October | 2005 | Zero Carbon Emission Year Listing Hampshire, 2005

A compendium of my entire year list blog so far….compare with Chris Mills' 'Birder on a Bike' blog – we're in competition!

Better than a Baird's – 199 up! 199 species in total

A fantastic stroke of fortune this morning – a year tick not 300 yards from home!

I was out early am (0750) delivering some paperwork before work, with a few Redwings and Song Thrushes passing low to the west in the gloom, when a rasping chacking had me looking straight up at a Ring Ouzel moving with them! Not exactly crippling views, but quite unmistakeable and firmly ON MY LIST! Much more satisfying (and easier) than cycling for 2 hours to see a poxy American vagrant at Pennington!

Only my fourth Winchester record, after a winter bird back in 1985, a couple of spring males in 198(?)7, and another male in May 1993 on a back lawn. Easily the best value, however, givent his year’s bike effort….

One to go for the 200 – severe weather forecast for Weds, so maybe it’ll be a Sabine’s or a Little Auk?!? We shall see….

Saturday, October 08, 2005

Miserable dip in miserable weather. 198 species in total

Feeling very optimistic, I set off after lunch on Saturday in search of the Red-necked Phalarope found the day before at Lee-on-Solent. The bird was still present at 1100, and I had high hopes of completing the county Phalarope grand slam for the year. No such flippin' luck! No sign of the bird at all, at a spectacularly grotty pond by a new housing development – just 2 Little Grebes and a bunch of gulls by way of compensation. And to cap it all a (predicted) cold front arrived just as I gave up, and I got cold and wet all the way home. The only thing achieved today was the km/species count creeping up to 19!

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Another Yank wader. 198 species in total

After a poor September (nearly a month since my last new species), Pennington came up trumps again. After two days of sweating, I was finally able to head off early across the New Forest, and shortly after arriving, locked on to the juvenile BAIRD'S SANDPIPER which had been present since Thursday.

Photo by Tony Mills, www.notjustbirds.com

A classic 'Weetabix-on-legs' job – very smart and distinctive, if a little furtive in amongst the rushes and sedges at the back of the Fishtail Lagoon. I've plainly lost some form and/or am still suffering from last week's heavy cold – my legs felt incredibly heavy and useless on the way back, which was essentially a slow kill torture!

Saturday, September 03, 2005

An unplanned monster ride – and a wader triple-whammy! 197 species in total.

I'd been waiting for the last few commoner passage waders with increasing trepidation as September began, and at last information arrived of one of them at The Vyne, with the bird still present this morning. I headed noth-east for the long, straight and rather boring ride to Basingstoke, and beyond the town to the flooded watermeadows where the bird had been reported. It didn't take long to find – Wood Sandpiper on the list! Many thanks to Martin Pitt for the very accurate local knowledge. Also a few Green Sands, Snipe and a young Peregrine here, the latter panicking all the waders just as I was leaving.

But my plans of a return in time for a late lunch were quickly shattered by breaking news from Titchfield – a quick route plan and very large gulp at the hilliness and distance of the route, and I was away. My legs felt empty on the ride south to Alresford, but a lunch injection and extra water intake did the trick there, and it was on (via some nasty hills I've been avoiding all year) to Cheriton, Kilmeston, Droxford and down the Meon valley to Wickham. from there, I was back on a familiar route, and by mid-afternoon, I was the Haven. I saved paying for my ticket until after doing the hides (but I was honest!) – from the Meon Shore hide, the Little Stint was quickly bagged, but the news regarding the other target species was less good – it had apparently flown 'high up the valley' half an hour before.

Undaunted, I trudged round to the next hide, and scanned the north scrape – the news sounded better here! After maybe ten minutes, I locked on to a scruffy brown looking wader among a group of maybe half a dozen Curlew Sandpipers – yes! Pectoral Sandpiper also nailed!

Photo by Peter Raby

Elated but really shattered and dehydrated, I headed off (via the ticket booth and water refill), and sped (not!) the 1.5 hours ride home – it was nearer 2 this time!

A huge 145km (or 90 miles) covered today – and my legs are telling me about it – but well worth it – three in a day at this stage of the year was pretty unexpected.

Sunday, August 28, 2005

Another August bonus. 194 species in total.

