Cattle Egret

New Year's Day

A traditional start to another birding year, again we visited "Waldo" the Ring-billed Gull that faithfully returns to Walpole Park in Gosport. This is his thirteenth year and my third at this venue. The weather was awful, thick cloud, it hardly got light all day and to cap it all it finally rained on us. We journeyed along the coast towards Lee on the Solent and Hill Head but there was nothing to raise the spirits. A cool and strong breeze was coming off the sea and it was a good time to head inland.

Visits to Ivy and Drayton Lakes gave us the usual suspects - really nothing to write home about. A visit to the Burgh is always worthwhile and today was no exception, Red Kites, Buzzards and Kestrel on the raptor front and it was good to see Bewick's Swans from the viewpoint at the church in Burpham. Finally, in miserable conditions, we gave up and headed home, the conversation in the car turning to what we might see and do this coming year. If I was keeping a list this year, which I am not, it would have totalled 42. Things were a tad slow.

Today I was determined to get some better shots of a Cattle Egret, there have been two long stayers at Denge Marsh and Mick Davis had recently posted some excellent shots. Last year's Pagham bird had been a bit of a failure for me, Martin had got close but I never did. So I set off east, somewhat later than intended but traffic was light and I made good progress. As always, "mission creep" set in and I took a detour via Pett Level; just a possibility that the Lesser Yellowlegs was still about - it wasn't  and all I managed to photograph was a strange looking goose hidden amongst a vast number of Canada Geese that arrived on the pools. A good candidate for Greylag x Canada Goose hybrid, perhaps one of the pair should have gone to Specsavers!

I tried to ignore Scotney Pit as I made my way towards Denge Marsh, the place was buzzing with wildfowl, I succeeded in getting past but I made a mental note to return later.

Sure enough as I drove down Dengemarsh Road I spied two Cattle Egrets close to the fence, I hastily set up the camera and managed three shots before some local idiot flashed up a portable generator and the birds decamped to the end of the long field. I hung around for two hours until the local farmer visited the field on his tractor with feed for the cattle; just what was needed, both birds flew in close to the road and one posed perfectly. Not the easiest of birds to photograph in the sunlight, a devil of a job to get the exposure right, but I left very happy indeed.

 

 

On the way back I revisited Scotney and photographed the ever present Barnacle Geese along with the Emperor hybrids. They are getting to be as traditional and as reliable as Waldo, but not half as charming.

A New Year's Birding Begins

The first birding day of the New Year is always different. For those of you who don't keep lists then this will be a bit baffling. Today was a day when the slate was wiped clean, each bird stands equal amongst others as it has not yet attained "year tick" status. The rare Lesser Yellowlegs that we were seeking at Lepe Country Park was on a par with the Song Thrush that we noted on the path to Stansore Point. Eagerly we logged Chaffinch, Greenshank and Redshank before spotting the obliging Lesser Yellowlegs. Even the Dunnock and Green Woodpecker were welcome attractions, birds that in the forthcoming months will be more or less ignored whilst we search for more exotic specimens. Back at the car park three Pied Wagtails ensured that we had reached double figures, disappointingly the sea was empty.

A short drive along the flooded coast road, stopping to view the Dark Water gave us Oystercatcher, Teal and Wigeon. A flyby of Shoveler and Greylag, the list was ever increasing

After a while we came to a fork in the road, which way? Martin chose Inchmery Lane and we made for Exbury House - an excellent decision. As we drove along what is the entrance to the Beaulieu River we could see, through the trees and into the sun, that there were lots of birds out on the mud. We parked next to the spot where the Exbury River enters the main river, in the stream a Little Egret and then totally out of the blue a Long-tailed Duck which remained close enough for a decent shot.

 

What - no rain??

 As we returned to Lepe, we noted a Buzzard being mobbed by Crows, a flock of Redwings and another Buzzard, an extremely pale breasted specimen, sat out in the warm morning sun. The list was growing. Where next?  A short detour to Hythe Marina where A Great Northern Diver had been reported, alas nothing but two Mute Swans and a House Sparrow - Tick - Tick!!


Next was a visit to Hill Head just along from Titchfield Haven where some friendly birders conned us on to two Velvet Scoter. Nothing to be seen of the Kittiwakes that had been frequenting the surf line just before we arrived. As we left, the Mallard flock on the creek provided an addition to the list. The Yellow-legged Gull that inhabits Stokes Bay had gone missing, probably due to the amount of walkers both human and canine using the beach. So, as planned, we ended up at Walpole Park to record "Waldo" the Ring-billed Gull, exactly a year and one day since I had last snapped him. Several Common Gulls had us fooled for a time but finally he arrived at his favourite location by the pond. His glinting yellow eye and more "menacing" demeanour clinching the tick. Apparently this is Waldo's eleventh winter spent in Gosport where he is always welcome.

"Waldo"

  

 

 

 

A Common Gull - not the same class as Waldo

 So at 12:30 on our first day out there was a quiet satisfaction of a good day already in the bag. There could be only one venue to spend the afternoon - the North Wall at Pagham - no brainer.  On the wall we were given New Year greetings  from the two Daves who gave us a list of birds present and then happily told us that the Little Owl had disappeared some time earlier. Never mind, the recent heavy rain had flooded the fields to the north and the birds were taking advantage of the available food. Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Lapwings and wildfowl in abundance. It took some time but I finally located the single Ruff and a flyby of a Common Snipe was well received.

Then Dave Shepherd received a call from Ian informing him that two Whooper Swans were on Ivy Lake at Chichester Gravel Pits - a nod is as good as wink to a blind man and off we went. On arrival, before we located the Whoopers, we added Great Crested Grebe, Gadwall, and for Martin, a confirmatory Shoveler as he had missed the earlier flyby. Then as the light faded we found and recorded the Whoopers. Finally, thanks to Andrew House, we added Pochard to the list.  A great day out with the final tally being 67 species, 66 seen and one heard, well what more do you want of the Cetti's Warbler.

Oddly enough the small birds are missing from the list, whether we weren't looking or it may be that the westerly breeze had deterred them from venturing forth, finches and tits were notably absent.

 

 

 

 

Ring-billed Gull

I started the New Year with a pre-dawn departure for Walpole Park in Gosport. There was virtually no traffic, even on the M27 cars were few and far between. I parked up expecting only a short stay as "Waldo" is the most  dependable and obliging bird. Well, two hours later, having searched the park and the whole of Haslar Creek, I gave up and left for some sea watching at Stoke's Bay. Not a lot to be seen save for some Rooks doing aerobatics in a strong onshore breeze.

A local birder didn't believe that I had dipped on Waldo and insisted that I return for another go. So in pleasant sunshine I returned to the park and - yes you've guessed it - there was "Waldo" only 20 feet from the car, posing perfectly.

 Waldo, a Ring-billed Gull has overwintered at this location for at least the last 7 years and in tick reliability terms, ranks on a par with the Little Owl at Stapleash Farm

Common Gull for comparison

Having expended sufficient gigabytes of memory I departed, not really knowing where I was actually going next. I managed to find my way over Portsdown Hill to Boarhunt and took a leisurely drive down through Southwick (Suthick) to Cosham where I made my mind up and went to Farlington Marshes. Car parking space was at a premium but I managed to squeeze in. As soon as I got out the car a kind birder informed me that the Red-breasted Goose had relocated to Tangier Road but there were six Black-necked Grebes in the channel. I slung my camera on my back and set out for the Point. Success! I located one of the grebes, a long way off, but not much else. So, having completed a circumnavigation of the marshes, I returned home - knackered.


Happy New Year everyone