Hampshire (2 Viewers)

[LW1959]

Had a wet but pleasant part-day at Warsash on Sunday. Nothing extraordinary, but always enjoy seeing the waders on the 'lagoon', particularly this time watching the godwit moving off the lagoon in big numbers to return to the shoreline as the tide went out. And the turnstone always lift the spirit - perhaps because they are so 'busy'

Went to Fleet Pond on monday as we were in the area, but that was a bit disappointing to be honest. I am rubbish at spotting much in woodland, and all I could see on the lake itself were grebe, comorant, mallard, gulls, swans, canadas and a couple of greylag. There surely must have been some other ducks, but not for me!

K.

Hi Wells-man, where abouts is this lagoon? i can find warsash,but where is it from there?
Thanks
LW.

 

[birder of the south]

Yesterday I drove myself down to Eyeworth Pond to see if there was any Mandarin ducks about and hoped to get a shot or two in better light, I don't know what it is with that place but it always seems to be bloody dull however this one time it wasn't the birds were at the back so that wasn't very helpful. I went away and came back later in the day to see if I could get any shots, here are my results:
:smoke:B

 

[Wells-man]

Hi Wells-man, where abouts is this lagoon? i can find warsash,but where is it from there?
Thanks
LW.

Well I did put 'lagoon' in inverted commas ;-) See


http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=warsash&countryCode=GB#map=50.84005,-1.30754|17|32&bd=useful_information&loc=GB:50.85555:-1.28716:14|warsash|Warsash,%20Southampton,%20Hampshire,%20England,%20SO31%209

If that link doesn't work ... park by the pub and harbour master's tower, then walk out down river, alongside the estuary, past the yacht club, and then the university's marine school, with the pier with ships' lifeboats on it as a landmark. Keep next to the water, rather than bearing left to the hide you might see. After maybe a mile you'll be walking besides gorse and scrub, with gravel foreshore to your right and a (second) small lake on your left. This lake (lagoon!) has several artificial islands on it and is used by many waders and ducks when the tide drives them in from the foreshore.

The pub is fine for lunch and/or there are public toilets in the other car park off the waterside. Meets all my criteria!

K.

 

[dwallace]

You can actually get quite a bit nearer than that by driving along Hook Park road past the College of Maritime Studies and parking on the left just past the narrow bridge. Cross the road and take the footpath past Christmas House into the nature reserve. When you reach the water turn left until you reach the links scrape. Whilst the birding can be predictable, Grey Phalarope and Green-Winged Teal have already turned up here this year.

Dave W

 

[pdwinter]

Nic pics Lee - like you I normally find the Mandarin lurking under the distant trees

Yesterday I drove myself down to Eyeworth Pond to see if there was any Mandarin ducks about and hoped to get a shot or two in better light, I don't know what it is with that place but it always seems to be bloody dull however this one time it wasn't the birds were at the back so that wasn't very helpful. I went away and came back later in the day to see if I could get any shots, here are my results:
:smoke:B

 

[pdwinter]

Hi teamsaint,
i live in hampshire how do i view your sightings update ? whats your web address ?
LW.

Hi LW

There's also a SotonNature yahoogroup where we sometimes put sightings that are a bit less 'scarce' than those on hoslist or here.

Seeing you live in Romsey you might like to try Redbridge Wharf (over the bridge at Redbridge Station) to see Black-tailed Godwits, Oycs, Lapwing, Redshanks and Curlew - no small waders normally. Best at low tide. There's a bit more info at http://www.patchwatch.co.uk/patchltm.asp .

HTH

 

[LW1959]

Well I did put 'lagoon' in inverted commas ;-) See


http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=warsash&countryCode=GB#map=50.84005,-1.30754|17|32&bd=useful_information&loc=GB:50.85555:-1.28716:14|warsash|Warsash,%20Southampton,%20Hampshire,%20England,%20SO31%209

If that link doesn't work ... park by the pub and harbour master's tower, then walk out down river, alongside the estuary, past the yacht club, and then the university's marine school, with the pier with ships' lifeboats on it as a landmark. Keep next to the water, rather than bearing left to the hide you might see. After maybe a mile you'll be walking besides gorse and scrub, with gravel foreshore to your right and a (second) small lake on your left. This lake (lagoon!) has several artificial islands on it and is used by many waders and ducks when the tide drives them in from the foreshore.

The pub is fine for lunch and/or there are public toilets in the other car park off the waterside. Meets all my criteria!

K.

Hi Wells-man, thanks for that, when you say park by pub, whats the name of the pub ? and road its in ?
The one i know is in shore road via one way into passage lane is that what you mean?
LW.

 

[LW1959]

Hi LW

There's also a SotonNature yahoogroup where we sometimes put sightings that are a bit less 'scarce' than those on hoslist or here.

Seeing you live in Romsey you might like to try Redbridge Wharf (over the bridge at Redbridge Station) to see Black-tailed Godwits, Oycs, Lapwing, Redshanks and Curlew - no small waders normally. Best at low tide. There's a bit more info at http://www.patchwatch.co.uk/patchltm.asp .

HTH

Ok thankyou
LW

 

[LW1959]

You can actually get quite a bit nearer than that by driving along Hook Park road past the College of Maritime Studies and parking on the left just past the narrow bridge. Cross the road and take the footpath past Christmas House into the nature reserve. When you reach the water turn left until you reach the links scrape. Whilst the birding can be predictable, Grey Phalarope and Green-Winged Teal have already turned up here this year.