Another snappy response to the pager called for today, but it was with a sense of foreboding that I went off in search of the Wryneck reported at Farlington – it's a tricky area to work for passerines (and near-passerines!), and I've dipped the species before there…. On arrival – no sightings for over three hours….oh dear. I worked the bushes with some success – a Grasshopper Warbler was a real bonus, plus several Garden Warblers and Lesser Whitethroats, and lots of Common Whitethroats. After about an hour of wandering around, I returned to the area where a few people were looking, and a distant wave and point suggested the bird had been relocated. After just a minute or two I had brief flight views, and then a cautious approach resulted in good views of the bird perched warily in brambles and elders – Wryneck safely on the list! Pretty elated, I pedalled home in bright, warm sunshine, feeling good. But I did ping two more spokes on the rear wheel somewhere en route….damn.

Thursday, August 25, 2005

Two phalaropes in 5 days – the score just keeps on rising. 193 species in total.

More hot pager news had me saddling up and heading south-west through squally showers to Pennington this morning – it really is a long ride (2 hours+), but I was rewarded immediately on arrival with good views of the juv/1st winter Grey Phalarope found by Russell Wynn this morning, on Butts Lagoon.

Photo by Russell Wynn

With a few Whitethroats and other migrants in evidence, I then headed quickly round to Normandy Marsh (via a Kingfisher and two Greenshanks), in the hope of a new migrant wader. It didn't take long checking the Dunlin flock to find a cracking juvenile Curlew Sandpiper right by the seawall – I did look for a Little Stint, but I think that's just being greedy! The ride home was pretty tough, but slightly wind assisted, and not too wet. 216km this week for five new species.

Sunday, August 21, 2005

2000 miles up, and 2 new ones. 191 species in total

A hot pager bleep at Sunday lunchtime had me flinging on the hot weather kit, and heading off for the coast. A record run to Farlington (1.5 hours) and the juvenile WILSON'S PHALAROPE was still showing very well on the main lagoon to the assembled crowd.

Photo by Nic Hallam

Photo by Richard Ford

Worth just as many 'points', but of course much less difficult, a Yellow Wagtail called in flight overhead, shortly followed by three seen distantly over the fields. Add in lots of waders (although none of the reported Curlew Sands, alas) and a bonus (but very brief) Spotted Crake, and this was a pretty good day out! Also a distant Whinchat – inevitably after having gone for one in the week…. I saved my legs and didn't walk round the reserve to try for the Garganey and Osprey that were also present – ah! the luxury of having done the work earlier in the year!

The mileage count went over two grand today – 138 hours (or 5.75 DAYS!) in the saddle, at 17 kilometres/species, just to mix up the units of measurement completely….

Friday, August 19, 2005

Creeping up – thanks to the Lakeside link. 189 species in total

A hot tip from Simon Ingram had me pedalling the half hour down to Lakeside Country Park in Eastleigh for my first Whinchat of the year – hardly a species I was worried about seeing eventually, but nice to get it under the belt and to keep the species total ticking over. Now only Yellow Wagtail remains on my list of 'shoo-in' or 'gimme' species!

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Two more, including a Brucie Bonus. 188 species in total

Having missed the species at the same site back in January, it was good to get a second bite at the cherry at Ibsley Water today – the GREAT WHITE EGRET was not too hard to find, wading about in a good looking muddy area with a few Little Egrets. A not completely unexpected (but pleasantly surprising) bonus bird was a juvenile Black Tern over the same pit. Also around the gravel pits were three Green Sandpipers, an LRP, a few Common Terns and very large numbers of Sand Martins, Grey Herons and Mute Swans. 100km under the belt today, making it a total of 3140km so far!

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

“Wild” goose chase scores a double. 186 species in total

A very long ride to north-east Hants today (and even over the county boundary into Berkshire at one point). First to be unblocked (after the totally plastic, ringed bird at Titchfield Haven) was Egyptian Goose – 19 of them looking completely unconvincing but as wild as Gyppos ever look on a small pond near Eversley Church. There were two more looking slightly less dubious at Eversley gravel pit, but no sign of the much harder Snow Goose there. I checked various nearby waters, and scanned various farming vistas, without luck, and was thinking about giving up, when two white blobs in flight near Hartley Wintney resolved themselves into Snow Geese! They carried on and then appeared to drop, out of sight, into some stubbly fields in the distance. I'm pretty unhappy about adding both these to the list, really, but they appear in the main section of the Hampshire Bird report, and that's the rules – so there! Also a Hobby and a Kingfisher at Eversley today. The ride home was long and tiring, and into a headwind – not much fun! Today's ride took me over both 3000km and 16km/species….

