Must be cursed!!

Slightly fraught start to the day but a Merlin over the A31, albeit brief and distant, lightened the mood!! At Blashford south side, four Bramblings but not much else in the drizzle. Brief chat with John, Bryn and Jan.
North side had thirty or so Sand Martins, one Swallow, the Black-necked Grebe and a brief Little Gull. Two LRPs were displaying and a distant Raven was rolling along. On the way home another Swallow over the motorway.

As usual I left a little too early with Bob posting the arrival of the Iceland Gull probably ten minutes after driving off!! And again the Ring-billed turned up later.

 Needless to say after the last visit the return of cold weather reduced insects to nil.

Good Friday

Nothing particularly good about it  - always feel sorry for families on Easter break when the weather is cr*p and looking to stay like it for the next week at least. Monday and Tuesday at least look to have strong onshore winds which will please the Selsey/Worthing/Splash Point seawatchers although I'm guessing it will have no effect on the Solent.
This Little Egret from a few days back looks typically miserable - I feel its pain😁😁

Three of at least five Reed Buntings visiting the feeders today with a 'wannabe'

Otherwise about three hundred Black-tailed Godwits on the meadow in a variety of plumages but many in bright breeding plumage, just two Bar'wits, a Snipe and a single Ruff. Far too wet for raptors and passerines.

Not so much as a Chiffchaff today, nor any other birdsong; Shovelers down to two, single Grey Heron and just a single gull, a Great Black-backed having a wash. The new, stacked willow brash was much to the liking of a Cettis which was sub-singing just a few feet away. It eventually crept out like a winged rodent giving point blank views before disappearing back into cover. A missed photo op.

And the hits keep a-coming...

Very wet morning and muddy tracks at PB; note to self - buy some wellies!!
At Westmead a pair of Redshanks and a pair of Grey Wagtails around the electric fencing, the former hopefully benefitting from reduced fox predation in the months ahead. This 'X marks the spot' godwit was close by and already seen and recorded by Carey who is going to get ringing info from Pete Potts. This is not a bird I've seen before.

A couple of Buzzards and a Kestrel were all sat out on posts getting soaked and the Skylark song was pretty much drowned out by rain hammering on the hide roof.

From the north brooks precious little, now so many wildfowl have departed.
Gary's GWE from yesterday seemed to have morphed into three Littles today!
Reed Bunting was about the only obvious songster in the drizzle.

On the Green Lane corner a nice close (and low down) Treecreeper showed well but nothing else between here and reception.

Inside, the 'old faithful' Nightingale picture is still being displayed with their arrival soon hopefully; I'm guessing about 18 days to go.

Getting back home, a brief spell of sunshine produced the first female H-fFB of the spring tazzing around with just one male.

PS The three Little Egrets morphed back into a single GWE for Carey late afternoon!!!
PPS Pete confirmed receipt of Carey's godwit details (above) and the the Billy Greenshank was NRYY, the bird seen there regularly and different to the usual Nore Barn bird.

... and back to normal UK weather!!

Well that didn't last long !! After yesterday's near 'shorts 'n t-shirt' weather it's back to a cold wind, overcast skies and drizzle. Having dropped M off for a brief reunion there was just time for an hour at the Oysterbeds where this Redshank was very close adjacent to the carpark before bobbing agitatedly and flying off.

The LNR 'management team' were on site, as above, doing a good job of keeping the vegetation down.

Just a few of the 250+ Med Gulls on the bunds above. Six Sandwich Terns were on the outer spit and spent time noisily displaying high overhead. Just single Little Grebe and Red-breasted Merganser feeding inside the bunds and a Whimbrel over the harbour. No sign of any migrants.

Back on the Billy flood the usual colour-ringed Greenshank and, in the conifers by the car, two noisy, rattling Mistle Thrushes, one of which came close to an RTA crossing the road a little too low.

A proper Spring day

A longer journey than usual involved a detour via Portchester and Fareham, eventually getting to junction 11 and generally heavier traffic than usual through to Blashford where a quick stop for fuel, coffee and lunch.

J6x4 was already on site with one of two Oak Beauties relocated for photography; I put the other in a sunnier but still well camouflaged position for a few pics. The few other moths were small and brown and ignored!!

The warm and bright conditions brought out plenty of Eristalis tenax and pertinax, various bees including Honey, Nomada spp (probably fabriciana ) and Andrena spp (bicolor or  bimaculata). Long chat with various people including a catch up with Kevin and his NFBG members; a Kingfisher was calling up and down Dockens Water before eventually zipping over the reception pond.

