I think I’ve mentioned before that I often see interesting birds from my office window in Basingstoke – Peregrine, Red Kite, Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Hobby and Kingfisher have all been seen, so you can imagine my surprise last Wednesday morning when a White-faced Cockatiel landed in a tree outside the window! It actually stayed in the area for the rest of the day and seemed quite happy. The next day I took my camera in hoping for a record shot, only to find that someone had lured the bird down with seed, popped it in a cage, and taken it to a local pet shop.

The weekend arrived and the promised fine weather was duly delivered. Great I thought, that should give me a hatful of ticks! In general it was quiet though and target birds generally didn’t show. On Saturday, a Cuckoo and a couple of Garden Warblers were the highlight of a couple of hours at Benyon’s Inclosure but a Lesser Whitethroat at Hartley Wespall improved the mood with district tick 116. Later in the morning I also year ticked Spotted Flycatcher sitting on telephone wires whilst driving through Monk Sherborne; also a Patchlist tick.

Garden Warbler – Benyon’s Inclosure, 12th May 2012

Sunday started with my second and final Nightingale survey for the BTO which unsurprisingly produced zero! To my knowledge, Nightingales have disappeared from Basingstoke and Deane district completely - a great shame and I don’t really understand why as they are fairly easy to find just across the border in Berkshire and there is certainly suitable habitat within the borough. Later in the morning I travelled to the far west of the district to hopefully year tick Tree Pipit – at last some success with a target species! 

Tree Pipit – Basingstoke and Deane, 13th May 2012

On my way home I stopped off at Headley Gravel Pit, which is always good for Warblers. A brief stroll around yielded three Garden Warblers, two Blackcaps, two Chiffchaff and a male Bullfinch.

Blackcap – Headley Gravel Pit, 13th May 2012

The final tick of the weekend was ’Patchlist’ tick 83 - a pair of Common Whitethroat near my home in Charter Alley.

Common Whitethroat – Charter Alley, 13th May 2012

The biggest news of the weekend was obviously QPR maintaining their Premier League status for another season!!!

Barry Stalker

Typical May Bank Holiday weather greeted me when I woke this morning, so I thought it was the ideal time to sift through my latest pictures and update the blog. The recent run of unsettled weather has definitely put the brakes on my efforts, but here’s a summary of the last couple of wet weeks.

I finally year ticked Cuckoo (26th) when a male flew across the fields in front of my house calling, and better views were had last Tuesday (1st) near Monk Sherborne whilst out walking with Mrs S.

One could be forgiven for thinking we were still in the grip of winter with the cold temperatures and driving rain, but I was reminded that it was actually spring on Wednesday (2nd) with my first Hedghog of the year in the garden – yes I know the grass needs cutting! 

Hedgehog – Charter Alley, 2nd May 2012

I hadn’t planned to go birding on Friday (4th), but I came home to find the house empty so decided to take a quick look around my ‘Patchlist 2012′ area - it turned out to be the best hour I’ve ever spent on the patch, and I didn’t even enter Ewhurst Park! 

The field on the opposite side of the road to Ewhurst became my focus for the next hour as I quickly picked up two male Wheatears as soon as I got out of the car. Scanning the field further, I became aware of a decent sized flock of Pied Wagtails and amongst them was a single female Yellow Wagtail – a great patch (and district ) tick. I decided to walk the length of the field, picking up a further Wheatear, this time a female, followed shortly after by a cracking male Whinchat! I returned to the car to get the camera, but by now the wagtail was too distant so had to be content with a poor record shot of the Whinchat – more excitement was yet to come though! As I scanned the field further, I picked up a distant grey raptor across a field of oilseed rape - a male harrier definitely, but  which species!

Being quite late for Hen Harrier, I thought it perfectly possible that it could be a Montagu’s Harrier and at this point I was virtually running along the lane! The bird was hunting along a field margin opposite the old entrance to Ewhurst Park in almost exactly the same area as the ring tail I’d seen earlier in the year. As I got closer, I could see that it was in fact an adult male Hen Harrier and not a Montys – almost as exciting though as it’s usually ring tails I see in Basingstoke and Deane district. I watched the bird for around fifteen minutes before it drifted east and out of view – a cracking hour’s work!

