Southsea Castle 19/02/26

It's been quite a quiet month in reality. And with not doing the whole year list malarkey this year, there's not as much need to go and twitch things I've already seen before. I have been doing lots of garden birding, of course, which is great, but there's nothing quite like a really early morning multi-hour commute in freezing conditions to twitch a rarity. I imagine I will end up doing another big year of sorts next year, but we'll see how things pan out. Onto today.

It's the holidays, so we all as a family decided to go for a nice walk along the beach at Southsea with hot drinks from a cafe. Like old times, before my older brother was at college for what seems like 24/7. We parked by the canoe lake, planning to walk past the pier to the castle and get drinks at the D-Day Memorial Museum cafe. There's always something or other to look at around there, and there was a possibility of Purple Sandpipers, so of course, I was fully decked out with bins, camera, and scope. The tide was forecast to be pretty far out, though, so the likelihood of the purple sands was low, but all the same, still a possibility. 

The canoe lake was full of Mute Swans and various duck species, and there was a large splattering of juv. gulls about.    

We made it to the beach, and immediately, a shape on the sea right by the pier caught my eye. I put the scope down and checked through the bins. Very cool- a Great Northern Diver. I wasn't expecting to see this here, so was of course very happy to see it. 

It stayed around for a bit before drifting past the pier out of sight. I caught up with the others and walked briskly past the pier to see it from the other side.

As soon as we passed the pier, I checked whether it was visible, and was surprised to see that it, and another, were both close in to shore. Dad and I walked down to the waterline, and although they were constantly diving, we got incredible scope views, and I managed some decent photos.

We stayed watching the two for as long as possible before walking along the beach to catch up with the others. A non-birding walk, with non-birders, in a location with lots of birds, always involves quite a lot of catching up...

Quite a few gull species were moving through, including a few Black-headed Gulls, Herring Gulls, a Great Black-backed Gull and one Common Gull. I think a Common pictured here, ID'd from other similarly dodgy pics but def not sure.

We made it to Southsea Castle, so I started scanning the rocks, but nothing in terms of sandpipers was visible. The tide was much further out than when I had seen the sandpipers last, so I kind of just focused on what I actually could see, which came in the form of a Great Crested Grebe feeding along the shoreline. 

After scanning around once more, I thought it would be best to join the others in the quest for mochas (or hot chocolates for some). We acquired our drinks and made it back to the seawall. By now, it was getting somewhat dark, so viewing things was not so easy. The view over towards IOW was beautiful, with orange hues glowing in the sky above the huge island.

As we walked past the castle again, a Cormorant was ever so briefly above the water before diving down, and much further out, what I think was a Shag was just visible. 

As we walked along, I inevitably fell behind again, this time checking out what a small dot of dark on the sea in the distance was. A buoy, of course. It's always later in the day that you feel overly reflective. Here I was, walking along the beach with a cold, blustery wind in my face, thinking for a millionth time about last year's expeditions. It does feel weird not having a year list, as I always have done for the two and a half years of birding I've done. But in a way, it is quite relaxing just enjoying what comes, and now and again going on a panicked twitch for a lifer. As the sun slowly slipped down out of view, I continued on along the beach, with the gap to the others ever increasing. I was really enjoying myself, however. The sea air, the relaxing sound of waves lapping along the shoreline, and the dark, cold air seemlessly moving about. Being outdoors just hits different sometimes. And, to top it all off, a Great Northern Diver put in one last performance, flying past far, far out in the seemingly endless sea, before disappearing out of sight. 

Well, I enjoyed that. A lot. Taking things slowly, one bird at a time. It's been quite a while since I've actually been out and about birding, so it was a really nice breath of fresh air to be out and about again.

Dad and I are due for a birding trip this month at some point, so we'll see what happens with that. It's always so much fun; he really enjoys the trips, however much (or more precisely, little) he knows about birds. That is a bit harsh, I suppose. He does try to learn how to ID things:) Last year in Feb we saw Long-eared Owls at the North Wall at Pagham together (accurately described as the worst-kept secret ever). That's quite a story, but unfortunately pre-blog days. Long story short, we knew the owls were probably in a two-meter area between two ivy bushes, searched for an hour or so, looking at that one spot with no sign. It was freezing cold, we had breakfast booked for after the birding, and time was up so I started walking back towards the car. Dad went for an absolutely incredible, even legendary "one last look" and picked out one of the owls in amongst the dense reeds and bushes. A very fond memory. Another good story was after seeing the Cranes at Ouse Washes involving his favourite bird... Alas, there is no time to explain, but you can read all about it here- In Flight: Aves Observata: Ouse Washes RSPB- 01/11/25  Well, with all this reminiscing, my time is up and I need to get to bed, so good night all:)

GARDEN BIRDING #2 08-13/02/26

 It's been, unsurprisingly, a very wet week. But there have been some good birds seen, with sunshine breaking through quite a bit. We have been up in London since Friday evening, hence why the week ends on thursday. We pick up on Sunday afternoon, which was somewhat sunny and held a new bird...