The better conditions produced lots of Brimstones, although just a single female and a couple of Peacocks; unfortunately I couldn't refind Kevin's Beeflies but did managed a Grass Snake close by, but very alert and speeding off into thick cover.

At Tern Hide just a few Goosanders and Goldeneyes, again two Red Kites and single LRP but no migrants. The Little Gull had been seen earlier but didn't reappear but a nice but distant 2cy/3cy Iceland Gull showed distantly.

Migrantless March continues...

After yesterday, back to cooler overcast conditions. The large flock of godwits contained two Bar'wits and a Ruff, 21 Avocets were on the scrapes with a massive increase in gulls - it was pretty deafening. A single Chiffchaff was the only migrant. Others had the Firecrest in its usual place and apparently there were two more Ruff. Raptors as usual.

Under the corrugated sheets a single Bank Vole and two sluggish Slow Worms, one above whilst a visitor kindly held the sheet up for me. In the Meadow Hide ditch two, possibly three, Water Voles entertained visitors.

Flash - Gordon Bennett!!!!

Having ordered and then collected the ring flash from Chi (one noisy Peregrine and the female apparently on two eggs), got home and unpacked it only to find its not compatible with the 80d!! B****r!!

So, back for a refund and, as it was a nice day, on to Arundel.

Luckily, it was mostly quiet today - not too many people, no chainsaws and nobody I knew or recognised which meant I had plenty of time with the wildlife and not being distracted by others.

Daffodils were the place to be seen if you were an insect with Eristslis tenax and Apis mellifera, both above, and a male Anthophora plumipes nearby.

Viewing to the downs produced a dozen Buzzards in the air together along with two Kestrels and a single Red Kite; no sign of the Peregrines today - I wonder if they've finally got their act together and found a breeeding site.

Plenty of Lapwing display, two paired Oystercatchers and probably a dozen Med Gulls - no obvious ringed BHGs from previous years though. No migrants other than three Chiffchaffs, although I guess any or all could have been overwintering birds. A shy Coal Tit was best of the feeder birds and three or more Bank Voles showed well amongst the stag beetle pile, albeit difficult photographic conditions with so little light. A flashgun would have been very useful!!

Post snow P and P.....

So many dogs and dog turds everywhere  - why can't these people clear up!!!
A Buzzard over the Causeway, two over the carpark and singing Mistle Thrush and strident, calling Nuthatch. A couple of bee spp (one probably Bombus pratorum) but no macro lens today and no other obvious mini-beasts. On the water, five Shovelers, just two Pochards and a Little Grebe; the Great crests seem to have moved on. About 250+ gulls featured ten or more Meds but birds were constantly arriving, washing and departing.
At the park just three more Buzzards and a Brimstone - the usual loop was too muddy today without more appropriate footwear.
Back home the first hover of the year, a male Meliscaeva auricollis, and three male H-fFBs, one here in flight with the 400.

Flash

In town to order up a ring flash to hopefully help with insect photography. Should be an interesting 'learning curve' not having owned or used a flashgun for thirty years or so!!
Temperature noticeably up on yesterday with a Buzzard over the road and a Peregrine (presumably the male) soaring high above the spire.
A bathing Great Black-backed Gull was the only bird of note on the pond.

Last of the cold.... I hope!!

It was cold today with the car thermometer showing 30-34 F all day. Luckily all the roads were clear despite the odd flurry. Half a dozen Bramblings and two flyover Lesser Redpolls and a Raven were about it for the south side; just a few dozen wildfowl where a few weeks ago 500+. The feeders were surprisingly quiet.

After a lot of scanning yesterday's two adult Little Gulls appeared, one feeding amongst a group of ducks and coots at the very far end and later the second bird was more traditionally surface dipping just a little closer.
An LRP flew through the scope's view as did two Sand Martins and a male Wheatear was on the shoreline amongst twenty or so M'ipits. Four new-for-year birds, whilst not surprising for this time of year, still seemed unlikely in these conditions. Otherwise,  just ten Goosanders and two Red Kites which followed each other south down the Avon valley.

Finally!!!

Finally, after yesterday's first butterfly of 2018 (a Brimstone), today's afternoon sunshine brought out two male Anthophora plumipes sunbathing on the shingle between bouts of feeding on Pulmonaria. First identifiable insects so far - hopefully, once TBFTE2.0 moves through spring will settle down and a few hovers will appear.