 Whinchat – Ramsdell, 4th May 2012

 Hen Harrier – Ramsdell. 4th May 2012

Further district year ticks came on Saturday with Common Sandpiper and Common Whitethroat, and later a visit to Ewhurst proper gave me only my second Cormorant of the year at this site. I was also surprised to find that a singing male Sedge Warbler was still present in the same area as before.

Photographically the best I can offer is this drake Mandarin off Rampton’s Lane, Mortimer West End.

Mandarin – Mortimer West End, 5th May 2012

Sunday (6th) was an early start at The Millfield which was actually pretty quiet. Just one district year tick was added when a Hobby flew south across the site. Whitethroats were in good voice despite the dull conditions, along with two Willow Warblers and a male Bulfinch, but I left the site a bit disappointed

I added Reed Warbler to the year list near Swing Bridge Cottages, Redbridge Lane Old Basing, where there was also a singing male Reed Bunting. Again, no pictures apart from this Red Fox, which I came face to face with on the footpath - I think it’s a Mole it’s carrying.

Red Fox – Old Basing, 7th May 2012

That’s about it, apart from year ticking Garden Warbler on Silchester Common later on Sunday morning.

District year list = 115

Patchlist = 81

Barry Stalker

Faced with a pretty grim weekend weather forecast I didn’t expect to get out at all so planned to catch up with some chores around the house. Naturally the forecast was wrong and Saturday dawned sunny with clear blue skies, but not wishing to disappoint Mrs S, I stuck to my original plan and didn’t venture out until after lunch, and even then only for a short while as I was off to watch QPR v Spurs. The obvious place was of course Ewhurst Park, which this year has become one of my favourite sites – a complete turnaround from last year I know but again it didn’t disappoint.

As I walked along the footpath close to the lake, a bird starting singing from the scrub and it took only a few notes for me to recognise the rather manic song of the Sedge Warbler. The rest of my trip was spent trying to get a semi decent picture as I knew the rest of the weekend would present little opportunity. Frustratingly it  sung only occasionally and kept itself well concealed, but my patience paid off in the end and I finally took my chance when a female Blackcap flew into the same area and flushed the Sedge Warbler which showed well for a minute or so in the  reeds . TTV data from the BTO Atlas, records Sedge Warbler in the Ewhurst tetrad but in my experience it’s a scarce bird at this site – it will be interesting to see if it’s still present next week. 

Sedge Warbler – Ewhurst Park, 21st April 2012

Sunday followed a similar pattern with chores first, but I was pleased to hear another Cuckoo about the village, again it was not seen, so not ticked!

Early afternoon I set off for Vyne watermeadows near Sherborne St.John where a cracking female Pintail was the star bird on the lake. Not as elegant as the recent drake at Eastrop, but an excellent district bird anyway. Other species noted were a pair of Shelduck, 13 Teal, 4 Gadwall, 4 Lapwing and singles of Grey Heron and Redshank, although there were probably more of the latter. Three Swallows were skimming the lake, and then it started to rain – the walk back was not pleasant!

Later in the afternoon the rain intensified, but as I stood looking forlornly out of the window wondering where my next tick would come from, I noticed two Wood Pigeons sitting on a neighbour’s fence – not interesting I hear you say, but read on. Both birds appeared to be using their wings to shelter from the rain and sat with the same postures for several minutes until the rain eased when they started to preen. I can’t remember seeing this type behaviour before, but as two birds were doing it simultaneously, I guess it must be normal.

Wood Pigeon – Charter Alley, 22nd April 2012

Wood Pigeon – Charter Alley, 22nd April 2012

District list = 107, Patchlist = 78

Barry Stalker

Oh, I almost forgot – QPR beat Spurs 1-0……

Tuesday saw my second trip west of the A34 to try and connect with a borough Ring Ouzel. Beacon Hill is a traditional stopping place for this scarce passage migrant which occurs annually, usually within the first couple of weeks of April – the downside is the walk up to the top which is pretty tiring and especially so when laden with binoculars, telescope and heavy DSLR. Even more of a downside is the walk to the top when one returns empty handed, which again was the case on Tuesday. As the week progressed however, reports of sightings started to come in and by Thursday three birds were present, so late Friday afternoon I decided to make my third and final attempt. 

