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.

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.

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.

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.

I headed off extra early to try and find a Woodcock feeding before dawn, it was warm and so the ground wouldn’t be frozen. I’d seen one last winter, using my thermal camera, feeding at the back of Long Pits. I thought I’d try that field again this morning. I parked up at 6:50am and although it was pitch black I immediately picked up a thermal outline of a suitably sized bird about half way across the field. I find it difficult to identify individual species by their thermal signature but in flight identification was pretty straightforward and as soon as I set the video going the bird flew and I could instantly see that it was a Woodcock. It flew into the woods where they spend most of the day hiding in the leaf litter.    

Having found a Woodcock so quickly I used the time I’d saved to try an area that has previously held Little Owls. As soon as I got out of the car I was delighted to hear the mournful call, it was 7:10am.

After making a brief recording I headed back to the Reedy Ditch where a Barn Owl was quartering over the reeds towards Park Shore. Apart from a Barn Owl near St Leonard’s Barn on 6^th February 2021 this is the first Barn Owl I’ve seen hunting at Needs Ore. The owl was quartering at 7:40am which is 25 minutes before sunrise.

An early morning stop at the Reedy Ditch is often good for passerines and so I walked up and down Warren Lane from Black Water House to the Paddock, I was hoping for Marsh Tit, Coal Tit, Firecrest and Treecreeper. It was really quiet and I didn’t see or hear any of these species although I was delighted to see a Glossy Ibis flying over at 8:30am. It was still fairly dark and I needed ISO 5000 to achieve the 1/2000 second shutter speed required for flying birds.

Up to three Glossy Ibises have been seen on three separate occasions over the last 10 days, each time flying over the Reedy Ditch between 8am and 9am. They then appeared to head towards Park Shore, it was the same today and so I planned to scan the fields at Park Shore when I was over there later. Soon afterwards seven Little Egret arrived from their roost site somewhere to the west. A Green Woodpecker called regularly while I was at the Reedy Ditch.

After the Reedy Ditch I parked at Shore Hide and walked back along Warren Lane before turning left at Cattle Grid corner. Along Warren Lane I was hoping to see the Firecrest that Ian had seen from the Pullen Gate layby, but no luck today. I then headed to the beach for sea watching.

When the wind is very light the sea is calm and it’s much easier to see at a glance if there is anything on the sea. Sometimes that just means it takes less time to see that there’s not much! However, today was pretty good with two Slavonian Grebes beyond the cottages and a total of four Razorbill and two Guillemots. Not sure why but still no Great Northern Divers this winter. As I was leaving a Dartford Warbler called from the bushes and I saw another one almost back at the Shore Hide between the toilet building and the water trough.

Over at the hides the scrape at De L’Orne held around 100 Lapwing, 12 Avocet, 13 Spoonbill and 20 Shelduck. Nigel had mentioned there being Otter spraints on the boardwalk, I may set up a trail camera to try and get some footage.

Over on Black Water 19 Tufted Duck of which 11 were males is the biggest count I’ve had at Needs Ore and it’s the biggest count by anyone for almost 4 years. The female Scaup was accompanied by four Pochard and a Great Spotted Woodpecker was calling over the back of the water.

At the Sailing Club the juvenile/1^st winter Peregrine was on Gull Island but again no sign of either adult birds. Perhaps they may have abandoned the site after two consecutive failed breeding attempts. Several waders landed close to the launch and so I crept closer using the wooden raised area as a hide. Ringed Plover show a white supercilium, short rear end, two tone bill and brighter legs, all of which separate it from Little Ringed Plover (and also a wing bar and a different call). Little Ringed Plover also wouldn’t be here in the winter or in this habitat. You can also see that the darker ear coverts meet the bill at the gape line and not above like it does with Semipalmated Plover.

Some waders have the ability to selectively bend their bills, the final section of the upper mandible can flex upwards independently of the rest of the bill. This action opens the tip of their bill wide enough to seize prey, even while buried deep in mud or wet sand.

I headed off to Park Shore and soon after I’d arrived at the top of Park Lane I heard a familiar ‘hu-et’ call and later in the small copse of trees north of Rye Errish House I found two wintering Chiffchaffs, my first on the reserve. The call sounded like a classic western European collybita however I managed photos of one of the birds which didn’t call and it looked strikingly grey beige lacking a green tinge on the crown and mantle and lacking a yellow tinge on the supercilium and breast. It may be one of the eastern races perhaps tristis Siberian Chiffchaff although it would be good to return for better photos and hopefully a recording of it calling.

Also in this small group of trees a lovely Firecrest showed well along with two Goldcrests and a Treecreeper which I heard but didn’t see.  

From the panoramic viewpoint next to Errish House I could see that the two Cattle Egrets were still keeping the horses company on Park Farm. I scanned the fields from the viewpoint but I couldn’t see the Glossy Ibis.

A ninety minute flying visit to walk the spit and check what was happening on the sea. The 1^st winter Purple Sandpiper, the second ever at Needs Ore, was still feeding happily on Warren Shore opposite the cottages.

A reasonably close Razorbill and a single Slavonian Grebe were drifting west on the falling tide, six Eider headed east and seven Red-throated Divers flying west is the highest ever count at Needs Ore.

A Peregrine was perched on Gull Island, too far away to be sure if one of the adults had returned or whether it was the regularly seen immature bird. A White-tailed Eagle headed in off the sea as I was getting back to Mary Monts. A noticeable influx of Redwing with at least 25 on Droveway South and 10 on Warren Farm Fields. 

When trying to age the Redwing I was uncertain as there appeared to be contrasting clues:-  the tertials look adult-like, without white triangles at the tips, and the primaries look new and fresh. However there does appear to be some moult contrast in the greater coverts and the tail looks a little spiky. I asked Graham and he commented that the tertials and tail feathers are difficult to make an assessment on as it is better to see them from above. However, the greater coverts do show that it is a first-winter (hatched last summer).

“If you look along the greater coverts, roughly half way along there is a sudden difference in the length and colour of the tips of those feathers, indicating a clear moult limit. Several of the inner greater coverts (the ones to the left) have been moulted, but some outer ones (the ones to the right) have been retained and these are the shorter juvenile feathers with pale tips, as opposed to longer buttery-brown tips of the adult-type greater coverts. An adult would have moulted all the greater coverts and therefore they would be uniform”

For the same reason I think the greater coverts on the following Redwing make it an adult