SUNDAY 08/02

Sunday was mild, but the sun was out for periods, and some good species were seen. Usual species seen included 5 Goldfinches, Jackdaws, 2 Collared Doves, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Long-tailed Tits, Starlings, Crows, Blackbirds, and c20 Linnets that were around all afternoon and allowed for some photos. Two very good species included a flyover Raven, and one Firecrest calling and moving about in the bushes. These are both the second times I have seen these species here. The best bird was a first for the garden in the form of a Siskin that was briefly present with the Goldfinches. It was distant and, as stated, very brief, but a garden tick all the same! Best bird obviously goes to the first garden tick of the week!

Linnet

MONDAY 09/02

Monday was cloudy and mild in the morning, but was very busy with some really cool things present. Common things included Starlings, Woodpigeons, Sparrows, Blue Tits, Robins, Crows, Jackdaws, 1 Collared Dove, Feral Pigeons, Magpies, Great Tits, Goldfinches, and one singing Wren. Good species included two Chaffinches, a Herring Gull, a Redwing,  a Great Spotted Woodpecker, two Red Kites, and the Greenfinch from Saturday around mid-afternoon. The male and female Bullfinches were about as well, finally allowing some photos. Bird of the day goes to the incredible Bullfinches. Just sooo cool:)

Blue Tit (top) Bullfinches, Robin, Great Spotted Woodpecker, and Collared Dove

TUESDAY 10/02

Tuesday was quite misty, with Ashford Hangers not visible in the distance. Many of the common species were about, including Sparrows, Linnets, Blue Tits, Woodpigeons, Starlings, Magpies, Great Tits, and Blackbirds. The two decent species of the day were again the two Bullfinches and the Greenfinch heard calling again. Botd is, yet again, the Bullfinch...

WEDNESDAY 11/02

Wednesday was mild and overcast, and held some good species, including a new one for the garden list... 40+Jackdaws were around, along with over 20 Linnets, and a Robin, Woodpigeons, Blue Tits, a Herring Gull, Magpies, Sparrows, Starlings, Blackbirds, Great Tits, Crows, Long-tailed Tits, Goldfinches, and one Collared Dove. Good species included both a Red Kite and Buzzard, one male Bullfinch, and a Goldcrest heard calling late in the afternoon. The highlight of the day however, was a garden tick Canada Goose that flew towards the heath pond around 15:00. 

Robin(top) and Great Tit, Bullfinch, Red Kite, and Buzzard

THURSDAY 12/02

Thursday was cloudy and a bit wet, with the main of the birding happening between 7:45-8:30. It held Starlings, Woodpigeons, Long-tailed Tits, Sparrows, Great Tits, Magpies, Jackdaw, Blackbirds, Feral Pigeons, Collard Doves, Crows, and a Herring Gull. Good species included 2 Buzzards, 2 Red Kites, one Wren, and probably the best bird of the day being a Jay.

FRIDAY 13/02

Friday morning was a complete write-off, with such thick mist hardly anything could be seen. Once the mist cleared, someone decided to start trimming the bushes behind the fence for a few hours, so no birds were about then either. With us leaving for London in the afternoon, not much was seen, but most of the usuals were about, with the best bird of the day being the male Bullfinch that was briefly calling early afternoon. 

A very misty view from the garden above, Goldfinch and Blue Tit Below

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So a very good week, with the main feature being the two Bullfinches that were seen very often throughout the week. A brilliant total of 30 species (or thereabouts) were recorded, with two garden ticks. We are travelling back to Hants later today, so the birding will start again soon.

GARDEN BIRDING #1, 01-07/02/26

I'm sure a few of the people reading will remember last October when I was at Woolmer Forest for my last time, whilst it was my patch. The reason I was changing my patch? We were moving here, to Petersfield. Since then, I've not done much in terms of patch birding other than a few visits to the Heath Pond, which I haven't written posts about. What I have been doing is a lot of garden birding. From my third-storey bedroom window, I look out over our very tiny garden, but more importantly, over lots and lots of good habitat. Behind our garden fence, a line of small trees stretches along the line of gardens, and behind it, there is about 20 feet of gorse and bushes, and then there is the train line. Out way in the distance, the large hill that makes up Ashford Hangers is visible, and all the trees in the neighbourhood behind us provide good perches for all sorts of birds. This week, I've started writing down everything I've seen and taking photos of some of the birds, and it would be fun to start weekly updates on all the birds seen in the garden, going through them day by day. So, without further ramblings, here is the first edition (if you can call it that) of Garden Birding, covering the week from 01-08th of Feb. I didn't get around to anything on Sunday or Monday, so this week picks up on Tuesday.

