The Eagle Had Landed!

With the forecasters promising dry but windy weather for the first part of the day, and heavy rain later it was best to be out at first light. Plenty of scope here for a riverside walk, I started by walking the north bank of the swollen Stour finding just Little Egret and Grey Heron.

Back at Harbins the feeders were now full of small birds, but my thoughts strayed back to some enlightening conversation around the dinner table referring to the last occurrence of gibbeting in the county. In 1803 William Harbin and his so called mate were coaxed by Harbin's mother to murder her husband. At first they declined, but eventually scummed and on a second attempt were successful, all of this taking place just a matter of yards from where we all now sat. Apprehended and admitting their guilt they were hanged (some say drawn and quartered) and then consigned to the gibbet on the nearby heath. Part of this gruesome contraption still survives today as the stand holding a sundial just inside the gate of the local churchyard.

Some of the new arrivals on the farm since my last visit which include 2 goats which Janet's sons bought for her birthday and

a second batch of chickens.

On the down side, the population of free ranging farmyard Geese has reduced from a former c9 to 3,

while on the other hand the presence of these 2 juvenile Mute Swans shows some successful breeding.

During the years 2007 to 2009 I conducted a bird survey on the Dampney property during which neither Tufted Duck

nor Pochard were recorded. In addition I could find no second or third hand evidence of their having occurred on the farm. It was quite a sight to find both on the duck pond this morning.

Having to undertake a couple of business matters early morning Hugh then joined me on a days birding which was the highlight of my day. We usually find time for a short stroll but today we would wander much further afield with the potential of a number of good birds. First was just a few miles down the road and for me back into Hampshire, where we visited Keyhaven close to Hurst Castle at the western end of the Solent the stretch of sea that separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland.

Lapland Bunting was the first success as we managed to see

all c4 that had been reported.

In the same field were Rock & Meadow Pipit, Reed Bunting, Skylark, Chaffinch, Starling and Black-headed Gull.

Further along was a field full of about 50 Curlew, and in the far, murky distance we could see

The Needles Rocks with attendant lighthouse, guarding the western entrance to The Solent.

Some of the Curlews. From here we drove to New Milton, a small town in the New Forest, to look for a juvenile White-tailed Eagle that had been slowly working its way along the south coast over the past few weeks. Having been seen from the village of Hordle with some frequency over quite a number of days, I for one was hoping luck would be a little better than my visit yesterday. After about 90 minutes of waiting, with a number of other hopeful birders, a young man drove up to report he had found it in a field about half a mile away. Some of our company decided to walk the short distance, but Hugh and I jumped into the Range Rover which was our savior. As we pulled up at the said field the Eagle took to the air, flying into the heart of a nearby wood. These creatures are often described as 'Flying Barn Doors' so on size alone are highly unlikely to be misidentified. We, along with just 3 others, were elated while the rest including the author of The Birds of Dorset and long time birding friend George Green were consigned to continuing the vigil.

Next on the agenda was

one of the best Nature Reserves I have found in recent years. Once a series of gravel pits, once they became exhausted the owner (Hanson) and a number of wildlife groups and other interested parties set to on some much needed management work. Now, the area supports a diverse and numerous selection of bird-life including Bittern and Goosander , which I saw here yesterday, plus Great White Egret (sadly not seen at all) and a whole host of small birds. Some of these include

Siskin

happy to capitalise on the numerous feeders,

this bright male being just one of several dozen.

Brambling were nowhere near so numerous,

but none less attractive.

Only a single Lesser Redpoll was seen and that only through a sealed window in one of the hides, as was this unfortunate

female Chaffinch which seems to have clubbed feet or some kind of build up on its legs.

So, at the end of the day, as the gale raged and heavy rain lashed the windows the Year Lists stood at:-

Birds = 148
Mammals = 13 which includes a House Mouse that greeted us as we arrived home.

and finally

A big welcome to readers in our 117th country, the beautiful island of Guadeloupe. Mostly referred to as the Butterfly Island, because of its shape, and occasionally the Spice Island, anyone visiting this magic spot would soon realise why. I have fond memories of my own visit wandering around the central market agog at the small mountains of umpteen spices, plus an array of fascinating birds.

Winding Your Way Down To Baker Street

Light in your head and dead on your feet.

It was extremely sad to hear of the death of Scottish singer, songwriter Gerry Rafferty last week. I loved most of his work but the seminal Baker Street and Night Owl were among the classics of our time!

A few photographs sent to me by the Dodgy Birder

who I met at the Old Coal barn, Thornham

where we enjoyed the Northern Harrier together.

It was this time of year 2007when Paul, Tess and I decided to walk Farlington Marsh and each have a stab as to how many species we might record. It could be argued that being the 'expert' I had an advantage, but things in birding simply aren't like that and it finished up with Tess winning. What followed wasn't a pretty sight as the hobby grabbed the pair of them, and after parting with copious amounts of cash, buying all the state of the art gear, they embarked on a life of birds.