Sunday, July 31, 2005

Better! Large raptor gets the count ticking over again. 184 species in total

In what is turning out to be a pretty good raptor year, I added Osprey to the list today, at Lower Test Marshes. After a false start, where I broke a spoke and warped the rear wheel within 5 miles of home (bizarrely, Chris did exactly the same thing today in Norfolk!), I went home, changed bikes, and was at LTM by 1000. Chunky and Simon were waiting glumly, not having seen anything, so it wasn't looking good – but at about 1020, all the gulls went up, and the bird cruised in from the south, circled, and perched in one of the dead trees. This may well be the bird which has been in the general area since about May – it's a very rare bird in Hampshire in summer.

Thursday, July 28, 2005

Big ride, big dip. 183 species in total

A long ride today, to Farlington in the hope of seeing the reported White-rumped Sandpiper. The tide was unfavourable, alas, and there was no sign of the bird – small recompense was had by way of a Whimbrel, Greenshank, a few Sedge and Reed Warblers and numerous Little Egrets. Titchfield Haven 'on the way' home (actually quite a big detour) was also disappointing – no sign of the Black Tern, which would've been new for the list, nor any Roseate Terns – just a single juvenile Med Gull as a consolation prize.

Sunday, July 03, 2005

Back on track as autumn begins. 183 species in total

With the birding year having turned, but no new species since May, it was time to nail one of my three remaining shoo-ins, and an evening ride down to Eling Marsh at high tide duly turned up 5 or 6 Yellow-legged Gulls loafing about. Hardly the most exciting way to start the autumn run, but they all count!

The plan was to have been 3 weeks in Malaysia in July, but unfortunately that's had to be cancelled, on account of Julia being laid up in hospital with a serious back injury (but she'll be OK in the end – so I don't honestly care about Malaysia!).

So….what will be the July mega wader at Pennington this year? Little Whimbrel, anyone?

Monday, May 30, 2005

Two ultras in one day – but all top secret… 182 species in total

I headed out again late afternoon to try for the singing Quail, which Julia and I had actually managed to hear earlier on a car-based jaunt – success! A territorial male Quail whetting away in the flowery fields.

Almost unbelievably, I also relocated a male Montagu's Harrier which I had totally fluked earlier in the day at another site some 15km away – for obvious reasons, I'm not going to go into details, except to say that much hopping up and down, air punching and fruity language were in evidence! A fantastic bonus species spurring me on in the quest for 200 – which now looks possible….but very difficult.

To add to the raptor fun, a distant Red Kite (while not 'needed' for the list) was a very welcome sight.

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Dipping in the dark. 180 species in total

What turned into another night ride, acting on information received of a singing Quail not far from Winchester – but unsuccessful. Four Little Owls and several Tawny Owls were nice, but nothing 'wetting-its-lips' at all….

Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Darts! The Nightrider rides again. 180 species in total

Acting on hot gen from the Test valley, I left home after work commitments at about 2215, towards the end of extra time in the Champions' League final. The familiar 45-minute run was marked by a Liverpool triumph and warm, still night air, and by 2300 I was on site in the valley. Past the squeaky juvenile Tawny Owls, my quarry was singing loud and clear – a territorial Grasshopper Warbler. Result!

I decided to press on for my other remaining nightbird, and reached Great Covert, Chandlers Ford, by about 2345 – and after a few minutes of silence, a distant Nightjar made itself species number 180. Rather more (post-match) traffic than last time I did a night ride, but still safely home by 1230, with two real good 'uns under the belt.

Sunday, May 22, 2005

“The yellow of its eyes” – a crippling encounter. 178 species in total

Three new ones in three days – motoring nicely just now. The now familiar ride to the New Forest was well-rewarded, with (after about an hour of waiting) an absolutely stunning sighting of a male Honey Buzzard lifting out of the very closest trees, circling and gaining height rapidly. It was within not more than 40 feet at first, close enough to see every feather and the striking yellow eye. Awesome. Also at this site were a big fat female Goshawk, many Common Buzzards, singing Woodlark, Redstart and Cuckoo, and a Raven. Elsewhere on the ride there and back, I had a Firecrest in song – didn't even have to get off the bike!

Now past 2500km (or 1500 miles, whichever you prefer), with 100+ miles in two days, and over 107 hours of riding! Average 14.1km per bird, mind you….

