SE Nature Notes w/e Dec 7th
8 December 2009
Nature Notes from SE Hampshire for week ending Dec 7th, 2009
Portsmouth & Portsdown
A female ruddy duck has been on the IBM lake for some time now.
A white squirrel was seen in Crookhorn on Nov 22nd. The first report I’ve seen for some time.
On 30th November a kingfisher was seen on the harbour edge at Gun Wharf. There was another spoonbill sighting at Farlington on December 2nd. A marsh harrier was seen on that day and 4th. On the 4th there were also 2 merlins over the RSPB Islands. A bullfinch was near Fort Widley on 3rd.
White mustard on Portsdown had flowers and seeds but few leaves.
There were 32 avocets and 12 bearded tits at Farlington Marshes on Saturday (5th). At Eastney on the same day there were 2 Mediterranean gulls and 140 sanderlings. There have been up to 240 of the latter here. Ten purple sandpipers were at Southsea Castle on Sunday 6th.
A new fungus species for Hampshire - Auriculariopsis ampla - similar to Jews Ear was found at North harbour on 20th. On Portsdown on Wednesday there were brown rollrims and wood blewits.
Havant, Hayling & Emsworth
A green sandpiper was in the Langstone and Budds Farm areas on 1st and 4th December respectively. Kingfishers have been seen this week at South Moors and on the Langbrook Stream. A blue tit was watched going right through a short length of scaffolding tube in a Havant garden.
Two sandwich terns were in Langstone Harbour on 2nd, 1 off Nore Barn on 4th and 1 off Gosport on 5th. The Nore Barn spotted redshank is still around and another was at the Budds farm Pools on 4th. A whimbrel was off Northney and a common sandpiper on the saltings off the marina on 5th. On Saturday morning 2 long-tailed ducks and a Slavonian grebe were seen in the channel between Broadmarsh and Long Island in Langstone Harbour. There have been 2 great northern divers, at least 6 black-necked grebes and flocks of 50 or more great crested grebes in the harbour during the week.
Birds at Black Point Hayling Island on Sunday 6th included an estimated 500 sanderlings, 2 Sandwich terns and a peregrine. A short-eared owl was seen flying from the Witterings to Thorney Island this week.
A yellow dung beetle was seen on a hogweed flower at Brook Meadow on 1st December. A bee orchid in Langstone and green-winged orchids in South Hayling are now showing leaves.
Fungi in the Eastern Road cemetery recently have included rufous milk cap, butter waxcap, snowy waxcap, split fibrecap dark scaled knight, wood blewit and grey coral fungus.
Fareham and Gosport
A red-necked grebe and a velvet scoter were off Titchfield Haven on 2nd December and a black-throated diver on 4th. The scoter was still around on 5th. Strangely 2 avocets were swimming among over 100 shelducks off Priddy’s Hard Gosport on 5th December. Two goldeneyes and 28 mergansers were on Anglesey lake Gosport on 29th November.