As I started my ascent I started to question my sanity – after all, I’d seen dozens of Ring Ouzels in the past so why was I punishing myself again? The year list of course! 

A singing Willow Warbler took the climb off my mind for a while, and eventually the slope levelled out. Would I be in luck? Well not straight away, but I eventually found a male on a distant slope, followed by a second male and a female – job done! 

Ring Ouzel – Beacon Hill Highclere, 13th April 2012 (rubbish record shot)

Besides the three Ring Ouzels, I scored another district tick with my first Wheaters of the year – three males.

Wheatear – Beacon Hill Highclere, 13th April 2012

Pleased with my evening’s work, I set off back to the car park but not before snapping this very obliging Meadow Pipit.

Meadow Pipit – Beacon Hill Highclere, 13th April 2012

Saturday dawned fairly miserable with grey skies and drizzle, but another planned trip not to see Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, this time at Old Basing, was completely successful as I didn’t see one! Green and Great Spotted were on show though as well as singles of singing Blackcap and Reed Bunting. The Millfield was quiet during my brief walk round with just a couple of singing Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs noted.

Late morning was brighter and as I drove home past Ewhurst Park, two small birds with distinctive white and black tails were flitting along the fence line – they were were of course Wheatears, a male and female AND a patch tick!

Wheatear (male) – Ewhurst Park, 14th April 2012 - stunning bird I think

Wheatear (female) – Ewhurst Park, 14th April 2012

Sunday started dry and bright, although rather cold first thing. A trip around the Silchester area was fairly uninspiring but a Red Fox near Baughurst gave me a chance to use the camera.

Red Fox – Baughurst, 15th April 2012

Later in the morning, more district and patch ticks were added at Ewhurst Park with at least four House Martins and two Sand Martins feeding over the lake. Also, a number of singing Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Goldcrests present, but just the usual on the lake.

This time however, I was prepared for a Grass Snake which I think must have been the same one I saw a few weeks’ back, and a big one - five maybe six feet long. Pretty useless heavily cropped pictures I’m afraid, but I didn’t want to risk disturbing it. 

Grass Snake – Ewhurst Park, 15th April 2012

Grass Snake – Ewhurst Park, 15th April 2012

That’ssssssss all folks!

Barry Stalker

No excuses; I just haven’t had time to update the blog. Add to this the meagre amount of time I’ve spent in the field over the last couple of weeks and the result is not much news and a poor selection of pictures!

Anyway, here’s a roundup of the last couple of weeks.

Ewhurst Park has featured heavily as I look to increase my ‘Patchlist’ total, plus it’s only five minutes from home! Egyptian Geese are still making the odd appearance there but it doesn’t look suitable as a breeding site and I haven’t seen them since the 25th March.

 Egyptian Geese – Ewhurst Park, 25th march 2012

And later, on the water…………..

Egyptian Geese – Ewhurst Park, 25th march 2012

Plenty of breeding activity amongst other species though. There was also a large grass snake basking in the sunshine, but as usual I only saw it at the last minute and it disappeared before I could photograph it.

Long-tailed Tit - Ewhurst Park, 25th March 2012

Patchlist tick 71 came in the form of a single Cormorant, again at Ewhurst. It actually took much longer than I thought to see this species at Ewhurst as in the past they’ve been fairly regular there - I don’t suppose they’re very welcome at a stocked fishing lake though…………..

Cormorant – Ewhurst Park, 25th March 2012

Into April and my first ‘Patchlist’ tick of the month came again at Ewhurst with a splendid singing male Blackcap (1st), but it was easily eclipsed on the same day by district year tick 100 - a cracking Hoopoe at Cliddesden! A few locals turned up to see this exotic visitor but it always remained distant and elusive, making photography impossible. I’ve seen this species plenty of times in the UK over the years but never before in Basingstoke and Deane district, despite its fairly regular occurence.

The first of probably several arduous walks up Beacon Hill Highclere came on the 6th, but despite a thorough search, no Ring Ouzels could be found. This is an annual spring hotspot for this species and I can’t wait to go up again (not)!

The first Cuckoo and first Swallow are always special moments in the birding calendar and both came on Saturday (7th). I heard my first Cuckoo of the year in the village, but despite it not being the first reported in the district this year, it was still nine days earlier than my first last year – not tickable until I see one though The first Swallow was a combined district and patchlist tick and came at Ewhurst Park; I even managed a rubbish record shot.

