Woolmer Pond/Forest, 30/04/25

Being the final day of the month, I went down to Woolmer again to see if I could push my month total just a bit higher. I was on 72 and would have liked to get to 75. On the pond, everything usual was again present, although there were no Black-headed Gulls. The two Greylag Geese flew in, and one landed pretty close to the perimeter fence.

Nothing else was on the pond, and the army were set up in the cottage grounds, so I went to look at what was on the field. A Red Kite was on the ground, presumably eating/guarding some prey, but nothing else was there.

I then settled down for some lunch, a not-so-cleverly planned scorching hot tomato soup. Normally, a great idea, but coupled with the immense heat, it didn't work so well! 

Heading into the woods, a Buzzard flew up from the ground, and a Whitethroat was calling. Again, nothing of note turned up there, so I thought I might check the woods behind Range 1. On the way, a Heron flew over, and seemed to be even circling!

A Nuthatch and a Greenfinch were all that was there, but a bit further on, the two Hobbies were again flying about for a while before heading off towards the pond. 

I headed back over to the cottage, but the army were still there, and would be for the rest of my time at Woolmer today. Deciding to try and cover as much ground as possible, I set off in the opposite direction to before, biking towards the side of Woolmer nearer to the A3. One of the Greylags was with some Canada Geese on the pond. 

    All that came from the excursion was a Willow Warbler singing. The flags were then put down, so I went into the forest, up the hill and then down into the middle. Two Woodlark and a Tree Pipit were singing, and after a bit more exploration of the area, all that could be found were a few Stonechat, a circling Raven and a Dartford Warbler. 

Making it back to the cottage, I was at 46 species for the day, but didn't have much hope of 50. Two Stock Doves that flew over were nice, and a Teal was on the pond- 48 now. A Jay flew out over the road, another new one for the day, but I needed to leave, so I had one last look out over the pond, and there it was, my 50th species for the day- the Egyptian Goose. 

Overall, although nothing at all of interest showed up, the long time spent did reflect in the total of 50 species for the day, a tally that is becoming harder as the winter waterfowl move off the pond. Sadly, though, I didn't manage the month total of 75, ending on 73. 

Woolmer Pond, 28/04/25

 With a free afternoon and such lovely weather, it seemed the obvious decision to go down to Woolmer to see what was about. I was hoping the Whooper would be present again, but sadly, when I got there, it was seemingly not. All the usuals were on the lake, with a few Lesser Black-backed Gulls there as well. The Greylags that had been present the previous few weeks seemed to have moved on, but all the Canada Geese were still there. A female Mallard was swimming around with a few very cute ducklings.

    Nothing interesting was on the pond, but a few Red Kites and Buzzards were circling overhead. At the cottage, the Garden Warbler was singing and a few Sand Martins and Swallows were flying about. 

 Seeing as the flags were down, I headed into the forest, where a rather obliging Chaffinch was singing. 

Looking over the heathland at the top of the hill, all that was obvious were a few Woodlark, Tree Pipit, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker calling. Stonechat were abundant, and a Dartford Warbler was about as well. A Wren happily sang down in the middle, and a Kestrel flew overhead. 

After having some lunch, I headed off to a part of the forest I hadn't explored much. A Linnet was sitting in a tree, and Robins were singing from everywhere. A few Woodlark were around, all singing very nicely. After a few more minutes watching the birds out in the open, I decided it would be best to find some shade- it was absolutely sweltering! 

After some much-needed rest, I got back on my bike and started off again. A Dartford Warbler perched in a tree a couple of meters away, but the terrible heat haze was a bit of a problem. 

After a while more with no birds about, I heard a Yellowhammer calling, my first this year here. As I headed over towards the sound of its call, I noticed a bird in the corner of my eye- the Hobby. Pleased to have seen it again, I watched it for a few minutes before realising there wasn't just one, but two of them! When they had flown off, I found the Yellowhammer in a tree, really love their yellow coloration- so beautiful.

As I walked on a bit more, I found the Hobby again circling over some heathland, but it kept on disapearing so I couldn't get any shots. 

After making it back to the cottage, I checked the area again, but all that surfaced was a Song Thrush. I thought it might be worth making a circuit of the pond, to see if the Whooper may have been on a bank out of view somwhere. As I made it round to the back of the pond, nothing stood out, except for a silhouted shape of a wader where the Whooper had been the day before. I thought it might have been the Greenshank returned, but when looked at through my binoculars, it was a Lapwing- a bird I have never seen here before. 

