video, it never showed very well for me.
For better pictures see basically anywhere else......

Going gullistic - The Iceland Gulls....

The Immature Iceland Gulls in Hampshire, Jan-March 2012 

Iceland Gull, Broadmarsh, Hampshire - March 2012

Firstly I am basing a lot on little experience, and features which may not be concrete, bear in mind I do most of my birding in Hampshire and I Hants ticked Iceland Gull this year, so I have not seen many. I also admit to not fully understanding how and when these birds moult, but I now believe the Broadmarsh bird could well be a 1^st winter bird and that the Camber dock bird is certainly a 2^nd winter. Anyone following this may realise that they were both aged as such publically after there initial discovery and in both cases I challenged that opinion! What a numpty! Anyway over the course of my journey all round the houses and back I have learned a lot and I hope you have too.

The Camber Dock Iceland Gull
Photographed on the 30^th January 2012

If you except that the Camber bird has a darker iris than is typical then everything else fits 2w. The books suggest that the iris colour is a good feature to use to age birds in their first two year but that it can be variable. In general we are lead to believe that the iris of a 1w should be dark and in a 2w it should be pale.

The above photo has been deliberately darkened to enhance and clearly show the presence of grey feathers in the mantle and scapulars of this bird. The argument falls apart If a 1w Iceland Gull can appear this advanced but surly it can’t. So coupled with this and a clearly bi-coloured iris, the pale greenish ivory (not pink) coloured base to the bill with a dark band and a pale tip, the white head, breast and primaries and otherwise very pale appearance it has to be a 2w.

The Broadmarsh Iceland Gull 
Photographed on the 5^th , 12^th and 14^th March 2012


This bird superficially looks very similar to the Camber bird and could be thought to be in 2w plumage. Add to that its dark eye (a feature apparently unusual for a 2w) and it is unsurprising that I and others initially suspected it to be the same individual as the Camber Dock bird. On inspection of photographs it became clear that this was not the case.

In strong sunlight the iris of the Broadmarsh bird can look yellowish, but in general it appears dark as in this photo. 

The bill base is pink (not greenish ivory) with an all dark band and tip. The head and breast are white but particularly in flight the wings, tail and upper body have a brownish milky tea colouring. 



There is no sign of any new grey feathers in the mantle and scapulars. 

It is not a typical biscuit coloured juvenile but I believe this bird has a dark eye because it is a faded, worn juvenile (or 1^st winter).

If you have got this far then you must be at least vaguely interested in these birds and their age.
What do you think?

Thanks must go to Alan Lewis, Andy Johnson and particularly to Jason Crook for helping me to get my head around these gulls…

Cheers

Woolmer tick - 12th March

Not just any Red Kite, a Woolmer Red Kite  

Not only that the first I have ever seen at Woolmer (my proper local patch) in at least ten years of regular birding there. Having now seen six Red Kites locally in a month, which is more than i had ever previously seen in total locally, it seem this is the year they become a regular site round these parts....!

Iceland headache

On studying my photos from today of the Broadmarsh Iceland Gull it is clear that it is different to the Camber Dock bird, though at first glance similar. There is a difference in bill pattern, the Camber bird has a pale tip, and the eye looks nothing but dark in any of my photos of the Broadmarsh bird, where as the Camber bird’s eye though dark for a 3cy is pale/bicoloured. The Broadmarsh bird doesn’t have any grey/un-patterned mantle/scaps feathers, the Camber bird does. So the Broadmarsh bird is quite unlike the Camber 3cy in many ways but it is not a brown coffee coloured, dark billed juvenile/2cy. So is the Broadmarsh bird a faded, spring juv/2cy…?
Or should I just stop looking at Gulls?!?!
Comments welcome!

Patchlist: 75% Woodcock - 24th February

Well the Malthouse Farm area is fast becoming one of my favoured areas of the patch; there is a good view over a large area that takes in farmland, woodland and views of Sleaford reservoir. So far the Goosander and Ruff have been found from here and yesterday I picked up another Red Kite, tens of Buzzards and managed a new high count of ten Goosander.

Just about got all ten in one picture, they're Goosander believe me!

Tonight I was there again for an hour at dusk with a view to targeting Barn Owl hunting the farmland. Sadly that was not to be though at Sleaford Res a pair of Goosander almost certainly roosted along with 7 immature Mute Swans and 45 Canada Geese. Both Little and Tawny Owl were calling and two Woodcock flew over me and out into the farmland to feed. Species no. 75 so three quarters of the way to my original target for the year before the end of February!

Patchlist: Kites are like Buses - 21st February

Record shot

I had a wander around the part of the Straits Enclosure, Alice Holt Forest that is included in my patch yesterday with little to report though there were several Marsh Tit. It will definitely be worth coming back to this area in the spring and summer as I have had Turtle Dove and Lesser Whitethrout here in the past and it must also have a chance of harbouring breeding Firecrest so a bit of a rekey more than anything.