Saturday, May 21, 2005

Be in no doubt: the Iron Man lives in HAMPSHIRE – a Cup Final day twitch. 177 species in total

This was the toughest yet, despite it not being very cold, and it not being the longest ride. Acting on a pager update, I left home at about noon in torrential rain, getting freezing cold and utterly bedraggled as I cycled mostly uphill to the north-east of Winchester. More positive news steeled my backbone, and the uphill continued, albeit with a following wind. Exhausted and very chilled, I reached Odiham and Tundry Pond at about 1400, and ran (yes, ran) down the towpath – I was not going to dip for the sake of a lazy five minutes on foot! Immediately on arrival – contact! The very fine adult WHISKERED TERN was still present with three or four Common Terns. A Hampshire tick, my first BB rare on the year-list, and a right mega. I felt so smug alongside Simon Ingram and several other car-based Hants listers!

The ride home was pretty diabolical – OK, the ride was net downhill, but the ever-stiffening headwind made it feel uphill! Add in a misaligned rear wheel and a slow puncture 10 miles from home (my hands were shaking so much I had trouble changing the tyre!), and this Whiskered Tern was one bird I had surely worked hard enough to deserve.

Friday, May 20, 2005

Another shoo-in. 176 species in total

Acting on some nice specific gen from HOSlist, a short evening ride to Chilland near Easton in the Itchen valley produced a Spotted Flycatcher on a rooftop aerial. (We followed this with a slap-up meal at The Bush in Ovington!) The regular birds in central Winchester have not returned – yet?

Sunday, May 15, 2005

Norfolk pulls ahead, but Hampshire gets one back. 175 species in total

Chris had been scoring very heavily this weekend up in Norfolk (Garganey, Montagu's Harrier, Woodchat Shrike and Stilt Sandpiper, no less!), so there was nothing for it but a bit of blind optimism, and the hope that the two Roseate Terns at Hill Head would extend their spring stopover to three days. So 1.5 hours of pedalling on a chilly morning saw me in place on the seafront by 0900, at low tide. Plenty of Common and Sandwich Terns about, and a single Little Tern flew past, plus about 40 Eider offshore, but an early scan of the distant shingle banks produced just a 'possible' Rosie which quickly got lost in a tern dread. Pinning my hopes on the rising tide, Julia (who had joined me by car) and I worked the reserve – plenty to see, including 2 Peregrines, several Buzzards and Sparrowhawks, four Avocets, a few migrant Dunlin, the plastic Egyptian Goose and a completely wild and genuine Red-crested Pochard (the same one I saw at Curbridge, AND AM HAVING – it was still hanging out with two Shelducks). Many Whitethroats, Cetti's, Sedgies and Reed Warblers too, plus a quick Hairy Dragonfly fly-by.

Back to the shore – a check of some 30 Common Terns on a small island, and there they were – 2 Roseate Terns safely on the list. Much harder to pick out in strong sunlight than on a grey autumn day, but quite distinctive, and easiest to relocate when all the Common Terns displayed, and they sat there doing nothing!

Buoyed up, the ride home in warm spring sunshine was a genuine pleasure.

Friday, May 13, 2005

This non-motorised birding is EASY! 174 species in total

The first garden bird addition to the list since January 29th – a Hobby screamed around causing panic among the Swifts and Swallows this evening, effectively saving me several hours of pedalling about and scouring the skies in the New Forest! Only about our 3rd or 4th garden Hobby ever, and a really welcome boost in a hopelessly busy period at work. And the weather forecast for the weekend looks poor – so I may be getting a bit stuck….

Sunday, May 08, 2005

A long slog for one more. 173 species in total

After a couple of local dips for the species, I headed out east to Noar Hill, near Selborne, for a 64km round trip, with just one target species in mind. I arrived late afternoon just as some heavy showers did, and proceeded to dip horribly for about an hour – but finally, when the sun came out and the wind dropped, a single Turtle Dove started purring contentedly in the scrub on the east side of the reserve. Success! The ride home was pretty miserable, into a stiff headwind and a low, bright sun. Not much fun….

Thursday, May 05, 2005

Election day dove dip. 172 species in total

34km with no target species – no Turtle Doves to be found at the formerly regular site of Micheldever, alas. Dingy Skipper, Common Spotted Orchid and Twayblade provided the only compensation in sunny, but windy conditions.

