Water Feature Update

 Starting with a recent Firecrest pic, because it's nicer as the headline photo than a muddy pool.

Anyway, as a follow up to yesterday, found out this morning what's going on with the pools on the north edge of the golf course. Got chatting to one of the contractors and it seems the plan is to set something up whereby the golf club can use the water in the (spring-fed) pools for watering greens, etc during dry spells, but this first means extending the deepest bit to where they can pump it (or something like that, I may have glazed over after a bit of technical talk). Which I guess is all very good for the environment (although probably their water bill is their main concern). And also offers the possibility of a little late summer mud, which is welcome. So remaining positive about it.

For the time being, however, the first pool looks like this:

Unsurprisingly, the Little Grebe has decided enough is enough and there was no sign of the Kingfisher.

The other pool is a little lower, to be expected as it is fed by the first, but at least will be spared the Somme look.

Otherwise this morning, all quiet on the whole. A female Teal was with the Wigeon on the other pools, a couple of Egyptian Geese flew east, and only three Purple Sandpipers could be seen on those rocks that I checked.

Water Features

 After about a ten day gap, for various reasons, have been back on patch the last two mornings, and there are already subtle changes in the avifauna. And in one corner of patch, slightly less subtle changes in the landscape (more of which in a bit).

Yesterday morning was gloriously sunny, although still with a wintry nip in the air when walking into the wind, such as it was. I wasn't in the best of moods, also for various reasons, and very tired, so wasn't as attentive as I could have been, but it was hard not to notice the increase in Skylarks (both singing and generally buzzing around the golf course and clifftop) from previous visits, and also in Meadow Pipits. The latter shouldn't be on the move properly for another 5 or 6 weeks, and are easy to pick up when migrating, so I suspect these have just wandered from the fields just inland. Both species were still conspicuous this morning, despite heavy cloud and light rain.

Stonechats seem to have dropped in numbers too, so maybe some of them have already headed off to some hill or moorland to the north.

Today I was in a far better mood despite the gloomier and damper conditions (these things aren't always possible to predict or reconcile, it's just the way it is).

A Kestrel showed nicely by the path at the start of the walk, frequently dropping to grab an earthworm.

I like that even after 40 years' birding I can still appreciate stuff like this, and that it can still set me up for a nice morning.

And so of water (aside from the enormous salty expanse to the south): there are two sets of pools on the golf course.

Those above, obvious very soon after taking the coast path east from the last car park, are the pools that have held a female Wigeon for a few weeks now (today it was flying about for the first time that I've seen, so maybe will depart soon), and which I always feel look good for a Little Bittern or Squacco Heron in spring (I can but dream, but the fact that one of the former was seen in a Barton garden in May 2003 means perhaps it's not such a wild one!).

The others are adjacent to the Milford road, and are where Little Grebe bred last year, and where previous post photos of that species, Cormorant and Mute Swan have been from. Last autumn the trees and shrubs that flanked the pools were often quite good for warblers (in a Barton way, not a Spurn way!) and so it was a little disappointing when late last year the golf club cleared most of that vegetation. But that was their prerogative, and just how it was, and in any case they still looked quite nice.

Photos taken around Christmas

Yesterday I walked over there to get Little Grebe on the day list and was horrified to find them digging huge amounts of mud out of one pool. Today I dared to look again, and there was a pump running and the water levels were about 2 feet down!! Fair to say it wasn't pretty.

Red line is where the water usually comes to, and until November the whole area around that line was dense sallow

But the weird thing is, there were more birds than usual. As well as the swans above, the Little Grebe was holding his ground.

A pair of Mallard were enjoying the new mud.

The usual gang of five Moorhens were making the best of things.

But best, and most bizarrely of all, there was, despite the disturbance, a Kingfisher. Have had it here before (and much more regularly on the other pools) in autumn, but this is only my second "spring" record on patch (the previous one was of a very unexpected copulating pair).

Anyway, for the time being, I'm remaining positive that the golf club are planning something lovely and bird-friendly for the pools, and that maybe that mud might come in handy in the next few weeks.

Much of the rest of today's walk was largely uneventful. Only ten Curlews on Hordle Cliff, with no attendant Whimbrel, and nothing yet going on offshore.

But back near the car, viewing the rocky groynes from the clifftop, and the Purple Sandpipers gave a nice flying display. Unless they fly they can be a bugger to count; in fact often they're impossible to see and it's easy to assume they're not there until they do this. And today I managed a pic which helped me confirm 33 birds were present.

With two of the five attendant Turnstones

A new site record count!! 

In fact, better than that, it turns out it's actually a new county record count 😃 I like Purps anyway, they're wonderfully charismatic birds, and have an excellent call, so it's nice to have such a good number on patch. Have a hunch the count may grow a little before winter is out.

Day Listing

 I do love a day list. I keep a list every time I go birding, just something I enjoy doing. 

