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Sunday 23rd January 2022

23rd Jan 20229th Feb 2022 chrisbutton1

I headed to Park Shore and my first drumming Great Spotted Woodpecker of the year greeted me as I got out of the car. Just opposite, in the field towards Bergerie Farm, 24 noisy Egyptian Geese were squabbling and a Buzzard looked for worms.

I walked the lane between Errish House and Rye Errish House. There is a short line of conifers here and the copse opposite has been particularly productive for crests and chiffchaffs. There were at least two Firecrests and three Goldcrests and the group of three wintering Chiffchaffs were feeding in the conifers.

Every few minutes I picked out the paler beige-coloured Siberian Chiffchaff, a subtle green tinge was noticeable across all of the wing feather edges – greater coverts, primary coverts, alula, tertials, secondaries and primaries. Unfortunately it didn’t call although at one stage it did react strongly to a tristis recording I played. None of the chiffchaffs reacted to the standard collybita recordings and none of them called. The chiffchaffs appeared to be keen on this area as they were still here when I drove back several hours later.

I kept hearing a distant Fieldfare and eventually saw it in the tree tops. The two Cattle Egrets were in their normal field close to the horses around Park Farm and a Coal Tit and a Treecreeper were calling from the pines around Little Marsh Lodge.

female Marsh Harrier photo by Dimitri Moore

Down on the beach the shingle islands which are revealed at mid and low tides are particularly good for Mediterranean Gulls and there were at least 25 today. Out on the sea a tightly formed group of four Slavonian Grebes drifted back towards Mary Monts and a fifth bird was nearby, this is the peak count so far this winter. Auks were represented by single Guillemots and Razorbills. In the distance, just beyond the old wooden pier to the west, there were four Red-breasted Mergansers.

female Kingfisher photo by Ian Williamson

Back at Needs Ore a female Kingfisher was perched along Kingfisher Ditch and on De L’Orne scrape there were 86 Black-tailed Godwit. This is my highest count on the reserve although I can see from historic records (10-25 years ago) that there have been counts of 500+ in the past.

female Reed Bunting photo by Dimitri Moore

A female Reed Bunting perched close to Venner Hide and over on Venner Island a Little Egret was showing plumes on both the neck and the wings and so it is at least a 2^nd winter bird. Nape plumes if they were present (not visible in this photo) would make it an adult.

The first winter female Scaup was still on Black Water, she was first seen on the 27^th October and so has been with us for nearly 13 weeks. The number of Tufted Duck was up again slightly to 23.

Although this is clearly a Greater Scaup the stretched wing allows you to look for one of the key Lesser Scaup features. On Lesser Scaup the bright white bar across the secondaries ends abruptly and is replaced by a grey wing bar on the primaries. On Greater Scaup, as shown here, there is a gradual transition from white to grey.

At the Sailing Club a Grey Plover was standing on Sluice Gate Saltmarsh as I got out of the car. I often stop at the Sailing Club for lunch and it is almost always accompanied by this confiding Robin. I showed the image to Graham who commented that “it is difficult to be sure of its age. Six greater coverts are visible and uniform, but the ones out of view could be different. The alula looks pointed and a tiny bit frayed, which could make it a first-winter. I would leave it un-aged.”

Out on the sea four Eider were flushed by a speedboat, they wheeled around before heading west. The juvenile Peregrine was perched on one of the taller posts towards the end of Gull Island, she was facing away looking over towards Lepe. It’s now seven weeks since I’ve seen either of the adults.

birds

Wednesday 19th January 2022

19th Jan 20229th Feb 2022 chrisbutton1

Adam, Matt and I arranged to meet to do some work on the scrape at Great Marsh. The Avocet Islands have sunk gradually since Adam created them four years ago. The aim of today was to add another 6-9 inches of mud onto the raised areas so that they wouldn’t be submerged even after heavy rain and high tides. We also created several additional large islands. This should give the Avocets and Black-headed Gulls more opportunities for breeding.

