Ice Cold in Hampshire

If the weatherman is to be believed, and I have no reason to doubt him, last night was the coldest night of the year. The sub-zero temperature had produced a heavy frost and I was unable to get the solid ice out of the bird baths, and so had to fill up some saucers with water and place them around the garden. 

It was frozen at Titchfield Haven too, the first time I think I have seen that this year, and the waders and gulls were roosting on the ice at the southern  end of the River Meon. However, it was not the roosting gulls that drew my attention, but the waders feeding on the intertidal. In the 35+ years that I have been visiting Hill Head, things have changed, the intertidal area has become more sandy, and this in turn has attracted small flocks of Sanderling. The numbers remain fairly small, this morning I counted only nine birds, that were feeding with a single Dunlin and a handful of Ringed Plovers. Because the beach is well used for recreation at low tide the birds are generally quite approachable, and these were no exception.

Sanderling - Hill Head

Sanderling - Hill Head

Dunlin - Hill Head

I spent a good half an hour with the Sanderling, despite having only seen, and photographed them recently at Southsea, and then moved on around the foreshore. There wasn't much of note to report, Oystercatchers were common, as were Ringed Plovers and Turnstones, but other than the Sanderlings, Dunlin and single Grey Plover and Redshank, there wasn't much else.

Black-tailed Godwits - Titchfield Haven

Before heading off I had a quick scan over the frozen river, there were mainly Black-headed, but also Common and Herring Gulls. Four Black-tailed Godwits were also present, but they must of got cold feet and flew up the valley. A cheeky Fox was soaking up the sun on a south facing slope. It was clearly visible from the roadside viewing area and seemed unperturbed by my presence, although it did occasionally have a quick peak to see who was watching it.

Fox - Titchfield Haven

After my visit to the Haven I headed up to a site in East Hampshire where there was meant to be a Red Kite roost. Apparently up to 40 birds have previously been recorded there but recently it has numbered around the low 20's. It was still bitterly cold but the clear sky meant the light was excellent. I parked up on the corner of a farm track and almost immediately three Red Kites drifted over. Several Common Buzzards were also milling around, at one point I counted seven, but there was most likely more.

Red Kite - East Hampshire

As I waited for more kites to show I was entertained by a couple of Robins, who were being typically territorial, and several Brown Hares that were showing occasional signs of their March madness.

Robin - East Hampshire

Brown Hare - East Hampshire

There were several Red Kites coming into the roost by now but most of them were distant, which was a bit disappointing, the local Buzzards were coming much closer and enabled me to get the odd photo. The kites were generally just flying leisurely towards the roost and perching up, but just when I though that they had settled down, they would all take flight and chase each other briefly before settling back down.

Common Buzzard - East Hampshire

Red Kites - East Hampshire

Roosting Red Kites - East Hampshire

As the light, and the temperature dropped the kites settled down, and so did the level of bird activity, although a male Pied Wagtail continued to feed on the frozen farm pond. It seemed to be a very unlikely place to be feeding, when the farm yard appeared to have much more to offer, but it was actively picking up little morsels from the surface. Eventually it too flew off to roost, but as it did the moon put on a spectacular show.

Skating Pied Wagtail - East Hampshire

The Moon

Sanderling at Southsea Castle

I heard back from Pete Potts the other day that the colour-ringed Sanderling I saw at Southsea Castle on 6th December was indeed on of his. It would appear that any bird ringed with a blue flag will have been ringed in the UK and by Farlington Ringing Group, Pete being the lead ringer. This bird was originally ringed on 18th September 2013, at Eastoke, Hayling Island, Hampshire, so this sighting was only about 10km west of its original capture site. It has been sighted 12 time since it capture, with all of the sightings being on Hayling Island, except two, which were mine and a sighting from Ryde Sands on the Isle of Wight on 17th February 2014.

Colour-ringed Sanderling, Southsea Castle, Hampshire

Out of interest I recently saw that a different colour-ringed bird was recorded at Southsea Castle on 29th November 2014. This bird was originally ringed on 3rd October 2011, and has been recorded every winter since on Hayling Island, with occasional visits to other locations including Ryde Sands, on the Isle of Wight and Gilkicker Point, Gosport.

Waders at Southsea Castle

This afternoon I took advantage of the fantastic weather and headed down to Southsea Castle to look and hopefully photograph the wintering Purple Sandpipers, and anything else that might be there. I arrived at around 1:30pm which was about an hour after high tide, so at least some of the sea defence where the birds usually are found was exposed. 

Sanderling

The first two birds I saw when I arrived were a couple of Sanderling, one adult and one first winter, the adult bird was also colour-ringed. They were feeding at the eastern end of the sea defence, picking through the seaweed and were extremely confiding. The top two images are of the juvenile bird and it is possible to see the retained brownish juvenile tertials and other wing feathers. The third and fourth images are of the adult bird, the uniform plumage of the upper parts, and blackish, and less pointed primary tips are evident.

