February 12th to 18th

A visit to Hill Head hoping for the recently reported Long-tailed Duck was immediately successful with the bird located distantly from the Cliff Road bench viewpoint. Descending to the HHSC to join up with Tony H found us watching it out near the red buoy briefly before it flew off towards Hook or beyond.

An attempt to relocate it an hour or so later was unsuccessful but did produce two Velvet Scoters, originally flying well out into the Solent to the east, but dropping down adjacent to the Darling buoy.

Twenty-six Eiders, mostly males, showed well.

Later, at Posbrook, the three Glossy Ibises were another year tick with plenty of Wigeon feeding up on the far grass bank plus a few Pintails and  Tufted Ducks but no (obvious) signs of roosting Barn Owl.

Two Ravens flew over.

The next day was an opportunity to look for the previously reported Red-necked Grebe offshore from Southsea Castle and originally found by Paul R on the 19th of January. It didn't take too long to find it in the scope where it was pretty close to a Great Northern Diver. The Purple Sandpipers were either absent or playing hard to get and in a brief visit no Black Redstarts were seen although two were reported on the 1st of the month.

Monday, coffee in the PGC lounge with KM was pleasant where, despite golfers, the open areas held a couple each of Mistle Thrush and Green Woodpecker plus twenty or so Redwings; a kite soared distantly and a couple of Buzzards and three Kestrels were seen on the way back.

Yesterday at TH was too cold, sunny and choppy to locate anything offshore and on the reserve just a couple of Marsh Harriers, two Goldcrests and six Avocets, the latter being my first of the year.

And today, little at Stansted, just four Cattle Egrets south of Pook Lane, a year-tick Med Gull at Broadmarsh and seven Harbour Seals from Cockleshell on the way home.

Blashford, Blackwater Arboretum etc

Not the best of days being pretty grey but mostly mild and dry. Whilst there was nothing desperately exciting, the sheer numbers of waterfowl, mostly on Ibsley Water, were nice to watch - probably more Shoveler than I've ever seen here - and good numbers of Pintail and Wigeon. Goldeneye were in double figures with some nice displaying males  and the long-staying Black-necked Grebe was easy to find in the vicinity of the now collapsed Osprey post. Raptors were Buzzards, Red Kites, a single Peregrine over the lichen heath and a cream-crowned Marsh Harrier flushing ducks in the north west corner of Ibsley Water.

Round at Goosander hide six Goosanders included an adult male, lots of Pintail here and a typically photogenic Great-crested Grebe successfully fishing on several occasions. Always the way when the camera is at home!!

Ivy Lake was quiet with just 200+ Teal and slightly more Wigeon plus a few other duck spp. Highlight here was the two Kingfishers, male and female, sparring with each other and staying in view for a long while. Several other species, Redwing, Goldcrest, Treecreeper and Nuthatch showed well - the 12×50 Swaros really coming into their own for frame filling images.

Below spring Catkins and a phone camera shot of some of the wildfowl in front of Goosander Hide.

Later at Blackwater Arboretum very few birds; no Hawfinches. But some spilt bird food in the carpark was attracting several Coal, Blue and Great Tits plus singles of Marsh Tit and Nuthatch. The rain was getting heavier by 15:35 so I and another birder gave up.

It transpires that my previous visit here produced 12 Hawfinches but that was almost fifteen years ago to the day!!

Wednesday, up and away from Cadnam fairly early - I didn't think I could do justice to a £16 breakfast so yesterday's banana, a Belvita biscuit and tea in the room was order of the day.

A clear and still morning started with two Woodlarks singing overhead as I stepped out of the car, with one landing in the nearest tall birch twice over an hour and continuing to sing and give prolonged scope views until driven off by three Greenfinches! At times they were so high as to be difficult to pinpoint; you always think they're perched up rather than directly above you! As usual the 'backing track' was provided by Mistle Thrushes.

