Well, to say 2026 has started slowly would be an understatement. I've tried to get out quite a few times, but bad weather has got in the way. There's also not too much about, so I've just not gotten out and about. I have been spending a lot of time birding out my bedroom window, looking at the garden, though, it's brilliant. I might start doing weekly updates of what I see... usuals include a group of about 20 Linnets, 5 Bullfinches, Song Thrush, Great Spotted Woodpecker and a few other decent things. Anyway, enough about that, onto today. As I'm sure you can imagine, as soon as I saw that a Killdeer was in Hampshire, I started planning when I might be able to go, and if I could. After a bit of digging, I figured I could go down to Christchurch station and then bike the 6 miles up to Ripley. I had been planning to go on Saturday, but this plan was abandoned when the news that a shoot was planned on the farm on that day, and the weather looked better for Friday. So, I've pushed all my schoolwork onto tomorrow, and went today.
The journey was easy. Southwestern direct to Southampton, then another Southwestern to Christchurch. The journey took only two hours in the end, which isn't too bad for travelling all the way to Dorset (Christchurch station is in Dorset, the Killdeer is hardly a mile into Hampshire). I'd decided to wait until the bird was seen before I went, to make sure I didn't travel all that way for nothing. Before long, it was reported, so I quickly finished my breakfast and headed down to the train station. Midway through the journey, I checked Birdguides to see if it had been reported again, only to be met with a severe blow to my eyes- a big, sad face emoji. The bird had flown off high southwest. Ouch. But, after a tantalising period of time, it was reported again. I was very pleased to say the least.
I arrived in Christchurch at about 10:30, and set off on the 6-mile bike up to Ripley Farm. The very strong winds were luckily in my favour as I peddled furiously towards the bird. I really didn't want to miss it. It had flown off just an hour earlier, but had returned. It was very possible that before I got there, it would fly off once more, never to be seen again. I didn't want to take that risk, so I just went as fast as I could. I figured if I kept my eyes to the skies, I would see the bird if it flew in my direction...
I arrived at the gate to enter the track leading to the reservoir and saw another birder coming. "Still here?" I asked. "Yep", came the reply that sent waves of relief through me. I locked my bike up, got my camera and binoculars out, and walked as fast as my tired legs would carry me. After walking the length of a field filled with pigs with the reservoir on my left, I reached a group of about twenty birders. I made my way over to a free space and asked where the bird actually was. Through some very good and detailed directions, I got onto it. It was facing away, so all you could see was its back, and the sun was directly behind it, but there it was, all the same. Brilliant- a Killdeer in Hampshire!
I was so relieved to have seen it. I really didn't want to miss this one. I was as excited as I was relieved. Here I was, staring at an extremely rare American vagrant on a Friday morning. Wow.
I set up my scope and got pretty good views of what was visible of the bird. It was relatively distant (about 170 meters, I checked on Google Maps), but was just about visible with the naked eye. A big struggle was the wind. It was very, very blustery. Here's a picture of all the birders.
There were more birders to the left along the track as well, I reckon about 30 were present overall, although many kept on coming and going.
After fifteen or so minutes, the bird moved, facing more towards us, revealing the striking double-band on its front. What a bird!
This is only the second Killdeer in Hampshire, with the last being over 40 years ago in 1980. There was possibly one more in the 1800s, but it's not confirmed as far as I know. The bulk of these birds is found off mainland Britain, with this being one of about ten seen on mainland Britain this century, making these mainland megas. Killdeer are North American plovers and are found over a large part of the continent. Being very rare vagrants to the UK, I was more than thrilled to see it, as I'm sure you can imagine!
The bird started moving around a bit, feeding in the grass.
I was really enjoying myself, despite the bitingly cold wind. Killdeer has always been a kind of bucket list rarity for me. Being so, so rare on the British mainland, I was enjoying this so much. The sun was out, providing the little warmth there was against the strong winds. The clear, bold banding on the front was absolutely striking, and the whole shape of the bird is just so brilliant.
All of a sudden, the Little Gull appeared, putting on a brief show before flying out of view.
It soon landed in a field giving good views.
I do really like Little Gulls, they're one of the cooler gull species in my opinion.
It soon flew off, and with the Killdeer not doing much, I walked along the path back in the direction of my bike to find some shelter from the wind to eat lunch. As I walked along the field with the pigs, a Pied Wagtail dropped in. One of the pigs seemed a bit curious, giving it a stare before going back to eating.
I was now at the furthest point of the field, looking at the other side of the reservoir to the Killdeer, but could still just about see it.
A few Blue Tits flew about, and a Robin dropped onto the fence just in front of me. Two Shelducks noisily flew around before landing, and another two Egyptian Geese were on the banks of the reservoir.
As I was tucking into my lunch, a huge noise seemed to be heading towards me. It got louder and louder, and all of a sudden, a huge Airbus A343 burst out of the line of the trees, presumably on final approach to Bournemouth Airport. I was surprised it didn't send any of the birds up- it was making such a noise!
I soon finished my lunch and started to head over towards the Killdeer again. A Red Kite was being mobbed by a Crow, and two Pied Wagtails were in the fields.
The time by now was around 13:15, and I was planning to take the 14:30 train home, so decided I would need to leave here at about 13:40 to give me ample time to bike back. I figured if it had taken me 30 minutes to get here, it would take much longer to get back- I would be going into the wind nearly all the way.
The Killdeer hadn't moved much and was still being watched by a much diminished group of birders; the rest had gone to get lunch, I presume.
Time was virtually gone now, so I took one last look at the incredible American plover on the other side of the reservoir and headed back along the path.
I made it back to my bike, unlocked it, packed my bag up, and biked off to Christchurch station in time for my train.
Well, what a trip! After a very frustrating start to 2026 with weather and various things getting in the way, I'd finally managed to get out birding. And what a brilliant first birding trip. A lifer American vagrant, pushing my British life list up to 214 (I think). I'm finishing this post the following morning, still feeling exhausted by yesterday's exertions. It still feels a bit surreal that I actually saw the bird. A Killdeer. Wow. Apparently, the bird is still present as of this morning. I would be surprised if it stays during the farm shoot, but birds never cease to amaze. There's not much else about at the minute, but there are some woods nearby with a very cool bird I've missed a couple of times. I might bike there when I've got time... What an incredible bird to have as a first lifer of 2026. Hopefully, there will be more to come in future days, weeks and months, but who knows what might happen. I'm gonna end here, as I've exhausted my word bank.
Hope you all have a good day and are enjoying great birds.
As always, many thanks to the finder.
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