Tuesday 03/02

Tuesday, if I remember right, was quite wet. But although the consistent drizzle dampened the area, quite a few species were seen. As usual, plenty of Jackdaws were on the move, with probably 30 passing through heading north. Other usuals included a few Magpies, Crows, Blackbirds,  Blue Tits, Sparrows, Long-tailed Tits, and a couple of Starlings. Species that aren't so abundant here (or less usual for a garden) included one Great Tit, and one singular Redwing that briefly landed on some trees. The large group of 30 have stripped all the trees here of the juicy-looking red berries that had been here, so there has been a huge decrease, as expected, in the number of Redwing over the past few weeks. A Song Thrush was singing, along with a Wren, and about 10 of the Linnets were about early morning. The area of gorse in front of the railway is presumably what the Linnets like. Best bird of the day goes to the Linnets. It does feel weird to be able to see them from the house!

Blue Tit

 

Wednesday 04/02

Wednesday was quite a nice day, with quite a bit of sun appearing throughout the day. Most of the usual species were present, with a few Blue Tits, Starlings, Long-tailed Tits, and Sparrows all seen. Two Red Kites flew around very early morning; it's always really cool to see them here, the high elevation of the bedroom window means you're usually nearly eye-level with them. A Robin was singing, one Wren appeared, and one singular Linnet was about late afternoon. Bird of the day will be the two Red Kites that were around in the morning, far from a daily feature here!

 Long-tailed Tit (top) and Linnet (below)

Starling

Thursday 05/02

Thursday didn't include much birding, as we were out most morning as per usual. It was a bit wet, but some species were seen, including a Robin, Wren, Long-tailed Tits, 15 Linnets, and best of all, one Chaffinch. When we got home, Dad informed me that he had seen one of the Bullfinches, and seeing his record phone photo of it, he had. I was very happy to know they were still around. There have been 5 about all winter, but I hadn't seen them for a few weeks, so a sighting was great. Bird of the day would go to the Bullfinch, but I didn't actually see it, so it goes to the Chaffinch, a slightly scarcer bird for the garden.

Chaffinch

Friday 06/02

Friday was again a bit wet, but all the usuals were about, including one Robin, Blue Tits, Great Tits, Sparrows, Starlings, Jackdaws, Crows, and 5 Linnets. A Collared Dove appeared briefly, along with a singular Redwing that briefly dropped in. A Herring Gull flew through, we do get a few gulls coming through but not too many. The two highlights were a Great Spotted Woodpecker that was heard calling and briefly seen flying, and one very smart male Bullfinch, which I did actually see this time! I only saw it for a second or two before it flew off, so sadly couldn't get any photos. The best bird, of course, was the Bullfinch. 

Redwing (above) and a B&W Magpie picture (below)

Awfully over-exposed Great Tit photo!

Saturday 07/02

Saturday had ok-ish weather and included all the usuals. Slightly scarcer species seen included one Redwing and one Jay. Mid-morning, I was just chilling in the room listening to the T20 Cricket World Cup with the window open, when I heard a call that I recognised very well. I immediately got my camera out and started searching for the source of the noise, but to no avail. After a few minutes, I finally spotted the bird that I was looking for- a Greenfinch, a garden tick! I was very pleased, of course, and grabbed some photos as it flew around. Before long, I realised there were actually two flying about... really great birds. Bird of the day goes to the only tick of the week- the two Greenfinches.

Greenfinches (above) and House Sparrow (below)

Blue Tit

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I hope you have all enjoyed this, I certainly have been having fun birding out my bedroom window! Just the one garden tick for the week, we'll see what the next week has to offer:)

CIRL BUNTING Twitch @ Wicor, Portchester

Last month, I managed to dip Hampshire's first Cirl Bunting for over 40 years, a true county mega. I was, of course, disappointed. So when it was found again a few days ago, I tried to figure out when I could get there soonest. I figured I could get down on Saturday morning, but would have to be back in Petersfield for 12:00 so needed to be out early. The bird had been seen early in the morning on the previous days, then disappeared for the rest of the day, so I was up before 6 to catch a 7:00 AM train to get me into Portchester at 8:00.