Earlier, a shopping trip to Chi produced just a couple of Buzzards over the road but no sign of Peregrines. At Southsea Castle, on a dropping tide, 15 Purple Sandpipers appeared out of nowhere, presumable having been roosting on a buoy or fort;  two Rock Pipits (one attempting some sub-song from a prominent part of the castle walls) and a scruffy Med Gull coasting eastwards.

Saturday.
A brief spin round the pond in a sleet flurry produced four Med Gulls and two Lesser Black-backs all washing.

A record shot only day..

An early start for me, meeting up with 'SDOS on the road' by 09:30.
The 'bycatch' of Gos'ing today were a couple of Siskins and Hawfinches, numerous Buzzards, two Ravens, single Woodlark - and 4-6 Goshawks with birds on view most of the time. Good to catch up with so many people including GT and wife, plus Judy(?) demonstrating butterfly transects to Chris (who was later at Blashford). Probably 25 people in total plus the odd dog-walkers.
At the carpark a couple of vocal Marsh Tits.

Off for lunch at Blashford where the above distant, silhouetted Raven was one of three and the 13 Goosanders, again above, were part of 35 or so during the afternoon. The Water Pipit was too far for a proper photo and skulked around the shoreline along with a couple of Grey Wagtails and about 20 Pied Wagtails which were typically mor obliging. No sign of yesterday's LRP and this morning's Osprey obviously went straight through as did a Sand Martin. Chatted to J6x4 and, briefly, PW about dodgy record shots.
Best part of 200 Cormorants on the islands but no notable gulls other than 3 Meds by departure at 15:45.

A quick spin around the pond was pretty fruitless today with just a singing Stormcock to make you think of Spring. The two Great-crested Grebes were doing some half-hearted head-bobbing but little else and were joined by a single Little Grebe. Just a handful each of Pochards and Tufties. No sound of any Redwings, just this typically skittish Song Thrush.

Just too many dogs today so round to QE for brunch and on to the top carpark where again 'pooch city'. Aaarrgghh!! On the bright side a nice kite circled silently overhead as I got back to the car.

Was going to give up but decided on a quick 'twitch' of the Farlington Garganey - needless to say not seen for some hours!! An anticlockwise turn round the marsh (at low tide) was pretty quiet other than wildfowl and Curlew in the fields; best-of-the-rest being two Sparrowhawks and a couple of Rock Pipits. Highlight was a super adult Peg, a male I think, dropping like a bullet after a Starling which came within inches of joining the 'departed'!! It then soared up into the blue until invisible with the naked eye. Nothing was moving about much and certainly nothing within camera range.
The Pintail above, in conjunction with Teal, Mallard, Gadwall, B-hG and, I'm betting, Snipe were using these sunlit piles of cut reeds as warm and dry roosting spots.

Finally, a couple told me that the Garganey was back in its usual spot so dashed back to find it hiding amongst grass and Teal by the waters edge before going for a fly about. Sadly, no Wheatears today despite many elsewhere via Twitter including Pulborough. Something for Pete and Ann to search for tomorrow.

Monochrome March...and some colour

Grey and damp with everything looking monochrome; Tufted Duck, Magpie, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, etc etc. Plentiful Scarlet Elf Cups in all the usual spots gave a flash of colour. Sadly, no early migrants - was hoping for an LRP or Sand Martins as there were quite a few scattered around the country yesterday. Brief chat with John and Jackie before a last look at Ibsley before the rain settled in.

Nice to see reports of big numbers of Hawfinches at Kingley Vale which might be an option later in the week.

And they're off...

BJ entry only

Whoooosh!!!

A pretty thin day with the heathland especially quiet.

Whilst at the hanger, a tremendously loud 'whoosh' was a very close juvenile Peregrine  overhead hammering downhill in a usual teardrop shape before landing a long way out on the edge of a puddle for a wash and brush up.
Later, it was chasing around the south brooks unsuccessfully.
Four or more Ruffs and two Golden Plovers were the best otherwise; no sign of the Temminck's for some days now - maybe the cold spell was too much for it.

Thursday - quick shopping trip to Southsea and after, 13 Purple Sandpipers at the castle a little after low tide and in a howling westerly but nothing else on show.
Locally, after last week's snow, ice and an earlier major council clearup, it was nice to hear the Cetti's calling loudly from what little cover remains. A dozen or so Goldfinches and this Cormorant, one of a few coming into nice plumage.

Update
Male Swan at Baffin's Pond 3rd. March 2018, ringed by Trevor Codlin at Walpole Lake Gosport as a youngster, 14th Nov. 2014.