It had been decided before my arrival that Sunday would be given over to the same pursuit with my guess being 54 species, Paul going for 53 and Tess a grand 56. Weather wise, the day was set fair with the sun shining in a cloudless sky even before 09-00, and coupled with just a gentle breeze off we set.

First port of call was the Budd's Farm Sewerage Works (I know where to take a girl) where most of the common wildfowl entered the log, but there was no sign of Common Sandpiper which used to be a regular winter visitor years ago.

On the way to Farlington we stopped at a small stream I would visit on a regular basis in days go by, almost a guarantee for Grey Wagtail and Kingfisher. Only the latter was on show, but that was sufficient to impress the locals of my own local knowledge and add another species to my Year List.

A view of Farlington Marsh walking south and looking east.

From the same spot but noting the contrast looking west.

Also from the marsh

what used to be HMS Dryad the Royal Navy Radar School can be seen sporting a mock-up of the radar systems (masts) of the latest and state of the art Daring Class destroyers which are nicknamed 'stealth'.

A little further west on what is known as Portsdown Hill are a series of defensive forts, the names and dates of which I now forget.

All I remember about these fortifications is, that after they were built it was found that there wasn't a canon in existence that could reach an enemy target threatening our warships in Portsmouth Harbour.

A couple of the more common birds recorded today

Magpie

male Teal

Brent Goose

flying Pintail

and unusually a black Rabbit

At the end of the walk we had recorded 60 species, making Tess the winner, but she'll have to pay eventually for relieving Paul and I of a £ each. Saying our goodbyes after an excellent couple of days, it was back to 'twitching' for me and a drive to Gosport.

From the Gosport waterfront you can see the Spinnaker, centre piece of Portsmouth City centre, which they tell me makes a perfect viewing platform. At the town boating lake there was the chance of a rare American bird which took very little time to find

this Ring-billed Gull having been a winter visitor here now for a number of years,

our own equivalent being the Common Gull.

On to the New Forest with plenty of the wild ponies in evidence, I quickly moved on to Eyeworth Pond, where

Marsh Tit, among others, were making the most of the food provided.

Target species here are the ornate Mandarin Ducks, but today they were being less than obliging keeping fairly well hidden at the far side of the pond. After this I made an attempt for what could have been the 'bird of the year', a White-tailed Eagle that had taken up semi-residence at the edge of the forest close to New Milton. Unfortunately it was not to be, and once defeated by the dark I headed to Parley Green for a couple of nights stay with my friends Hugh and Janet Dampney.

Not unusual to find the table laid ready for a meal as I am now in the company of a number of accomplished cooks. This evening, both Hugh and Janet were doing the honours and a fantastic meal was enjoyed by all. From myself the eldest son Daryl, his lady Cathy, Hugh's mum Joan, Janet's parents Joyce & John and Janet herself.

I'll be back for the Eagle tomorrow.

Hayling to Pagham Harbour, Hampshire

Just moments after publishing last nights post, this Mouse (thought to be a Wood Mouse) appeared on the Lifton's nut feeder, however the jury remains out on a final identification.

This morning the forecaster was suggesting there might be rain, and the sky certainly looked like it but fortunately none developed to spoil our days birding. Paul and I alone headed first of all to the

and the redundant oyster beds close by. Hayling Billy refers to the also defunct railway line that formally ran from the mainland

across this bund and onward to the

Holiday Resort of Hayling Island.

This signal is one of only a few signs left of the old track

This is today's active road bridge connecting the Island and crosses the mouth between Langstone Harbour and Chichester Harbour. All of this is part of a vast expanse of salt & brackish marshes, flooded grasslands, reed beds supporting tens of thousands of winter migrant birds.

Predominantly Lapwing and other Waders take to the wing on the arrival of a Peregrine Falcon,

while Grey Plovers and others seek sanctuary on sandbanks as 'top of the tide' approaches. With a few species in the log we made a short stop at

Ivy Lakes on the Chichester road where Ruddy Duck was recorded for the year.

A 20 minute drive around the perimeter of the harbours found us at Church Norton on the eastern fringe of Pagham Harbour.

An Iron Age earthwork close to the car park.

Not surprisingly, Curlew were numerous, while on the adjacent fields

half a dozen Mistle Thrush were feeding.

Shelduck were also aplenty, while seeing both

Hen (below) and Marsh Harriers together was an excellent bonus, particularly seeing the latter take a Teal. As far as other additions to the Year List were concerned c4Ruff were very welcome, a Bittern was extremely lucky, a Jack Snipe even luckier with a female Scaup bringing up the rear.

This brings the Bird List to = 143
and the Mammal List to = 12