But you can't beat a proper day list!

In the past I've indulged in some pretty serious Hampshire day listing with a couple of friends, with our best efforts being 121 for New Year's Day, and a nice round 150 in early May. That's not happened for a few years now though, for a variety of disparate reasons.

With the forecast for today very pleasant (not much wind, sunny first thing), the tide high mid afternoon (very helpful for doing Pennington Marshes, and that was when I planned to be there) and work still in its midwinter lull (and me in my midlife can't-be-arsed-with-work-if-I-can-help-it lull) I decided a couple of days ago that, mojo permitting, I'd give it a go today. Not a full-on just-after-midnight to well-after-dark go, but a go nonetheless.

Aside from drawing up an itinerary (which I didn't manage to stick to) and checking reports of certain species online there wasn't really any preparation (a "proper" day race involves hours of recceing sites, and reams of paper tinkering with routes and timings).

Just before 7 this morning I arrived at Blackwater Arboretum in the Forest just as it was getting light and waited for the finches to leave roost. Had a real stroke of luck with a very early Sparrowhawk - just the 10th species of the day, and as anyone who's done a day list will know, if there's one species guaranteed to refuse to play ball, it's Sprawk. In hindsight its continued presence for about 10-15 minutes, repeatedly passing over the roost area, probably caused the finches to delay leaving roost, and it definitely meant virtually none perched up.

A brave/foolish Crossbill in the half light

But eventually all the species I'd hoped for here were logged, a few Crossbills a couple of Hawfinches and several calling Firecrests, plus stuff that was far from certain later, or else would have needed a stop elsewhere in the Forest, such as Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Stock Dove and Green Woodpecker. Got all of those four again later, but certainly all (except maybe Stock Dove these days) have the potential to waste loads of time on or miss entirely, so they're nice to get in the bag. Brambling was seen here too, but dozens flew up from the roadsides as I headed to the more open areas north of the A31 for the few missing species. Been really nice to see so many this winter.

The next stop had singing Woodlark even before I'd stopped the car, the first of eight year ticks today. One of my favourite of all bird songs, and nice views too. Soon after that a Dartford Warbler called and it was time to move on again, although I gave the lark more time than it might have received on a proper day race. It seemed rude not to.

Next destination was Eyeworth Pond, but en route I popped in to Cadman's Pool, which is often good for Goosander. None there today, but it did have 7 Mandarins, the primary target at Eyeworth. Carried on to the latter, however, in order to get Marsh Tit, which is always easy here, the last of the Forest birds on my route (missed Goshawk and Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, but these are the two hardest to get and can be real timewasters if you let them).

Eyeworth also had Mandarins (at least nine)

As well as a single redhead Goosander (several of these, including males, were later on Ibsley Water, but they're far from guaranteed there in the middle of the day, so another that was nice to get early).

The (very short) detour to Cadman's had been worthwhile though, because it had what was to prove to be the only Fieldfare of the day.

From Eyeworth I drove up on to the downs, to Tidpit, and here the itinerary went a little awry - spent way too long searching through the gulls in the pig fields for Ring-billed and failing. A couple of Yellow-legged though, and this spot also provided the only Bullfinch of the day (another classic potential day listing banana skin) and Grey Partridge.

  Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting were also year ticked at Tidpit

Also nice to see a few hares

Next stop was Blashford, with Bittern the first priority. It was skulking as ever, but reliably to the right of Ivy North Hide and only took a couple of minutes to locate, but any thoughts of a quick getaway were quashed by spending the next twenty minutes providing directions to about a dozen others. Every time I thought I'd escape someone else came in the hide, and "right of the swan, horizontal bulrush, etc etc" would have to be repeated a few more times.

Best I could manage through the horrible hide glass

Although most views were like this!

A few new birds were added on Ibsley Water, most importantly Pochard and a Common Sandpiper on the far bank

Common Sand, honest

The only Redpoll I've seen this year

With all the faffing about with gulls and Bittern I had wasted enough time that I could ditch plans to visit Barton for a bit, and instead headed to Normandy. Unfortunately missed a couple of Slavonian Grebes by a few minutes, but dug out the wintering Little Stint, Avocet numbers were up to 19, a single Bar-tailed Godwit was amongst the other waders on the saltmarsh, and a Spotted Redshank (plus the expected Greenshanks, 4 of them) meant I wouldn't have to traipse round Oxey.

Headed round to Pennington Marsh for a final flurry of additions, finishing the day list with Ruff, which threatened to elude me yet again (and probably would have done were it not for the mostly white bird!)

A couple of Golden Plover

And so, barring a calling Tawny Owl later (although I've yet to hear them at home this year, so that's unlikely) the tally finished on a respectable 110.

As always there were some annoying dips, but none too bad really, with the worst probably being Kingfisher, Cetti's Warbler and Egyptian Goose.

May have to try again some time . . .