Terek Sandpiper - Pagham Harbour

For the third time this year, this evening I found myself birding at Pagham Harbour, in West Sussex for yet another rare bird. Yesterday news broke of a Terek Sandpiper in Pagham but I was busy doing a bird ringing display on the Leckford Estate, in the Test Valley, and just could not get away. Fortunately, Terek Sand is a species I have seen a few times in the UK, including in Hampshire, and also on various foreign trips. I haven't seen one for a few years now, so again, I was keen to see it. With the bird being just down the road, I decided to go after work, the bird was in view almost immediately after I arrived. It was feeding on the edge of a shingle spit in the middle of the estuary, and would occasionally go out of view, but was generally showing well when it was in view.

According to Birds of Sussex this is the fourth record for the County; the previous records were 1951 at The Midrips, 1969 at Church Norton and in 2008 again at The Midrips. There appears to be a bit of a theme here! Although the light was good and the bird was close enough for scope views. it was a little too far for my trusty 400mm Canon lens so the images have been heavily cropped, but at least I got some images.

Terek Sandpiper - Pagham Harbour

Terek Sandpiper - Pagham Harbour

Terek Sandpiper - Pagham Harbour 

Terek Sandpiper - Pagham Harbour

Terek Sandpiper - Pagham Harbour

The Hudsonian Whimbrel was still in the harbour also, but by the time I had finished watching the Terek it had walked out of view, so I didn't try for it, but instead headed home from yet another successful twitch.

A stag in the moth trap

With the euphoria of yesterday still very evident I headed to Manor Farm Country Park to check the moth trap. Duncan, the site ranger, had put it on last night, but as I hadn't run it at this location for over a year I was intrigued to see what was in it. It had been a mainly overcast night from midnight, which meant it was mild and therefore I was optimistic of a good haul. It turned out to be just that, with over 150 moths of 50 species trapped. However, it was not the moths that stole the limelight but a stunning male Stag Beetle, which had presumably been 'blinded by the light'!

I have seen Stag Beetles at Manor Farm Country Park before, but never in large numbers, and not for a few years so this beast was a real treat. It was an absolutely pristine individual with complete antlers and antennae, and was a pretty docile beast that posed beautifully.

Stag Beetle - Manor Farm Country Park

Stag Beetle - Manor Farm Country Park

Stag Beetle - Manor Farm Country Park

Stag Beetle - Manor Farm Country Park

The moths were pretty dull by comparison, even with single Pine and Lime Hawkmoths in the trap. A scattering of migrants were in the trap, including Rush Veneer, Silver Y and Small Mottled Willow along with a few woodland species; Brindled White-spot, Little Thorn, Bordered White and Crambus lathoniellus. The most abundant species was Scorched Wing with 27, followed by Orange Footman with 16. Treble Lines, White Ermine, Ingrailed Clay, Pale Tussock, Heart and Dart and Buff Tip were also well represented. 

Lime Hawkmoth - Manor Farm Country Park

Angle Shades - Manor Farm Country Park

Brindled White-spot - Manor Farm Country Park

Little Thorn - Manor Farm Country Park

Bordered White - Manor Farm Country Park

Crambus lathoniellus - Manor Farm Country Park

Peppered Moth - Manor Farm Country Park

Scoparia ambigualis - Manor Farm Country Park

Small Mottled Willow - Manor Farm Country Park

Other species recorded included Light Emerald, Willow Beauty, Green Silver-lines, Small Magpie, Large Yellow Underwing, Scalloped Hook-tip, Spectacle, Dark Spectacle, Peppered Moth, Common Wainscot, Light Brocade, Gold Triangle, Shoulder-striped Wainscot, Buff Ermine, Clay Treble-lines and Chinese Character.

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear - Acres Down, Hampshire

There is something about wheatears that always fills me with a touch of excitement, but when they are rare, in Hampshire and a Hampshire and British tick, you can imagine, my excitement was near bursting point. I had a busy day planned but news of an 'Eastern' Black-eared Wheatear Oenanthe hispanica melanoleuca at Acres Down in the New Forest, meant that all plans went out of the window, and boy was it worth it. An absolutely cracking 'dark-throated' spring male giving fantastic views. There was nothing cryptic about this bird, it was just stunning, and a species I have been waiting to see in Hampshire for a long time. 

