Nature Notes w/e Jan 10th
14 January 2010
General
Cold weather and snow has led to lots of unusual sightings. Most striking has been the widespread fieldfares and slightly fewer redwings over most of our area including the whole of Portsea Island and the centre of Havant. Song thrushes have been showing more. Woodcock, snipe and jack snipe, water rails and even woodlarks have been seen in gardens or other unexpected sites this week. It is very important that we help our birds by feeding them while this weather lasts. Fats, sponge cake , fruit and seed are all good.
Portsmouth & Portsdown
A ’red head’ smew was briefly on the IBM lake at Portsmouth on 6th. A female common scoter was off the Portsmouth Outdoor Centre on 10th.
Havant, Hayling & Emsworth
In addition to the species listed in the general paragraph above there have also been a number of red-crested pochard sightings including 4 at Broadmarsh this week. Long-tailed ducks were seen from Broadmarsh from 4th to at least 7th. A great northern diver was in the Langstone Harbour entrance on 5th. A common sandpiper was on the Broadmarsh slip way on at least 2 days this week. On Monday there were still golden plovers on the West lane fields with a few mistle thrushes and redwings.
On 5th there were at least 3 bullfinches in Havant Thicket besides a roe deer and a very pale buzzard. Two common scoters were off Thorney Island on 4th. January 3rd brought the first sighting of full breeding plumage cormorant at Emsworth Slipper Mill Pond. Two whimbrel were on the west shore of Thorney Island on 4th. A short-eared owl was seen elsewhere on the island. A Slavonian grebe was in the north of Langstone Harbour on Monday 4th when there were also 20 black-necked grebes off the oyster beds.
At the mouth of the Langbrook Stream on 7th a spotted redshank was an unexpected treat. Also on 7th 2 grey wagtails were on the Lymbourn Stream. On Thursday 8th a flock of over 200 bar-tailed godwits took off from the Langstone shore and flew west. On the same day the barn owl at Warblington was seen over rough fields on the eastern boundary of the farm.
Another barn owl sighting comes from the oyster beds on Sunday 10th. A kingfisher was seen in the Hermitage Stream in the middle of Leigh Park on 8th. On 9th a marsh harrier and on 10th 2 male hen harriers and a merlin were over the RSPB islands. A green-winged teal was spotted on the Budds farm pools on 9th and seen from the oyster beds car-park on 10th. Around 450 knot were feeding on the mudflats west of Emsworth on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday a woodcock flew over Sinah golf Course on Sunday morning. The only non-bird reports this week are of moles active in Brook Meadow and 2 hares on West Thorney Island fields.