Monday, May 02, 2005

Birding by night – Mr Whiplash is in town. 172 species in total

A night ride, departing home at 2200 to ride 'a certain distance' in 'a certain direction' to 'a certain site', meeting up with 'certain people' at the far end. After a bit of getting lost in the dark, I found the right spot, and in between bursts of Nightingale song – there it was! A Spotted Crake proclaiming territory loud and clear in the marsh! Fantastic stuff.

I cycled home in the light rain – getting back at 'a certain ungodly hour'…..

Sunday, May 01, 2005

The longest ride yet – with good returns! 171 species in total

145km today, starting at 0530 – I remain “Iron Man”! Off into the dawn and south through the New Forest (beautiful), arriving at Keyhaven at about 0800 – in thick fog! Oh dear….not good for seawatching.

I gave it an hour or two around the marshes to kill time, bumping into 'the three amigos' (Tim, Marc and Russell), and saw a few good birds – Common Sandpiper was new but hardly unexpected, but there were also two Garganey (a pair) behind the Fishtail Lagoon, plus a smart Golden Plover, and Whitethroats and Sedgies in abundance, plus heard only Bearded Tits.

The sun finally looked like it was going to win the battle, so I set myself up on the beach, where I was soon joined by Marcus and Zoe, although not before scoring big time with a pale phase Arctic Skua right over my head, looking pretty lost in the fog, and tailing a Whimbrel! Also new were six Kittiwakes moving east. Things looked bright to begin with, with a few Common Scoter and a Red-throated Diver east, but it then dried up, and we were left with just the local Little Terns to look at. But dribs and drabs turned up – the best of which was an Arctic Tern with a group of five Common Terns, inevitably migrating eastwards.

I packed in just after 1300 (whereupon another Arctic Skua – much more distant – flew by!), and cycled north. I'd misjudged my fluids, and had to stop to rehydrate and rest – pounding headache! But I was OK after Brockenhurst, and decided to try a speculative side-excursion to Mark Ash Wood. Within literally seconds of entering the wood, and without even getting off the bike – a singing Wood Warbler filled the air with its shimmering glissando (did I really just write that?!). A good finish – five new ones, with some decent quality.

Postscript: I also had a singing Firecrest 'somewhere in the New Forest' today….

Saturday, April 30, 2005

Rattled – then nailed. 166 species in total

After a very damp hour and a bit around Morestead Down in the early morning, I was beginning to think my target species had gone extinct. But a short afternoon ride in hot sunshine to Magdalen Hill Down provided that 'Ivory-billed Woodpecker' moment – a single singing male Lesser Whitethroat, rattling away unseen in the blackthorn scrub – also lots of Green Hairstreaks and some Orange Tips here today.

Thursday, April 28, 2005

A week with nothing – in late April!

In the last week I have done 116km and seen precisely NO NEW BIRDS! The lastest failure was a cross-country hike in windy and cool conditions round Morestead Down on the MTB – no lesser Whitethroats or Turtle Doves, and nowt exciting at the sewage farm. At least there are hirundines and Swifts in in numbers now, but still virtually no Whitethroats, and few Sedgies either. Worrying.

Saturday, April 23, 2005

Quite a big venture, nothing gained. 165 species in total

With a stiff SE breeze and rain in the offing, things were looking good for a seawatch, and the three possible target species (Arctic Tern, Arctic Skua, Little Gull) had all been seen in the past 36 hours – so Stokes Bay it was! I set off at about 1600, riding into the headwind all the way to Gosport in about an hour and a half. On arrival, things looked quite bright, with several Barwits, Curlews and Sandwich Terns migrating past, and a few hirundines in off the sea – but then I sat and had nearly two hours of virtually nothing! Not even a Common Tern….

I felt thoroughly deflated, and my tyre decided to show sympathy by having a puncture along Browndown seafront…..grrrrr. Titchfield was equally deathly from the road – just two Cuckoos were of note, and certainly no sound of a singing Gropper, albeit in increasingly windy conditions.

Riding home via Flagpond Copse, I didn't even hear a Nightingale – so my return home at 2130 was after a 75km fitness ride with virtually nothing birdwise to show for it! Now up to 11.6km per bird….

Thursday, April 21, 2005

Succumbing to the 'arch splitter'. 165 species in total

For the sake of comparability, I have succumbed to Chris's dubious taxonomic wisdom, and am treating Black Brant as a full species – at least we have both seen one!