According to the Birds of Hampshire (Hampshire Ornithological Society, 1993) there have been three previous records of Black-eared Wheatears in Hampshire, at Farlington Marshes in 1954 and 1987, and at Keyhaven in 1992, although this latter one had not been accepted at the time of publication but was considered by HOS to be acceptable. All of these previous records were considered to have been Western Black-eared's O. h. hispanica . All have only stayed for one day so there was no messing with this one and leaving it till tomorrow, and let's face it, just look at it, why would I risk it!

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear - Acres Down

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

Eastern Black-eared Wheatear

A Hudsonian Whimbrel and Kestrel Pulli

For the second time this year the British Isles has been graced by the presence of a Hudsonian wader. In May I twitched the Hudsonian Godwit in Somerset, which was a cracking bird and not a species I thought that I would ever see in the UK. This week news broke of a possible Hudsonian Whimbrel at Pagham Harbour in West Sussex. It was not long before it was confirmed and so being only 25 minutes down the road I had to go. 

Hudsonian Whimbrel is a species I have seen many times in the USA and Canada, but this was only the 9th record in the UK, so not a species I had expected to see, and so close to home. It is a cryptic species, that is very similar to Eurasian Whimbrel, but with good views is actually quite straightforward to identify.  In flight the back, rump and upper-tail coverts are concolourous with the mantle and therefore very different from Eurasian Whimbrel that has a white rump and the distinctive 'V' up its back. The underwing, auxiliaries and flanks are also densely barred with a ground colour that is warmer than that of Eurasian Whimbrel. When not in flight the striking head pattern should be the first clue to a bird being a Hudsonian Whimbrel, since it is much stronger, with the pale/white supercilium and crown stripe contrasting strongly with the darker feathers. 

I nipped down to see this bird on Wednesday morning, and it was interesting to see how obvious the head markings were. I was unable to get any photos of it unfortunately but as it is still there I hope to pop down again for a second look and may get some.

Today (12th June) I popped into Manor Farm Country Park to check the Kestrel boxes and see how they were getting on. If you remember, two weeks ago the chicks were too small in one box so I didn't check the other. Today, the chicks in the first box were doing very well, and we were able to ring four very healthy chicks. There were five much younger chicks in the second box, one of which was half the weight of the others, and may not survive, but they were all big enough to ring, so fingers crossed they will all fledge.

A brood of four Kestrels - Manor Farm Country Park

A brood of five (smaller) Kestrels - Manor Farm Country Park

After ringing and a quick stroll around the woods I headed home and opened a net in the back garden. It had been a dull and humid morning and by mid afternoon, when I got home, there was a little bit of moisture in the air but no wind, so almost ideal. I only ended up catching about ten birds, which included juvenile Blue and Great Tits and Great Spotted Woodpecker, also adult Greenfinch, Robin and Nuthatch. In recent weeks I have had four Stock Doves feeding in the garden, today one strayed into my net, as did a Wood Pigeon for comparison. The iridescent green on the side of a Stock Dove's neck really is quite striking and it lacks the white that is present on Wood Pigeon. Note also the iris and bill colour.

Stock Dove - Funtley

Wood Pigeon - Funtley

Whilst waiting for birds to fly into the net I worked my way through the moth trap, that I had left out overnight. I had caught over 100 moths with nothing particularly of note. The highlights for me were Marbled Brown, which is not that regular in my garden and a few migrant species, Diamond Back Moth and Rush Veneer. The main highlight though was a Dusky Cockroach, a species that I have occasionally caught in the past, but never that frequently. This is one of three native cockroach species in the UK, the others being Tawny and Lesser Cockroach. There are of course pest species that have colonised so it is always worth checking if you find one in your house, to make sure it's not a native species.

Dusky Cockroach - Funtley