I arrived at the site hopeful that the bird would show. Instead of walking around the paddocks first as I did last time, I headed straight down the path towards the small pond in the field adjacent to the paddocks. About halfway down, about 5 other birders were gathered, so I stopped and asked if there was any sign of the bird. "Yep, it's just been seen", came the reply. Two of the birders there had seen it briefly in the bushes opposite, so I set up my scope and started searching for it there. We waited for about 15 minutes with no sign, so we started walking around the area to no avail.

I decided to walk the rest of the path down to the beach, chatting to another birder I'd met at the Killdeer twitch for a bit, before he went to the trees to look fr it there. I decided to stick at the corner so I could see the whole area- the hope was that if the bird turned up in the bushes by the pond in the southern part of the field I would be able to see it, and if it turned up in the middle where it had been seen before, I would be able to see it from here as well. Quite a few Brent Geese were out in the harbour, along with a few Great Crested Grebes. 

After another 15 minutes or so, a bit of a buzz seemed to be coming from the birders behind the trees, so I hot-footed it over there. As soon as I made it through the branches, the birder I'd talked to earlier informed me they'd just had it, but it had dropped down below the fence into the reeds. More and more time passed, with no sign of it.

I was really hoping it would pop back up. The chance of seeing it if I didn't now were very low; it has a habit of disappearing after just a few sightings in the morning. I did not want to dip this bird again...

There was still no sign, and I was thinking of moving to try and see if it had gone back to its original location. All of a sudden, someone said they'd got it. "It's on the last fence post!" I frantically looked for it through my camera and binoculars, but couldn't see anything. My heart rate was rocketing; the bird was here, and I couldn't see it! Someone said the bird had moved up onto the bushes, so I got my binoculars up to my eyes and frantically searched the branches. Briefly, and ever so briefly, I saw it. Wow. A Cirl Bunting in Hampshire. It seemed to fly up, and finally I saw it for a decent length of time. It had flown further up the bush and stayed put for a while, giving really good views. My camera didn't focus on it at all, but I got really, really good scope views, which made up for the poor photos.

The bird stayed out for about a minute, allowing for good views. But all too soon, it flew up and off over our heads, then turned towards the paddocks.

What a bird! The bright yellow colours and the dark markings are simply stunning. I was absolutely buzzing to finally see it after dipping it at the latter end of last year. It's the first in Hampshire for over 40 years, with the last coming in 1985, making this a county mega. The Cirl Bunting used to be a somewhat common breeder in Britain, especially in the south. Dorset, Hampshire, and Sussex all used to be common breeding locations, but these birds have been virtually non-present in the latter two of the listed counties since the 1990s. Dorset does have a few, but they are not common there by any means, with a few birds popping up here and there every year. Being the first in over 40 years, this is a brilliant Hampshire tick and a brilliant county mega, which I was so, so happy to see.

All of the 10 or so birders who had been behind the trees, looking at the bunting, went towards the paddocks, hoping we might see it there. 

A Blue Tit was there, along with plenty of Robins and Redwings, and two Canada Geese flew over, but no sign of the bunting. It had seemingly disappeared.

I decided to turn my attention to the harbour, where the high tide was looking very nice. A huge gathering of waders in the distance, including hundreds of Oystercatchers and presumably Dunlin, were flying up every now and again, putting on an impressive display.

After half an hour, I went back to the trees to see if the Cirl Bunting would return there. Quite a few birders were along the path now. The first fifteen minutes or so searching for the bunting produced a Stonechat and a Meadow Pipit. I actually took a photo of a Woogpigeon as well, which was perched in a nice position for a picture.

Despite the efforts of all the birders, there was still no sign of the bird. I decided to check the paddocks one more time before waving the white flag.

No luck in the paddocks, but all the previous species were still present, and a Dunnock was singing.

With still no sign, I reluctantly went over to my bike and headed home feeling very, very happy with the day's work.

Well, another successful trip! After such a slow start to January, the final 10 days or so have been blockbuster. An incredibly rare American plover, a brilliant time seeing some great species at Titchfield Haven, and now a huge mega for Hampshire. The month ends with two brilliant lifers seen; that sure is nothing to sneeze at! I'm still so pleased to have seen a bird, that's got to be one of my favourite ones I've seen. Those bright yellow colours. Such a stunning bird. Hopefully February will pick up where this month has left off. I believe that is number 215 on my British life list! It hardly feels like any time ago that it was at about 180. The past half a year has been incredible. Let's hope things continue that way. I'm lovin' it!