Swallow (first of 2012) – Ewhurst Park, 7th April 2012

The first Willow Warbler of the year was heard on the downs (7th) but still no Wheatear. Plenty of Skylarks though, and a very acrobatic Red Kite. 

Skylark – North Wessex Downs, 7th April 2012

 Red Kite - North Wessex Downs, 7th April 2012

The second Swallow came at Lower Ashe Farm (8th) whilst conducting WeBS counts, and at nearby Ashe Park I thought work was complete but I was wrong and no birds were present on the lake. Elsewhere in the Overton area on the same day, I noted a single Redshank and had my first sighting of Willow Warbler.

District list = 102, ‘Patchlist’ = 73

That just about brings me up to date.

Barry Stalker

A wet start again on Saturday upset my plans a little as I had to abandon an outing to try and not see Lesser Spotted Woodpecker! Consequently, Ewhurst became my first stop where a pair of Gadwall on the lake in company with a single drake Shoveler were the highlights! Away from the lake, a singing Chiffchaff was a ‘Patchlist’ tick as was a splendid pair of Grey Wagtails. The only other birds noted were Grey Heron and Yellowhammer.

Grey Wagtail (male) - Ewhurst Park, 17th March 2012

From Ewhurst I drove up on the downs which seemed pretty quiet, but a few Wheatear have started to arrive now, so I stopped the car to scan some suitable farmland near Overton and was surprised to find a cracking Grey Partridge. Not a year tick but always a thrill to see!

Grey Partridge – Overton, 17th March 2012

Redshank numbers have started to increase in the borough with 3 noted at a private site on Sunday morning, together with 3 Green Sandpipers and the first Little Ringed Plover of the year, which of course was a district year tick.

The drake Pintail has disappeared from Eastrop once again, and probably won’t be seen again as weed clearing work has begun to ready the lake for summer boating. I read somewhere that he’d become known by the locals as Jack - he looks much more like a Percy to me…..

Percy the Pintail (aka Jack) – Eastrop Park, 18th March 2012

Only a short post this week, which reflects the amount of time I’ve spent in the field – must try harder!

Barry Stalker

The fantastic spring weather over the weekend meant that I could banish the disappointment of last weekend and get out on both Saturday and Sunday morning.

March is generally a quiet month in the birding calendar though, and the only addition to the district year-list was a single Redshank on Saturday morning. This however is the perfect time to look and listen for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. On Saturday I returned to the Wildmoor area where I’ve have previous success, but the lovely old decaying trees where I saw last year’s bird had been cut down and removed – why are we so tidy nowadays? Everywhere I go I see scrub removal, tree felling and hedge cutting, just as the breeding season is about to start! It was still an enjoyable walk though, with 2 Cormorants, several Skylarks, a single Grey Heron and a singing male Reed Bunting on show.

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker is one of those species that I never seem to see when I go specifically looking for them, so I’d like to make it quite clear that I’m no longer looking for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker!

Later on Saturday, six buzzards drifted east over the house together and a Lapwing was displaying over adjacent farmland. Every year they attempt to breed in the same field and every year it gets ploughed – no wonder species like this are in decline.

Three recent ‘Patchlist’ ticks to report – Feral Pigeon (6^th), which are actually pretty scarce in rural areas, Stock Dove (11^th) at Ewhurst Park and Yellowhammer(14th) just outside Monk Sherborne.

WeBS counts on Sunday were typical for the month but at least work at Ashe Park appears to have come to an end and there were actually birds on the lake! I left having noted 2 Mute Swan, 2 Canada Geese and singles of Grey Heron and Coot. Nearby, Lower Ashe Farm held a pair of Gadwall, 4 Teal and 2 Tufted Duck amongst its attendants.

A kingfisher flashed past me at Polhampton and there were a further two together near Quidhampton. In the same area was a male Blackcap in sub-song and a Reed Bunting in full song.

It was presumably the usual two wintering Chiffchaffs that were also occassionally singing but they had been joined by a third, much greyer bird which I believe was a good candidate for a form of eastern Chiffchaff.

