Sabine's Gull (Xema sabini L.)

This is a bird, that I have missed out on several times over the years, primarily because I have never managed to get up early enough to see one. Some years back, on a whale watching trip with Orca Trust (Portsmouth - Santander return), I was advised that you needed to be up for dawn, as the Sabine's Gulls would be around the ship early doors but then disappear. Both mornings I was late for dawn and missed the Sabs.

Sea-watching from Lizard Point, I have arrived on a couple of occasions - late to the party - only to be informed that "you've just missed a Sab's go through!".

This individual bird has been around for a few weeks now, but I haven't had the opportunity to visit - so this morning I was more than keen to get down to Southwater Lane and head for the breach in the sea-wall.

As I neared the breach - I could see a couple of birders with scope's pointing inland over the managed retreat, they looked very animated, I was relieved as this obviously meant that I had finally got up early enough!

The gull was initially quite distant on the mudflats, but over the course of half an hour, moved close enough for me to get good views and that all important "record shot".

Sabine's Gull, Hampshire, February 2023

Off-shore Long-tailed Duck, Black-necked Grebe, and Goldeneye; along with a fly-past Marsh Harrier gave added value.

juvenile Red-backed shrike - RSPB Pagham Harbour

Photos courtesy of  Birding Bob

Barred Warbler (Sylvia nisoria L.) Titchfield Haven

Undertook two successful trips to Titchfield Haven to catch up with the very showy Barred warbler which had been giving confiding views in the Visitor Centre garden since the 3rd of Dec. The bird being originally seen on the 19th Nov by a number of observers - but then went unreported until the 3rd of December.

We visited on the 10th December and enjoyed exceptional views minutes after our arrival. However, because the weather forecast had been so dreadful, I had left the camera at home. As such, I only managed a cheeky phone video on the day .. 3 seconds of distant grainy grey flutter as it flew across the path in front of us.

This morning I returned, camera in tow with the 200mm lens only - as the 400mm is still awaiting repair! The food plant it had previously fed on was denuded of berries. The bird had been seen - albeit briefly - an hour before my arrival, by the pond on the eastern side of the reserve. It took almost another hour before it was relocated in the hedge line of the car park by the Sailing Club.

Having been refound the bird soon flushed back to the hedgerow leading to the Visitor Centre garden gradually making it's way back to a berry-full cotoneaster, where by it gave crippling views for about 15-20mins - feeding then skulking - feeding then skulking - before disappearing into a dense dogwood and out of sight. Even with the 200mm lens I was struggling to get the camera to work fast enough to freeze the motion. In all the ISO went up so high - I could only hope for a grainy record shot - and I was not to be disappointed!

Barred warbler (Cropped record shot)

2017 starts with some local birding

cattle egrets, Warblington, 2nd Jan 2017

snow bunting, Hill Head, 2nd Jan 2017

sanderling, Eastney, 3rd Jan 2017

sanderling B6 RWYB, Eastney 3rd Jan 2017

purple sandpiper and sanderling (probably B6 WWWW),

Southsea Castle 3rd Jan 2017

A couple of year ticks to see out 2016

The birding year ended with a self found bittern (Botaurus stellaris) at Burton Mill Pond, West Sussex on the 14th December. Found during a sunset bird-watch from roadside; and seen flying into roost in the reeds just metres from the viewing platform on the NE corner of the dam crest. I returned at dawn with camera in hand, but the bird was not re-located even as the light progressed. A patch tick for me, and as far as I could tell the only bittern being reported in West Sussex at the time?

A filthy twitch to Hill Head, Hampshire on the 28th enabled confiding views of the female snow bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) which had been present since the 14th of December. The bunting gave stunningly close views allowing photographers within feet of it.

Snow bunting, Hill Head 28th December 2016

This bird was a Hants tick and helped to stem the disappointment of missing out on the pair of snow bunting widely observed at Southsea sea front - one of my home patches - during November. I completely failed to see them at the time due to work and travel commitments.

A return to Burton Mill Pond at dusk on the 29th December produced an albeit brief second encounter with the local bittern.

Cornish Lifer - and possibly the worst ever record shot?

Returning from Lizard we stopped off at The Point overlooking Restronguet Creek, Truro; and after searching the low tide mud flats and tidal creek for half an hour - we finally found the Dalmation pelican (Pelecanus crispus), which has been reported in Cornwall and elsewhere in the UK since May 2016.

Dalmation pelican 19th November 2016

Like a Sesame Street muppet, the bird's massive head suddenly appeared from within a deep mud channel midway across the creek. It provided an opportunity for possibly my worst phone-scoped record shot ever?

It then took off and gave great but distant flight views before settling on the water approx. 1 km south of us. It still looked huge even at that distance, especially compared to the local swans, but afforded no opportunity for further record shots.

A Lifer. For a discussion of it's potential origins as a wild bird have a look at:

Birdguides - Dalmation pelican

Keen of Hamar, Unst

Our two visits to Keen of Hamar were both a little under-resourced, given that we had forgotten to bring a flora ID away with us. On the first visit we relied upon the on site interpretation and an intermittent phone / internet signal. By the second visit we had purchased a very useful book, from the Tourist Information Centre in Lerwick entitled: "A Photographic Guide to Shetland's Wild Flowers" by David Malcolm.

Resource limitations aside, we were able to find and identify a handful of the plants present on this "serpentine debris" (nature-shetland.co.uk, 1999) including one of it's star prizes: Edmondston's Chickweed AKA Shetland mouse-ear (Cerastium nigrescens nigrascens) which is known only from this site in its particular form (Laughton Johnson, J. 1999).