Dave W

Ok Thanks im still working out to find your way to get there,
Thanks
LW

 

[skatebirder]

Pennington this morning

Nothing unusual, but enough to hold my interest despite the rain this morning at Pennington:
Bearded Tits (pinging, flying around on the reeds at seaward side of Fishtail - in wind and rain that was definitely not the conditions I'd have expected to see them)
Common Scoter (1 flying)
Pintail, Wigeon, Teal, Gadwall, Brent Geese a-plenty
Bar Tailed Godwit (just the one)
Greenshank 2
Kingfisher
Red-Breasted Merganser 6
Dartford and Cettis Warblers

Definitely felt like winter!

David

 

[Wells-man]

Hi Wells-man, thanks for that, when you say park by pub, whats the name of the pub ? and road its in ?
The one i know is in shore road via one way into passage lane is that what you mean?
LW.

Yes that's the way I go in, and the pub is the Rising Sun, but Dave Wallace's route sounds better ... unless you want a pub lunch.. or more seriously unless you want to go past the foreshore en route, which can also be quite rewarding birding. But I'll try his shorter route next time I go in the rain ;-)

If the car park opposite the pub is full, go back round the one-way triangular route to the public car park on the right just as the one-way bit starts, which also has (smelly ) public toilets.

K.

 

[LW1959]

Yes that's the way I go in, and the pub is the Rising Sun, but Dave Wallace's route sounds better ... unless you want a pub lunch.. or more seriously unless you want to go past the foreshore en route, which can also be quite rewarding birding. But I'll try his shorter route next time I go in the rain ;-)

If the car park opposite the pub is full, go back round the one-way triangular route to the public car park on the right just as the one-way bit starts, which also has (smelly ) public toilets.

K.

Ok Thanks for that
LW

 

[skatebirder]

A good day on the patch

I did my BTO Atlas tetrad (SU31N) this morning and found among other things:
Black Tailed Godwit (2, Meadow Lake)
Little Owl (Hill Street, as usual)
Redwing
Fieldfare
Pochard, Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon, Shoveler, and 3 Mandarins, but no Tufties
Birds of the day were 6 Hawfinches, by the path leading from Hill Street down to the reserve. My first Hawfinches on the patch.:t:
David

 

[stevetb]

Back in Business!

Not only did I manage to get out today, I finally have a scope!

I started the day very well - whilst helping (?:-O) with a webs count and counting canada geese at lower pennington lane, I picked out the Red breasted goose - a great lifer! A bit distant, but no trouble for the scope.

Walking out onto the seawall and fishtail, I had a couple of kingfishers fly by and a brilliant male goldeneye with a female on the lagoon. I continued around to butt's point, where I picked out a slavonian grebe near the jetty. After reaching the jetty, I also had red breasted mergansers and 3 distant scoter.
On pennington lagoon there was a Kingfisher, which decided a bramble bush would be the best perch!
As I moved further around the seawall onto oxey, the slav grebe kept ahead, eventually giving great views, along with a nice male + female eider and a male rb merganser. Soon after, a female peregrine shot past and gave a stunning arial display, chasing, twisting and diving - lucky I had a scope!
At salterns, there was a nice close spotshank, giving more great scope-testing opps, and a male goldeneye offshore. At Normandy there was a further Kingfisher.

 

[skatebirder]

Steve,
I wasn't quite sure from your last post - do you have a 'scope yet?

12 Redwings on the patch (Southampton Common) today - I'm hoping for Waxwings in a few weeks.

 

[picknage]

stopped of at blashford for a couple of hours today. well worth it, the male lt duck showed really well in the south west corner of ibsley water, viewable from the pull in there. also nice to see brambling, redpoll and marsh tits and all the common stuff at the feeders and about 70 siskin zooming around and making a racket.

 

[stevetb]

Steve,
I wasn't quite sure from your last post - do you have a 'scope yet?

8-P
Saw a few hawfinches at blackwater today, using a large piece of armoured glass (just to keep you guessing david ).

 

[stevetb]

Had an excellent hour at lepe/inchmery today - by which I don't mean needs ore.

I went in the hope of seeing black necked grebes, but no luck with them. I did have a red breasted merganser on the sea, however.
Walking along the beach, I scanned out to the saltmarsh and saw a raptor perched up in the distance; after walking closer and much deliberation, I was pretty sure it was a merlin, which was pretty much confirmed when I saw it in flight. The sun then came out, and I was sat all alone with 100's of brents, knot and dunlin, with med gulls, oystercatchers and grey plovers in addition. I was so preoccupied with watching the brents in the warm sunlight that I failed to take much notice of some corvids making a racket behind me: big mistake. When I turned around, I was met with a crow chasing a peregrine with a catch, flying right over me! I didn't see what the meal was, but managed to follow the falcon all the way out to the saltmarsh, perched up not too far away from the merlin, which was now as good as definate - I find size quite hard to judge at distance when there is nothing to compare with. The visit was brought to a brilliant end when the merlin, which had since dissappeared from view, hounded a dunlin not too far away, giving great views. It looked like the dunlin was doomed for a minute, but it then cleverly plunged straight into a group of gulls, which shot up and meant the merlin couldn't follow.

 

[skatebirder]

Where are those Waxwings?

I know several birders in the area have been checking every available berry bush for Waxwings, especially in Southampton, which has had several sightings of birds flying over this week. Has anyone out there in Birdforumland seen one in Hampshire yet this year?

(Yes, alright, I admit it - I'm at 196 Hants birds for the year, and I would really like to get 200!)

David

 

[Clive Watson]

Anyone know if that Black-throated Diver is still in the Gosport area? I've seen reports of Black Brant and the usual Ring-billed but I've not heard anything about the diver for a couple of days.