There are various colour-ringing schemes being carried out in different countries on Sanderling, the colour of the flag should give an indication as to which country the bird was ringed in. I could not find a blue flag mentioned and so have emailed to organiser, but it may be that this bird is one of those that was ringed at Sandy Point on Hayling Island a few years back.

Knot

The second species that I recorded was a Knot. A single bird had been reported earlier in the week and I had hoped it might still be around. This bird was feeding in the middle section of the sea defences, and again was very confiding, although it did take flight when a large dog came skidding along towards it. This bird was also a first winter with the contrast between the adult and juvenile feathers very evident. The juvenile feathers are the grey brownish ones with a dark subterminal band.

Purple Sandpiper

There were at least 11 Purple Sandpipers feeding in the central and western parts of the sea defences. Initially the were quite close in, but as the tide receded they mover further out. Photographing them was tricky as I was having to shoot into the sun most of the time, and it was not possible get really close to them as the ground was too slippery. 

Rock Pipit

There was only one Rock Pipit present and this bird was picking amongst the cracks . This bird also appeared to be a first winter bird; this was based on the fact that the two outermost greater coverts appear to be more broadly fringed, buff coloured and longer. The juvenile feathers appear shorter and fringed whitish.

In Search of Winter Birds - Norfolk 2013 Day 2

Our day began with a re-calculation of last nights species total, from the lowly 63 species that we thought we had recorded, to the dizzy heights of 68. There is no reason for the miscalculation other than over indulgence in ale from the nearby pub followed by a couple of healthy drams of Talisker before bed....not the wisest thing to do when you have a full day's birding ahead of you!

After a hearty home cooked breakfast we ventured out into the crisp morning air. Overnight  light snow was still lying on the ground so we knew it was going to be cold, but the brisk north-westerly wind was unexpected. 

Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra

We began our day with a trip to Choseley Barns, a former site for tree sparrow, but sadly no more. Nonetheless, there are still good birds to be seen in this area and today was no exception. Yellowhammer, brambling, chaffinch, linnet, and the now very difficult corn bunting were present in the hedges whilst grey partridges were unusually present in good numbers in the fields.

Corn Bunting Miliaria calandra

In Hampshire, species such as corn bunting and yellowhammer have disappeared from many of the their former haunts, which makes these trips to Norfolk even more enjoyable; not only do you get to see the range of species, but in good numbers too.

Brambling Fringilla montifringilla and Chaffinch's F. coelebs

The farm has recently entered a High Level Stewardship scheme and it seems to be paying dividends, since the number and diversity of species was great, and this in turn attracted interesting predators, the most noteworthy being a hunting merlin which headed low over the fields in search of food.

Brambling and Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella

Our next stop was the RSPB reserve at Titchwell, a great place for wintering ducks and waders and for looking out to sea for sea ducks and divers. We arrived in glorious sun but before long a very ominous dark cloud appeared on the horizon. The pasture to the west of the reserve was excellent, golden plover, curlew, lapwing, black-tailed godwit and ruff were all present, a great start to our visit.

Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata, one drake and two ducks 

In contrast to the pasture, the scrapes were much quieter. The usual species were present, shoveler, shelduck, mallard, gadwall and teal, with a single female red-crested pochard putting in a surprise appearance. Wading birds were relatively thin on the ground, with pied avocet and a single spotted redshank the most noteworthy.

Sanderling Calidris alba

Our timing was not great because before we reached the second hide the storm arrived, and with it a deluge of hail and sleet and an increase in wind speed. After it had passed we headed out to look at the sea, the strong wind and rough sea made viewing difficult, but we still managed common scoter, only four though, loads of goldeneye, great-crested grebe and red-throated diver. Thousands of gulls were roosting on the beach whilst sanderling, redshank and bar-tailed godwit fed amongst them.

Snow Buntings Plectrophenax nivalis

Whilst at Titchwell, we were told of a flock of snow buntings that were frequenting the dunes at Holme, so you can guess where our next stop was. We parked in the car park, walked out across the golf course and before long we were watching a flock of around 80 birds, which had joined with even more goldfinch's and skylarks. It doesn't matter how often you see them snow buntings are spectacular, and when you have a flock of 80, you can see where the phrase a 'blizzard' of snow buntings comes from.

Dunlin Calidris alpina (left) Knot Calidris canutus (right)

Holme was also great for waders and the dunlin and knot were extremely approachable, giving the ideal opportunity for photography. The image above provides an excellent change to compare two species that can be easily confused by the inexperienced birder.

Knots in flight

After Holme we headed to Wells harbour, where a common seal had hauled out on the sand, before heading to our final destination of Holkham Park.

Common Seal Phoca vitulina

There was not much to report from Holkham, and with no large flocks of geese to see dropping in at Lady Anne's Drive, we headed back to our lodgings and some freshly caught mussels.