It flew off almost immediately, and because of the sun I couldn't tell in what direction. Nothing else of note turned up around the pond, and I went over towards the cottage again. A Mistle Thrush was calling from a tree, and the Song Thrush was still around. Deciding that it was probably time to leave, I biked off around the pond one last time before heading towards the track away from the cottage, and I was surprised to see two Greylag Geese relatively near the fence. Sadly it seems as though they wouldn't be staying, and they flew off north. 

Woolmer Pond 27/04/25

 With a few hours free this afternoon, I thought it would be a good idea to go to Woolmer to check if anything interesting was there. Just before leaving, the first House Martins of this year were flying around Liss- always a nice sight. After getting there in just over 13 minutes (a new record with my bike), I scanned over the pond to see if anything was out there. A few Tufted Ducks, Little Grebes, Canada Geese, Coot and Moorhen were obviously visible, with a couple of Goldfinch and Long-tailed Tits around as well. I biked around a bit further towards the cottage, and had another look out over the pond. A large white blob was at the back with the Canada Geese, and I thought to myself, "Mute Swan, great tick for the daylist." Mute Swans are by no means common here, and always a good sight. As I raised my camera for a few photos of the swan, a Crow flew overhead.  After zooming in, the sight that met my eyes was quite a shock. This "Mute Swan" had a lush, bright yellow beak. A few panicked seconds later, I had obtained photos and put the news out- there was a Whooper Swan at Woolmer! 

Although rather distant, right at the back of the pond, it was still easily identifiable, with the yellow on its beak forming a full wedge differentiating it from the similar-looking Bewick's Swan. It was regularly flapping its wings, and I was relieved to see it was fully winged. Constantly splashing in the water and moving about, it seemed a bit wary of the other waterfowl. After around 10 minutes, it climbed up onto the back, where its legs were fully visible- and most notably, unringed. 

Whilst I was looking at it through my binoculars, another smaller shape appeared to the right, a wader of some sort. Knowing waders are always a good sight at Woolmer, I quickly got my camera up to it, and was able to roughly identify it as a Greenshank, another very good bird for Woolmer. 

I managed to get a photo with both the Whooper and the Greenshank in the same photo- not something you would ever expect at Woolmer! The Greenshank is just about visible to the right of this photo.

It seemed pretty settled at the back, so I decided to head over to the cottage to check if anything was there and wait for some locals to arrive. A Garden Warbler was singing, and a few Stonechats and Linnets were about. 

Walking back along the track towards the pond, a few locals had already arrived, and informed me it was the first record of this species on site- very cool to have seen, let alone found! The swan was still sitting at the back of the pond, preening and seeming a bit more settled than it had been earlier. 

Me and a couple of other birders walked around to see if there was a better view from the side of the pond by Longmoor, and to have a chat with another birder who was present. Two Egyptian Geese and their young were around there, and the Whooper was showing well, although still distantly. 

It seemed very settled, and as the flags were up, no one could go in to disturb it. The Greenshank went behind it again, allowing for a few more pictures of the two together.

Such a lovely bird- a more zoomed-out habitat shot here. 

Sadly the flags were put down not soon after, and the dog walkers were soon going around the pond with their dogs, and the bird thankfully just swam a little away, before coming back to its favoured spot. 

A couple more minutes later, it swam out into the middle of the pond to avoid all the dog walkers, luckily not flying away. I biked round to the other side of the pond to see if it was a bit closer, but it swam out of view. Very happy with the time, I decided to head home. 

Hayling Island, 25/04/25

 Taking an early train to Havant Station, I biked from there straight to Sandy Point for some seawatching in the hopes the nice conditions would yield something good.], and I got there at about 7:50. It was slow at first, but a mixed flock of Bar-tailed Godwits and Whimbrel giving some hope- the Barwits my first of the year. Not too long later, a Kittiwake flew into the harbour, another year tick, and my first in Hampshire, big thanks to Andy for pointing it out.

Things went very quiet for a while, but a few Sandwich Terns were present. 

A Kestrel and Sparrowhawk flew over, and a Cormorant was fishing on the sea.

With little to no movement offshore, I decided to have a look around Black Point to see if any waders were about. Although I couldn't find any high tide roost, a few Common Terns were my first of the year.

Whitethroat and Linnet were also numerous, with both giving photo oppurtunities. 

A Starling perched up on the fence, with a nice background, but sadly didn't look my way before flying off. 

Nothing else seemed to be about, and I sat down for another chunk of seawatching. About an hour later, feeling quite deflated with the lack of anything moving other than a few Gannets, I walked down again to Black Point with another birder, and had lunch watching the Terns.

 After a bit more of watching and waiting, and nothing of interest turning up, I thought I should probably head off to the Oysterbeds to see what was there. A total of 38 species were seen at Sandy Point during the five and a half hours there. 