Today I briefly stopped in at Sleaford Res to check on the Goosander, still three birds present. Even better though I stopped by a road on the western side of my patch and had a scan around for raptors. Straight away I was pretty sure I had a distant Red Kite and scoped it to confirm, a nice patch tick that I was pretty sure of getting but they are still a scarce bird locally. I hung around a little longer and got the total up to four with three of those together. It seems they’ll be a common site soon then, I’ve seen as many today as I had seen in my corner of Hampshire ever before!

Patchlist 2012 - 18th February

I had a couple of damp hours on the patch today with not a great deal to show for my trouble. At Kingsley sandpits I had several Mandarins and a Cormorant along with the female Wigeon again, though it flew of and I later relocated it at Stubbs Farm ponds where there was also Moorhen, Coot, Mallard, Tufted, Gadwall, Canada Goose and Mute Swan so as good a selection of waterfowl as anywhere on my patch. The most interesting bird here however was a hybrid Tufted x Pochard which I suspect is the same bird mentioned at this location in the 2010 Hampshire bird report, so it has been around for years and I am therefore surprised that I have never encountered it before on any of the other local water bodies. Anyway I still need Pochard so does it count as half a tick!?

Patch Mega - 16th Feb

A brief spell on the patch today was really productive. The footpath that runs west from Malthouse farm is mostly within my patch and affords good views to the north over the Straits enclosure, part of Alice Holt Forest and the surrounding farmland. It is also possible to stand in my patch here and scope Sleaford reservoir. By doing this I had already found a drake Goosander last month. Once in position I started to scan the area, really with a bonus raptor in mind and concentrated on the sky. There were plenty of Buzzards around but the hoped for Red Kite has yet to be seen. After a while I scanned the reservoir and picked up a drake Goosander straight away but another bird slipped out of view before I could id it, though it later appeared and proved to be a female, nice a pair! Before long another drake slipped into view, and by the time I had left I had managed to see six Goosander here which included 4 drakes, there may be more. Goosander is a scarce bird locally though perhaps not anymore!

There were at least 100 Skylark in the stubble here 30+ Linnet and a few hundred winter thrushes too. As I had arrived I had noticed a flock of Lapwing south of the reservoir but not paid them too much attention, they were occasionally getting up in the air and flying around, I stuck my bins on them and noticed a smaller wader among them, initially I took it for a Golden Plover but as I watched it spiral round with the flock at some distance something didn’t fit. 

I noticed the birds feet extended beyond its tail and as it descended the white tail sides were obvious, it landed and quickly started feeding actively quite unlike the Lapwings and everything fell into place, a Ruff, an almost unheard of bird locally and another patch mega!!! 

Patchlist 2012 - 6th-15th Feb

Last week I did manage a few hours on my patch over two or three days. I added Snipe at Shortheath Common thanks to Tony Davis’s detailed knowledge of the site and also Reed Bunting at two different sites. Other highlights were a Little Egret roosting at KSP south and a pre roost flock of 140 Linnet in Oakhanger as well as 26 Golden Plover and 200+ Skylark in one flock near Wyck.  On 15th I also added Red-legged Partridge and Yellowhammer, two in a  Chaffinch flock in a stubble field with 5 Reed Buntings and the first singing Yellowhammer I have heard this year a few hundred meters away. So things ticking over nicely and some interesting hard weather birds bring me up to 72 species.

Patchlist 2012 - 4th Feb

It seems winter has arrived so a few hours out on the patch this afternoon seemed in order since more than a few winter birds are still missing from my list, due to the mild weather. Hopefully things will change in the coming days as the weather around the country moves a few birds around. Just as I was about to leave the house I had a text from Andy Davidson to say that 12 Golden Plover were near Kingsley and within my patch. There is usually a local wintering flock but I had yet to catch up with them and so I made these my first stop. 12 Golden Plover (later 30) with a few Lapwings, nice.  

The northern pits at Kingsley were quite frozen but I was pleased to find a good count of 39 Gadwall keeping a small area ice free in the company of 5 Mallard, 3 Lt Grebe, 3 Coot, 1 Teal and best of all a Wigeon probably the same female that was around at the end of last year, where has she been! The big south pit was ice free?! and attracting a lots of BH Gulls (180+) and a Common Gull to bath, the expected waterfowl were present but 15 Mandarin is more than usual on this pit. It started snowing around 16:15 so visibility was poor but I tried a few places for Barn Owl all the same, with no success, good views of Little Owl and a Tawny sat on the hedge was nice though.