Still parky of a morning – but two more pinned down. 164 species in total

Flippin' chilly this morning, in thick fog at times, and with a surprisingly chilly east wind. The 0500 wake up plan worked, and I was at Casbrook Common in the Test Valley by 0615, and hearing 2 singing Nightingales immediately on arrival – target species nailed instantly! One of them got very showy and sang right out in the open for several minutes. Also it was a relief (but hardly a surprise) to hear a Cuckoo singing distantly in the mist as the blood red sun got up.

Wednesday, April 20, 2005

By the cold light of dawn….nuffink! 162 species in total

An 0530 start, and up to Winnall Moors to try for a Gropper, completely on spec! No joy, although there were several new Sedgies in, and the usual three or four Cetti's in song. Then up to Morestead down to try my hand at Lesser Whitethroat – again, no luck, but there was a Common Whitethroat in song. No Cuckoos anywhere to be heard either, although I did finally catch up with the singing Cetti's Warbler by the Itchen south of the College on the way back – the first on territory there for some years.

Sunday, April 17, 2005

The big weekend – part 2. 162 species in total

Up at 0545, and swiftly out into the field – as we got my bike out of the garage, a guttural ‘growk’ overhead had us both looking up and calling “Med Gull!” – a garden and Sway tick for Steve – a good start! On the way down to Hurst, in frosty and very calm conditions, I heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker drumming – they’re clearly a bit commoner than you imagine sitting in a car!

I was in position at the base of the beach at 0645 on a truly glorious, flat calm morning, and had the place to myself for the best part of an hour, before first Phil Lord & David Thelwell, and later Marc Moody arrived for company and more pairs of eyes! I quickly connected with several flocks of Common Scoter milling about offshore, and there were many Gannets and a few Fulmars drifting past. A tight flock of Eider heading east made a long-anticipated debut on the year list, and we had three Red-throated Divers rapidly east too, though these were easily trumped by a close Black-throated Diver (a Hants tick for me), flagged up in advance by a phone call from Steve up at Barton-on-Sea. Steve also successfully tipped us off on the position of the semi-resident Shag near the yellow buoy!

A very few Common Terns also moved through, along with several Little and Sandwich Terns mooching about in the area, and a hoped-for but not really expected addition was Great Skua, with two migrating strongly east. Another Hampshire (albeit tart’s) tick in the bag! After the first, we phoned Steve, who quickly got onto the second one – a Barton tick for him! Nice to be able to return the favour….

Once things had dried up by about 1100, I headed back to Keyhaven, and stopped by the lagoon, where two birders had their scopes up. Any luck? Yes! The drake Garganey was on show – result! Buoyed up, I headed on to the balancing pond area, where a Gropper had been in song at dawn – no joy, needless to say…. But a Reed Warbler grumbled away in the reedbed, and I heard and glimpsed several Bearded Tits over the Phragmites too, in addition to several quite showy Cetti’s Warblers, and yet more Swallows appearing over the marshes. Finally for the coast, I connected with the singing Whitethroat near the jetty.

A speculative stop in the New Forest on the way home, hoping for Wood Warbler, produced instead a singing Garden Warbler – a fitting end to a very good day and weekend, packed full of quality birds and the thrill of migration time. 18 new species for the weekend!

The big weekend – part 1. 151 species in total

I was pretty much ready to go for the ‘big weekend’, when breaking news of the reappearance of the “Longparish Chiffchaff” made me change my plans. I had missed this bird the previous week as I was up in London, but it had now been relocated, and informed opinion seemed to be inclining towards Iberian Chiffchaff – I couldn’t not go for it! So it was off on a 40km warm-up ride to the north of Winchester. I heard the bird immediately on arrival – and it didn’t sound quite right. It was pretty convincing for a while, but then slipped into pure ‘chiff-chaff’ song – at best a dreaded ‘mixed singer’, or maybe a hybrid? Certainly an interesting bird, but my legs could have done without the mileage! Never mind….

So after that false start, I set off just after 1100, and surprised myself by reaching Pennington in only just over two hours. I spent the rest of the afternoon doing a long walk around Pennington, Oxey and Normandy marshes, with good results. After seeing a couple of Med Gulls, and a pair of very smart White Wagtails on the beach, I scored my first new species with a flock of 10 Whimbrel, the first of about 25 seen over the weekend. In quick succession, I had several Little Terns (at least 10 were around the area), plus the hoped for 4 Spotted Redshanks and at least 7 Greenshanks, in addition to a few commoner waders, including the superb Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits, now in almost full breeding plumage. A moderate Swallow