After a few wet and windy days it was still fairly cool and breezy this morning. Siskin were flying over east as I headed down to the beach. Turnstone, Curlew, Grey Plover and Oystercatcher were dotted along the shoreline although there didn’t seem to be much on the sea. I was pleased to relocate the Dartford Warbler in the same group of gorse bushes near the beach fence line and with a lovely male Reed Bunting nearby.

Plenty of Skylarks were moving and some were singing. A handful of Swallows drifted overhead and then straight out towards the Isle of Wight. The immature male Marsh Harrier drifted over the reeds at the back of B Water and a Spotted Redshank swam right in front of DL’O hide. Nearby one of the Peregrines sat preening on the bank overlooking the Estuary Scrape.

Most days I see a pair of Goldcrests struggling to keep up with the mobile Long-tailed Tit flock, on this occasion the male flashed his amazing orange crown to his mate. A Sandwich Tern was plunge diving off the pontoon before resting on the nearby buoy. There have been three in recent days, perhaps they will spend the winter here.

I arrived just before a high spring tide and so headed over to DL’O hide to see what was roosting on the Estuary Scrape. There were 75 Curlew including a colour-ringed bird with yellow over red on the right tibia. Unfortunately it was roosting on one leg and stubbornly refused to reveal it’s left leg. This Curlew is from a foreign ringing scheme but without the left leg ring information it isn’t possible to pin it down further, I’ll have to keep an eye out for it on future visits.

I also noticed a smaller wader with the Dunlin. It was facing directly away from me with its head tucked away. Eventually it woke up and started to feed and I could see it was a Little Stint. The Dunlin all flew off but the stint remained. I took some video and was able to see pale tramlines confirming this bird as a juvenile. A good record for NO and my second in a fortnight. I heard a Green Sandpiper but couldn’t locate it.

After a coffee I headed down to the beach to try and relocate yesterday’s Black-throated Diver, unfortunately no luck. It was flat calm and quiet with three Great Crested Grebes the only birds I saw on the sea. 20 Swallows drifted over east and I heard a Dartford Warbler calling, another good record for NO. There have been very few following the Beast from the East 2.5 years ago. I finally tracked it down in the gorse bushes south east of the NP hide, near the beach fence.

There was only one Chiffchaff today and no visible passage of thrushes or finches. As we’re heading into Black Redstart time of year I thought I would finish off with a walk around the point. It was a bit of a long shot as there haven’t been any here for a few years now. I got out of the car and scanned the fence posts near the sluice gate and amazingly a Black Redstart popped up into view! A great finish to a brilliant day.

From the car I walked down to the beach, it was clear that there was a passage of finches. Along with Linnets, Goldfinches and a smaller numbers of Chaffinches I recorded at least 100 Lesser Redpoll and 50 Siskin all flying east. A group of seven Lesser Redpoll settled in a birch tree allowing me some extended telescope views. The Lesser Redpoll count is probably a record for the site. Graham Giddens trapped and ringed Lesser Redpolls here this week for the first time and the birds included individuals from Derbyshire and Lincolnshire. House Martins and Swallows were also heading east, at least 50 of each.

Bird of the day was an early Black-throated Diver, probably a juvenile, which I watched from the beach gate as it drifted east on the tide. The full breasted profile, horizontal dagger-like bill and greyish head and neck sides were obvious. Red-throated Diver is a slighter bird, paler necked and usually holds its bill up tilted. Great Northern Diver shows a blacker head and neck with a dark half collar and it’s head is lumpier often with a white surround to the eye. Perhaps the most striking and diagnostic feature, however, was the isolated white rear flank patch which was visible throughout. This is the rarest diver to occur in Hampshire and this record is the 2nd earliest Black-throated Diver to have been seen in Hampshire in nearly 30 years.

With a late morning high tide of 4.0m I headed over to the Estuary Scrape and had good counts of 170 Lapwing, 60 Ringed Plover, 50 Dunlin and 39 Shoveler. One of the Peregrines powered along the estuary fence line before swooping up to perch on one of the yacht masts where he remained for at least 20 minutes. While in B Water hide a female Merlin dashed over the reeds before heading over to the point. A Knot roosting at high tide from S hide was the first I’ve seen at NO.

A flock of noisy Long-tailed Tits moved down the bushes along the point with a pair of Marsh Tits and four Goldcrests following in their wake. Nearby four Rock Pipits flitted between the Warden’s Hut and the boats around the Clubhouse. The number of Brent Geese had increased significantly since last weekend with at least 200 in the river entrance and a pair of Raven honked overhead as they drifted out towards the Isle of Wight.

A Merlin dashing over the fields near B Water was the highlight today. The male Common Scoter remained off shore although distantly, almost mid channel. I saw only one hirundine all day, a single Swallow.

The Wheatear remained at the point and again it was the only one I saw. Nearby two Clouded Yellows paused regularly to nectar on late flowering Thrift. Other lingering migrants included at least 10 Chiffchaffs.

55 Lapwing roosted on the Estuary scrape and a female Marsh Harrier drifted over Inchmery while both Peregrines were perched up surveying the marshes. A Rock Pipit called from its vantage point on the Sailing Clubhouse and a pair of Raven drifted over.