A couple more shots of the 2w Iceland Gull at Camber Dock, Pompey

A couple more shots of the Shore Lark at Hayling Island Oysterbeds yesterday

Shore Lark and Iceland Gull - 30th January

 I popped down to Hayling today to try and connect again with the Shore lark at the Oysterbeds and did so immediately, it was showing well at the closest end of the shingle island.

 With time to spare I thought I would try my luck again with the Camber Dock 2w Island Gull and 3^rd time lucky I connected very quickly. It showed very well in flight and then perched up nicely too giving me the chance to get some photos and video. See below.

Avian Anomalies - 29th January

I spent a few hour this afternoon in the Langstone Harbour area just general birding really but certainly with the hope of finding a white winged gull given the current influx. Sadly that wasn’t to be and it was generally very quite though there were two highlights, none of which are likely to spark a twitch! 

Budds sewage farm held little of note but I was able to pick out a Ferruginous Duck hybrid. This area has a long history of records of these hybrids but the long returning bird is very Ferruginous Duck like with some subtle anomalies. This individual looks like a straight forward 50/50 male Ferruginous Duck X Pochard hybrid. It’s also known in the area along with a 50/50 female.

Next was bird of the day an absolutely stunning male Blackbird! (I’ve never said that before!) Blackbirds are one of the more common or at least obvious suffers of leucism a condition where pigment cells fail to develop, I have seen a similar leucistic Blackbird to this before as well as plenty that only suffered from lack of pigment in a few feathers. The colour of this bird’s legs has also been affected. In case anyone cares it was frequenting the edge of the Sinah golf club car park on Hayling Island.  Photo and video below:

Patchlisting - 22nd January

Well the plan was to spend the day on my patch, but since I’ve been wittering on about the immature Iceland Gull at Camber Dock, Portsmouth, and given that stupidly I’ve voiced an opinion based on low res pics on the net, I thought I really should go and see it, maybe take some photos and set my mind at ease. General opinion seems to be that it is a 2^nd winter bird and I'm pretty sure that is the case but to me at least it didn’t seem 100% clear cut. Anyway there was no sign of it and a flyby blue lightening bolt of a Kingfisher was no consolation, however the Old Speckled Hen was!

By early afternoon it was back to plan A, out on the patch a very quiet Binswood did produce Nuthatch, Coal Tit and Marsh Tit all of which were patch year ticks somehow! However still not a sniff of Siskin, Redpoll or Brambling. The Green Sandpiper was still present on King Johns pond and as I headed back towards Kingsley sandpits a Little Egret flew over my head and I later relocated it on KSP south, nice one! Next I decided to target Owls over dusk, Little Owl and Tawny were as expected not a problem but I am quite concerned that the Barn Owls I’ve been watching in this area for maybe a decade have been obliterated by the harsh winter periods of the last two years, snow cover was thick and complete up here and that must make hunting very hard.

Hampshire ticks just keep on coming - 16th January 2012

A Shorelark was seen yesterday at Hayling Oysterbeds late in the afternoon and reported to Birdguides this morning. I had already made plans to visit the coast this afternoon if I had time and so with not especially high hopes I arrived at the Oysterbeds. After a brief exchange of conversation with a Dorset birder we parted ways to look for the bird. Just a few minutes later I picked it out distantly on the shingle island, the first Shorelark I have seen in Hampshire and my fifth new Hampshire bird this year.
There is no way I’ll keep up this momentum!!

Unfortunately only two other birders were able to connect before it disappeared followed by the appearance of various familiar faces hoping to see it. I gather it didn’t show again until late in the day around dusk, but at least its still there.

Ferruginous Duck – 12th Jan 2012

Having seen two Hampshire Megas with time to spare I figured I may as well take another look at the Blashford Ferruginous Duck since I had such poor views before. The bird was asleep much of the time among a raft of Pochard but occasionally stuck its head up, preened or swam a short distance. 

Here are a few record shots I took of the bird last Thursday, it appears to be a typical Ferruginous Duck in most respects. Plumage wise it seems fine, the contrast between flanks and breast was barely noticeable (though in other pictures it seems quite obvious!).The bill looks good with all the dark mostly restricted to the nail. 

The eye is pale white, though can look yellowish!The head shape is round though can appear to be slightly peaked but never as peaked as in this photo from my archive, of a presumably typical male Ferruginous Duck, taken in captivity. 

 

Male Ferruginous Duck, Photographed at Arundel WWT

 The bird shows no white spot under the chin, but appears in some photos to have a pale lore spot. The overall size of the bird is good it is smaller than a Tufted Duck.

I did not see the bird in flight but I assume the wings are as typical Ferruginous Duck. 

There seems little doubt that the bird is mostly, if not completely genetically a male Ferruginous Duck and if it isn’t what mixture of genes could cause the head shape anomaly?