Before we met I spent an hour watching the sea and another 45 minutes after we’d finished. There were three Slavonian Grebes and nine Great Crested Grebes strung out along the Solent. Three Razorbill and one Guillemot were also on show but the highlight was a pair of Goosander heading west. A Dartford Warbler was calling from Great Marsh scrub just before we started work.

Finished with all existing islands raised significantly and several new islands created

birds

Sunday 16th January 2022

16th Jan 20229th Feb 2022 chrisbutton1

A WeBS count day. I met Ian at Inchmery Quay at just after 8:30am. WeBS highlights included 900 Dunlin, 275 Knot and a single Golden Plover in with the 190 Grey Plover.

On the sea there were three Slavonian Grebes and two Razorbills and at Rye Errish (Park Lane) a Firecrest was in the garden of Errish House again. The Pale-bellied Brent Goose was with the large Brent Goose flock in the fields to the north east of Park Farm.

Back at Shore Hide a ringtail Hen Harrier was found by Nigel which he put us on to as he was leaving. It drifted out of the river mouth flying purposefully west along the shoreline but gradually getting more distant as it headed out towards the Isle of Wight.

birds

Thursday 13th January 2022

13th Jan 20229th Feb 2022 chrisbutton1

I headed back to the top of Park Lane to try and relocate Monday’s possible tristis chiffchaff. I parked next to Errish House and almost immediately I picked up three Chiffchaffs in the ivy covered trees which stand along the edge of the garden. The first one I photographed looked very pale and I’m pretty sure it was Monday’s bird. My photos appear to show all of the classic features of a tristis race Siberian Chiffchaff.

Cold beige grey plumage and pale underparts with no green tone on the crown and mantle. Broad pale buffy supercilium with no yellow, the only yellow tones were at the bend of the wing. There was a hint of a greenish wash to the greater coverts, secondary edges and tertials.

Very dark blackish legs and a hint of a pale wing wing bar across the greater coverts.

I spent three hours around the perimeter of the garden hoping it might call but it didn’t.

In addition to the Siberian Chiffchaff the area, known as Rye Errish, provided a few birds that were new for the year. A Crossbill headed north probably from the pines halfway down to the farm. It’s a single bird and while their calls can be quite variable the quality and tone are usually consistent and diagnostic. I’ve added the recording and at the end you can hear two or three notes from a Siskin as well.

Crossbill and Siskin flying over Rye Errish

Opposite Errish House on the Bergerie Farm side two Mistle Thrush were feeding in the field while a Sparrowhawk soared over the pines. A Coal Tit called and then appeared in the pines at the back of Errish House.

A Firecrest flew into the garden from the adjacent hedge and called as it flew across, it showed briefly before disappearing deep into the cover. You can hear that the three notes in each part of the Firecrest call are slightly ascending in pitch and this is especially obvious in the first part of this recording. In contrast Goldcrest calls are usually level or descending.

Firecrest calling

I headed down to Needs Ore to check what was on the sea and to spend a bit of time at the Sailing Club. On the sea there were two Slavonian Grebes and four Razorbill and a male Eider headed west while a female Red-breasted Merganser rested on the sea.

The juvenile Peregrine was on a bare tree below Exbury Fields and the 14 Spoonbill were asleep on Inchmery Saltmarsh. A single Greenshank flew over the Sluice Gate Saltmarsh and eight Greenfinch at the Sluice Gate was a good count. Another good count was 40 Meadow Pipits flying over De L’Orne South. In the heat haze two Snipe were resting on the edge of the scrape. A feeding Little Egret was reflected in the sheltered water near the Sluice Gate.

As I was driving back along Warren Lane a Red Admiral buzzed the car and then settled on a tree to bask in the sun. Lots of UK butterfly species spend the winter as eggs or caterpillars but Red Admiral, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell winter as adults.

After lunch I headed back to Rye Errish hoping to hear the Siberian Chiffchaff calling but again no luck although I did see a male Kestrel with his prey.