From my notebook:

Grey/brown(ish) mantle and crown, Dark bill, Pale short supercilium, Dark eye-stripe, Dark legs, Belly/flanks pale (no obvious yellow), Slight pale wing-bar, Greenish/brown tinge to back. Associating with Common Chiffchaffs. No call or song heard. Overall impression - grey/pale Chiffchaff.

I spent half an hour trying to photograph this bird but it was constantly flitting from tree to tree, so ended up just following it with my binoculars. Eventually it disappeared into dense scrub and was not seen again. The two ‘Commons’ stayed in the area. I’m certainly no expert on the various races of Chiffchaff but the differences between it and the two ‘standard’ chiffys were clear to see. Research at home didn’t prove conclusive either, as it didn’t really fit the bill for any of the decribed races. 

An article I found on the internet probably closes the case, as grey and white would certainly best describe my bird:

The origins of these enigmatic grey-and-white individuals are uncertain (Dean & Svensson 2005, Dean 2007). It may be, however, that they do not have a single origin. Greyer examples of abietinus from the east of that form’s range are almost certainly involved but others may be intergrades between tristis and abietinus from the overlap zone (‘riphaeus’) or even morphologically anomalous examples of tristis. Currently, it seems wise to refrain from assigning such distinctly ‘grey and white’ individuals to a definite taxon.

Little else to report apart from the return of the Northern Pintail at Eastrop Park (7th) which was still present today. Thankfully, the garden came to the rescue with a couple of pictures.

Blue Tit – Charter Alley, 11th March 2012

Dunnock – Charter Alley, 11th March 2012

Barry Stalker

The wet weather plus other commitments somewhat curtailed by birding activities over the weekend but it wasn’t completely birdless and certainly not without reward.

Friday’s weather was lovely and I had already planned to leave work at lunchtime, giving me enough time for a very pleasant jaunt around the district. The small lake at Wolverton Park held 2 Tufted Duck and 32 Canada Geese as well as the usual Coots, Mallards and Moorhens. There were a pair of Gadwall and 2 Little Grebes on the river at Polhampton and the tranquil Tufton had pairs of both Pied and Grey Wagtail, and singles of Little Grebe and Little Egret. 

Little Egret – Tufton, 2nd March 2012

Saturday dawned grey and overcast, but at least it was dry. Within five minutes of leaving home I was at Ewhurst Park and as I walked along the footpath towards the lake my imagination was running wild – what would I find today? Goldeneye maybe,  perhaps Goosander or even Red-crested Pochard! A scan of the lake produced none of the above and the reality was 2 Great-crested Grebes, 32 Tufted Duck, 1 Teal and 4 Pochard, and it had started raining – heavily! I decided to abandon my plans and anyway, it would soon be time to don the famous blue and white hoops (no not Reading!) and head for that footballing Mecca – Loftus Road! As I trudged along the muddy path that runs through the woods, a largish bird suddenly flew out from cover, twisting and turning through the trees at speed before dropping down out of sight – it was a Woodcock! I was wet and cold, but I didn’t care – I had two ticks for the price of one; district and patch!

Sunday was wet from the start and by late morning it was actually snowing quite heavily – no birding today either then, so my attention turned to the garden feeders which were receiving plenty of custom and I spent a happy half hour trying to make some of them famous.

Robin and Blue Tit – Charter Alley, 4th March 2012

Goldfinch – Charter Alley, 4th March 2012

Greenfinch – Charter Alley, 4th March 2012

Chaffinch – Charter Alley, 4th March 2012

And finally….

Regular readers (if any exist), will remember my Christmas post, when I discovered a pair of wild Turkeys on farmland near Wootton St. Lawrence – well they continue to be at large in the borough and I had a brief sighting late on Sunday afternoon when I dropped in at Ewhurst whilst out on an errand for Mrs S.

Turkey – Ewhurst Park, 4th March 2012

Where will they turn up next………

Barry Stalker

Last Sunday I decided to make a third attempt at nailing Willow Tit for my Basingstoke and Deane year list, having already drawn a blank twice at as many sites! I returned to an area near Dummer where I had success last year and again it proved reliable with at least four birds clearly seen and heard. The bright, mild conditions were great for photography as well and unlike last year I was able to secure a couple of usable record shots. I actually believe this species to be more widespread in the district than generally thought, but much of the woodland where it’s likely to be present is private. It seems to favour oak/hazel coppiced woodland and particularly that which is used for game rearing. Recent studies have proved that most of the diagnostic features associated with this species in guide books are unreliable and the only sure way of securing a positive identification of the scarce Willow Tit against the more common Marsh Tit is by song/call. 

