Help finding birds in Hants

[dunder]

Hi,
After re-discovering birding about 18 months ago, I've failed miserably to see some commoner birds. Can anyone point me to reliable sites in South Hampshire / West Sussex for any of the following?

Sparrowhawk
Stock Dove
Tawny Owl
Sedge Warbler
Reed Warbler
Bullfinch

Many thanks in advance,

Dunder

[dwallace]

Hi
Give it a couple of months and you are pretty well guaranteed Reed and Sedge Warblers at Titchfield Haven, although you'll need patience to see them. A day at the Haven would also give you a reasonable chance of Sparrowhawk, although no guarantees. As for Stock Dove and Bullfinch, the farmland and hedges of the Meon Valley would seem a good bet. Tawny Owls are widespread in woods throughout Hampshire but are nocturnal hunters so it's a question of finding somewhere you're comfortable being after dark and then listening for the familiar call...

Good luck

Dave W

[John Cantelo]

It's over thirty years since I lived in Hampshire, but none of the species listed should present an insurmountable problem to a reasonably informed birdwatcher. All are sufficiently widespread in appropriate habitat not to need specific sites. The key is, I think, to find an experienced birder to take you out birding. If you haven't got any personal contacts then I suggest you join the most convenient local group (RSPB, Hants Ornithological Society, etc). In the meantime some basic suggestions:-
1) Sparrowhawk - should be see-able almost anywhere - try to watch video to get an idea of the species' typical hunting flight & then sit at a good vantage point for a while!
2) Stock Dove - find an area in the countryside - any area - with lots of pigeons and closely watch for birds without a Woodpigeon's white wing bars
3) Tawny Owl - not easy to see BUT get a sound recording to learn the call and investigate local woods at dusk
4) Sedge & Reed Warbler - first find your reedbed, then watch carefully for the small warblers flitting about - you should see both at a site like Titchfield haven.
5) Bullfinch - learn the piping call and therest is easy,

[dunder]

Dave, John,
Thank you both for your replies. It looks like a visit to titchfield's on the cards! I'm also learning the Bullfinch call. Are Tawny Owls active at dusk, like some other owl species, or do you only ever see them roosting?

many thanks,

Dunder

[John Cantelo]

Interesting that both Dave and I independently recommended a visit to Titchfield Haven; it's a place I hold in much affection, despite having visited it only two or three times in the past 30 years, since it there that I cut my birding teeth in the 1960s. If you're very lucky you can see Tawny Owls roosting, but generally seeing them at dusk is your best bet,

John

[skatebirder]

I just found this thread - here's my advice:

Sparrowhawk - just look up at the sky a lot and look for the "flap, flap, glide" flight - should see one within an hour or so!

Bullfinch - learn the call and listen for them - could be almost anywhere along the country lanes of Hampshire.

Stock Dove - Southampton Common has a few (2 this morning, just at the entrance by the Bellemoor pub)

Tawny Owl - In summer, try Denny Wood in the New Forest - at least you will hear a lot of them!

Sedge Warbler - wait a couple of weeks, then try Lower Test Marshes, Titchfield Haven, or any of the coastal marshes

Reed Warbler - see Sedge Warbler

I sometimes see Tawny Owls in the early morning (sometimes not even that early!) - best to listen for a group of Blackbirds shouting "there's an owl here!"...go and investigate and you might see an owl (it's worked for me several times - of course I can't really describe what a Blackbird's rendition of "there's an owl here" sounds like, but it's loud, similar to their evening shouting matches, but more strident.

David

[John Cantelo]

Good to read of Southampton Common - my old stamping ground in the 1960s. You certainly can't watch Cirl Bunting there at lunchtime as we used to when we fled the confines of Taunton's School for some 'real' education. Are Lesser-spotted Woodpeckers still present on the Common? I don't suppose that there are many records of Hawfinch there either these days,

[pdwinter]

Good to read of Southampton Common - my old stamping ground in the 1960s. You certainly can't watch Cirl Bunting there at lunchtime as we used to when we fled the confines of Taunton's School for some 'real' education. Are Lesser-spotted Woodpeckers still present on the Common? I don't suppose that there are many records of Hawfinch there either these days,

I had one Lesser Spot calling on 1/4/2008 in the NE corner of the Common. My walks are mainly at lunchtime - not the best time for birds - but David does the early morning shift so has probably seen more Lessers.

Taunton's is now the Avenue Campus of the university!

Regards

[skatebirder]

I had one Lesser Spot calling on 1/4/2008 in the NE corner of the Common. My walks are mainly at lunchtime - not the best time for birds - but David does the early morning shift so has probably seen more Lessers.

Taunton's is now the Avenue Campus of the university!

Regards

Surprisingly, all my records of Lesser Spot have been at lunchtime (!) but I've never seen one on the Common. I see them infrequently along Tanners Brook Greenway between the Ordnance Survey and the Hospital.
No Hawfinches either.

David