Serpentine debris Keen of Hamar

amongst the Serpentine debris, Keen of Hamar

common scurvy grass (Cochlearia officinalis)

thrift (Armeria maritime)

moss campion (Silene acaulis)

kidney vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria)

mountain everlasting (Antennaria dioica)

finding the Edmonston's chickweed

Edmonston's chickweed AKA Shetland mouse-ear

early purple orchid (Orchis mascula)

For a concise description of both the unique geology and the floristic value of the Keen of Hamar as a Nature Reserve visit:

nature-shetland.co.uk, 1999, Keen of Hamar Nature Reserve, read: http://www.nature-shetland.co.uk/snh/hamar.htm

Bibliography

Laughton Johnston, J. 1999, A Naturalist's Shetland, T & AD Poyser Ltd, London

Malcolm, D. 2012, A Photographic Guide to Shetland's Wild Flowers, The Shetland Times Ltd, Lerwick

Penduline Tit (Remiz pendulinus L.) Titchfield Haven

Almost three months after first being reported on site, and two - possibly three? - failed visits to try and see this species, I finally caught up with the penduline tits at Titchfield Haven. Enjoying prolonged views for 20 - 30 mins as two individuals foraged on the reed mace (Typha latifolia) in front of the West Hide.

My first Lifer of 2016

A brace of North American birds

An early start today to connect with the male surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) which has been reported off Stokes Bay, Gosport since 25th February. The bird was accompanied by two male common scoter (Melanitta nigra). The scoters were distant, in choppy seas, and the surfer stayed mainly with its back to the shore, although infrequently changing direction to show it's stunning head and bill features. My first Hampshire twitch of the year, and a Lifer. Unfortunately it was beyond the reach of my camera set up, hence the BTO Birdtrack record shot!

After watching the scoters for about an hour, I headed to Walpole Park to add the wintering ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) to the year list, the bird returning to the park for its 12th winter in 2014.

A curious fellow

During the course of a successful late afternoon dash to Cuckoo's Corner on the River Adur, West Sussex to see the tundra bean goose (Anser fabilis) my attention was drawn to some wide ripples mid flow, the cause of which turned out to be a harbour seal (Phoca vitulina).

The seal's curiousity matched our own, and as we moved closer to the bank side, to capture some photos - it proceeded to climb out of the water to check us out for the briefest of moments.

Scaup (Aythya marila L.), Poole Park, Dorset

Spending a weekend in Poole with friends provided an opportunity to catch up with the scaup reported on the little lakes at Poole Park.

Based on an erroneous assumption on my part, combined as it was with my limited experience of this species - we wasted valuable time searching for an adult bird of either sex, scanning the groups of tufted ducks (Aythya fuligula), on the small water bodies, but failing to find it. A diversionary scan on the main lake produced a welcome sighting of a single male red-breasted merganser (Mergus serrator), but still no scaup.

As the levels of interest and patience were beginning to wain amongst us, I remained determined to get the bird - working on the principle that it was so well reported that " .. it still must be here! Mustn't it?" .. So I took out Collins, scanned the species entry for the first time that day, and carefully squinted at the small picture, top left "winter flock" .. Nudging my companion .. I commented that all was not lost we should look for 1w birds as well. Almost as the words were out of my mouth the scaup "suddenly appeared" within the raft of tufted we had been viewing. Head up it stood out like only a 1w male scaup could. Before setting its head down and going to roost as soon as my camera came out of the bag.

a Hook and two gulls ..

little gull (Larus minutus)



fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus L.); Warblington, Hampshire

glossy ibis

Waxwings (Bombycilla garrulus L.), Hedge End

Thanks to Graham Barrett for putting the news out

That Gosport gull .. Finally !

ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis); black-headed gull (Larus ridibundus)

ring-billed gull; black-headed gull

common gull (Larus canus)

Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus L.), Lodmoor RSPB, Weymouth

short-billed dowitcher

Photographs © Zara Hitchcock

paddyfield at Pagham and other cross border birding

Finally found the time to head East across the Hants border and connect with the paddyfield warbler (Acrocephalus agricola) which has been showing at Pagham Harbour for a couple of weeks. Arriving on site around 12:45 it did not take us long to track around the North harbour wall and join a small group of birders scanning the adjacent reedbed.

As we arrived the group became animated and we were lucky to connect with the warbler almost instantly as it skulked along the bottom of the reed edge. The bird was extremely mobile and fidgety, flitting in and out of the reedbed at almost ground height, but we were still able to make out it's salient features, the prominent supercillum which affected a slightly darker crown and eye-stripe into contrast. A sense of a paler throat.

Having followed the bird for a few minutes, I finally reached for the camera .. And failed (typically) to get off any shot of the bird, as it flitted through. When the warbler crossed the ditch into deeper reed, it was lost to sight almost immediately. Almost an hour then passed in which brief views were enjoyed of cetti's warbler (Cettia cetti) in full throat and a male reed bunting (Embiriza schoeniclus) provided distraction - before the paddyfield showed again along the ditch fence line albeit briefly - and then we left to walk back to the car via the coast line.

Stopping to scan Pagham Lagoon, we watched the diving ducks - pochard (Aythya Verona), goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) and tufted duck (Aythya fuligula) - before noticing a Rh Smew (Margeluss albellus) diving alongside a raft of dabchick (Tachybaptus ruficolis). Being long overdue on my life list the Rh Smew provided a welcome addition to the afternoon's birding. Wigeon (Anas penelope) and pintail (Anas acuta) completed the waterfowl interest.

Two Lifers in one afternoon, just a shame that I had to leave Hampshire to get them.

Iceland Gull (Larus glaucoides L.), Spice Island, Portsmouth

♂ black redstart (Phoenicurus ochruros) also in same location