Willow Tit – Dummer, 26th February 2012

Willow Tit – Dummer, 26th February 2012

During WeBS counts around Overton on the previous Friday (17^th) I managed to photograph a Marsh Tit and comparison of the pictures go some way to highlight how difficult it is to separate the two species. If no song or call is heard, the small white patch below the nostril on the upper mandible of the Marsh Tit is now regarded as the most reliable identification feature, but is not always easy to see in the field and reflected light can play tricks, as is demonstrated in my second Willow Tit picture!  

 Marsh Tit – Overton, 17th February 2012 (showing white patch on upper mandible)

More ‘Patchlist’ ticks have been added since my last entry and I was particularly pleased when a Raven (23^rd) flew across the village making its distinctive and very audible ‘cronking’ call. Ewhurst Park has also been productive with 4 Canada Geese (17^th) and 5 Siskin (25^th) when the site also boasted 9 Pochard and 39 Tufted Duck; Teal and Wigeon being absent.

Pochard and Tufted Duck + Coot – Ewhurst Park, 25th February 2012 

The Eastrop Pintail has also moved on, presumably over the weekend of 18^th/19^th as it was not present on the Monday. 

The district year list has also continued to grow with 2 first-winter Common Gulls at Turrill Hill (17^th), displaying Woodlark near Silchester (25^th) and a Long-eared Owl on the downs (26^th), the latter being a very welcome sight after the recent sad news of a road casualty near Frost Hill Farm, north of Overton.

Also on the downs on Sunday, several Lapwing were displaying and at least 2 Short-eared Owls continue their presence. Once again the car providing the perfect hide.

Lapwing – North Wessex Downs, 26th February 2012

Short-eared Owl – North Wessex Downs, 26th February 2012

Barry Stalker

Shortly after finishing my last blog entry on Sunday evening, I discovered that a Northern Pintail had taken up residence on the boating lake at one of my regular lunchtime birding haunts, Eastrop Park near Basingstoke town centre. It was already late evening by then so I decided to make an earlier start than usual on Monday morning and pop-in before work in the hope of securing another district year tick – fingers crossed it was still there.

I needn’t have worried on that score as it was the first bird I saw when I arrived at the park at 07:15 – a cracking adult drake! It was quite dark and gloomy first thing on Monday but I rattled off a few record shots and went off to work a happy man.

I returned at lunchtime, half expecting our celebrity to have departed, but it was still there, seemingly content amongst Mallards and Black-headed Gulls and I was able to secure some better shots. I was also joined by Doug Kelson who had ‘slipped-in’ between chores. Last winter a female Gadwall was present on the boating lake for several weeks – perhaps our Pintail will follow suit as it was still present at lunchtime today.

A really charming, confiding bird and an excellent year tick for Basingstoke and Deane. I’ve never seen ‘acuta’ bird at Eastrop!

Eastrop Park boating lake - 13th February 2012

Anyone thinking of going to see it could make a day of it as it’s only a short walk from the hustle and bustle of downtown Basingstoke. Bring the wife for some shopping and earn some brownie points, take in a movie perhaps, or sample the delights of one of the many restaurants, visit Milestones museum……………………

Pintail – Eastrop Park Basingstoke, 13th February 2012

Pintail – Eastrop Park Basingstoke, 13th February 2012

Pintail – Eastrop Park Basingstoke, 13th February 2012

Whilst in the park I took advantage of the number of Black-headed Gulls present to grab a few shots at varying stages of plumage. A largely ignored but quite attractive gull I think.

Black-headed Gull (1st winter) – Eastrop Park Basingstoke, 13th February 2012

Black-headed Gull (1st winter) – Eastrop Park Basingstoke, 13th February 2012

Black-headed Gull (adult winter) – Eastrop Park Basingstoke, 13th February 2012

Black-headed Gull (adult summer) – Eastrop Park Basingstoke, 13th February 2012

Barry Stalker