For the most part the next hour was birdless with the conditions not suitable for raptors; not even a Buzzard rose up out of the trees and the only large birds being one or two Ravens and 15+ Stock Doves.

Finally, as I thought of leaving, a single Hawfinch perched up in the nearest tall trees straight out and gave extended scope views in good light making up for yesterday's dip.

A brief stop at Cockleshell on the way back was too low a tide for waders and waterfowl but eleven Harbour Seals were hauled out in the usual place.

A brief local walk between chores found a single Chiffchaff in the vicinity of the tennis courts and in excess of six hundred Brent enjoying the refuge field.  Finally, irate Herring Gulls alerted to a Sparrowhawk dodging between the houses.

GWH

S.A.D is setting in as always at this time of year, driven in part by the reminder of glorious sunny, blue skies in Spain over Xmas. And here we are with continuous grey skies and rain AND another named storm on the way!!

Still, a nice coffee and a cheese and bacon pastry cheered things up a bit.

So here are a random selection from GWH.

Plenty of Snowdrops out and some Winter Aconite (both below). A quick catch up with Richard and ground staff who fielded some questions and pointed out the four new hybrid Elms, hopefully DED resistant.

A single kite and heard only Green Woodpecker, Nuthatch and Redwing were about it for birdlife; a couple of Kestrels on the way back into Petersfield and a Grey Wagtail over the shops.

Tonight a talk from Oliver Smart should feature some good pictures. (P.S and it did!!!)

First divers of the year

IC's early posting on the WhatsApp group of two Great Northern Divers off Rainbow Bar prompted me to pop over to Hill head for  the morning where it didn't take too long, on a gorgeously flat Solent, to find first one and then the second, just inside the Darling buoy. Further looking produced two then four Velvet Scoters which were joined by two Commons and all in the same field of view as the divers.

Offshore, and especially out towards Lee, there were lots of Great Crested Grebes, certainly into  three figures. A Male and female eider went west.

A brief walk up the east side found both Spoonbills feeding, preening and washing - a nice change from the usual white, sleeping blobs!!

Scanning the shoreline gulls failed to find Amy's Caspian Gull from yesterday.

Tuesday saw a brief Sparrowhawk slipping between the houses but no sounds from the pond's Water Rail, maybe due to the presence of the work party. The Tufted Ducks were into the 60s but just 10+ females. No Shovelers today

Wednesday to friday

A brief trip to PB for a catch up saw little other than one of the adult eagles flying into its usual tree.

Friday was a shopping trip with Southsea Castle thrown in so, three Purple Sandpipers, one Grèat Crested Grebe and a male Black Redstart, the latter on the rocks before jumping onto the railings and dropping down into the moat. Across the road the new, temporary 'refuge' held 55+ Brent Geese plus a single Light-bellied Brent.

Back home the Water Rail was still present and calling but typically too far into the reeds to be seen.

No birding this weekend.

Monday and Tuesday

A shopping trip to Chichester was a write-off as the shops I had intended to visit were closed due to power outage!!

The Ravens were either silent or still absent from the Bishops Garden but the Peregrines were noisy with the male putting on a nice show before landing on the north-east side of the upper tracery.

After chores on Tuesday a stroll from the Cockleshell carpark to the south end of Swan Lake was quiet despite a flat calm high tide; sadly no divers.

The three Scaup were still asleep as were a couple of Teal; one of the Scaup is a 2cy drake now beginning to moult into its next plumage. Sadly, my phone's camera is very poor.

Thanks to PDW for his picture below taken a week after my visit.

Tuesday 7th, Thursday 9th

Tuesday saw a brief visit to Arundel which, after some cold weather, was very short of wildfowl, gulls and Snipe. A Kingfisher was very watchable but too far for pictures unlike this egret which was just 5-6 metres away. For the first time in many visits no Cattle Egrets nor Marsh Harriers

Thursday was mostly a lunch visit to GWH with nothing of note.