 At the Oysterbeds, there were hundreds of Black-headed Gulls, and quite a few Common Terns, but nothing else was immediately obvious.

After a walk around, nothing of note was present, and nothing was showing very well, other than this Linnet.

 

Nothing else was present, so I decided to head back to Havant and catch a train home. Overall, it was a very successful trip, with three year ticks and a Hampshire tick— along with a very good exercise, with a total of 19 miles cycled.

Woolmer Pond/Forest 24/04/25

Seeing as I had finished school early, I decided to head down to Woolmer with lunch and see if anything was about. Immediately visible on the lake were a few Tufted Ducks, Little Grebes, Greylag Geese, and the usual Canada Geese. A Kestrel was hovering overhead, and the Grey Heron flew out over the lake- I've seen it here quite often recently. A male Stonechat was perching on a branch, and all the normal Chiffchaffs, Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Robins, Blackbirds and Magpies were making themselves busy. 

After heading down the track to the cottage, I decided to scan over the pond again and add a few species to my list for the day(in my notebook). A few Black-headed Gulls were all that I could see on the pond, and as I was scribbling them down in my notebook, some movement out the corner of my eye caught my attention. Quite distantly over the forest behind the pond, a raptor was zipping about, and as soon as I found it in my binoculars, it was easily identifiable as my first Hobby of spring, and a patch tick I'm very happy about. Although very distant, I still managed to get a few photos, which displayed the wing shape well enough.

After a few minutes, it went out of view, and I went the rest of the way down the track to the cottage, in hopes of relocating it and getting some better shots. It soon became visible, over the flat field behind the cottage, and was putting on an almighty display of speed and agility. Its rapid speed made pictures difficult, but I managed to get a few better ones. 

   

As the bird flew off strongly north, below the line of trees that make up Woolmer Forest, I decided to go into the cottage area to have lunch. There was a Song Thrush, a few Sand Martins, and I heard the Garden Warbler, but nothing else of note was seen. As I walked round to the north side of the cottage, the Hobby flew back overhead and started circling very close. Annoyingly, it was nearly directly into the sun, but I still managed to get my best shots of it yet.

A few dazzling minutes later, and it had flown off again. Forgetting all about lunch, I headed over to the trees behind the cottage to see if I could get Nuthatch on my daylist for the site. A Buzzard was on its usual perch, and a few Goldfinches were on the fence.

Although no Nuthatch were to be found in the woods, two Whitethroats were a good day tick, and only my second this spring. I thought it might be worth scanning over the field for the recently reported Wheatear, and despite the awful heat haze, it popped up a bit of a distance away, and I managed to get pretty good views through my binos, but the same could not be said for my camera! The haze was just too strong and the bird too far away, so I decided to wait until later and see if it would be a bit closer. A Mistle Thrush was also on the field, much closer and photographable. Another tick for the day, my list was now up to 32. 

Remembering that I still hadn't had any lunch, I finally sat down and had some food, kept company by some Black-headed Gulls and the Mistle Thrush. 

After finishing, I decided to head round the east side of the pond to see if anything would surface around the forest. As I was scanning the pine trees over Range 1, in hope of some Crossbill, I heard the familiar Cuckoo calling not too far away. It sounded as though it was in the ranges, though, and as the flags were up, sadly, I couldn't go in to search for it. Continuing towards the A3 bridge over to Longmoor, I picked up a few more species including Willow Warbler, Coal Tit, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Pied Wagtail, Nuthatch and Tree Pipit, pushing my list up to 47. I was really hoping I could get to 50 today, and it seemed likely. Nothing of note was about, so I headed back to the cottage, with a cute Blue Tit showing well on the way.

After stopping off to photograph the Blue Tit, I set off again to get back to the cottage. I stopped again rather quickly, though, as I could hear the familiar sound of a Garden Warbler singing, and as the area seemed pretty open, I thought there might be a chance for photos. Whilst waiting for the warbler to show, a Dunnock popped out of a bush, another new species for the day, putting my list on 48. The Garden Warbler finally popped up, allowing for a photo before flying off. 

A Long-tailed Tit flew past, putting my list up to 49 now. Determined to get to 50, I finally make it to the cottage in search of the final species I need. A search around the water behind the cottage produces nothing other than a few Chiffchaff and Goldfinch. Deciding to see if the Wheatear was closer, I went back to the field and quickly located it again, a bit closer, but again the heat haze destroyed any chance of photos. Another check in the woods produced nothing other than the Whitethroat and a few Blackbirds. Knowing I have to get back home soon, I have one last look back over the field, and then start biking towards the pond. With nothing else showing up, I finally decide to call it a day and head home to make dinner, with a final day total at Woolmer of 49.

On the way home, a Firecrest was calling just south of Greatham.