Nature Notes for w/e Dec 12th

15 December 2011

Portsmouth & Portsdown

The first winter blackcaps I have heard of in our area were in a Portsdown garden on 4th and Havant Farm Close on 10th.

Fifteen avocets were seen from the west wall of Farlington Marshes on Monday 5th. At the end of the week single yellow-legged gull, peregrine and marsh harriers and 2 rock pipits were on the reserve. Single redwings and fieldfare were also seen there on 10th.

Havant, Hayling & Emsworth

A sparrowhawk ate a pigeon in a Denvilles garden on Wednesday 7th.

A single bright lesser celandine flower was seen outside the Eastern Road cemetery and common ramping fumitory just surviving outside the New Lane allotments on 7th. Sweet violet is still flowering at St Faiths church yard. White campion and white melilot were still flowering and bur chervil was surprisingly beginning to flower at Broadmarsh.

On Friday 9th there were 40 ringed plovers and 50 golden plovers on an island south of Emsworth. On the same day a whimbrel was on the old boating pond at Northney. There were 2 Mediterranean gulls and 6 red-breasted mergansers in the area.

Five crossbills including 2 males were seen in the forest at Stansted on Saturday 10th. A party of redwings was seen at Staunton CP top field on 10th when there was a kingfisher on the lake. At Sandy Point on 10th a razorbill, 2 great northern divers and a red-necked grebe were seen in the harbour entrance channel.

Saffron bolete was found in the grass on the west side at Seafields Emsworth on 10th.

The bird count on Thorney Island on 10th included 18 little egrets, 400 shelducks, 26 gadwalls, 81 pintails, 6 water rails, 2 spotted redshanks, 19 greenshanks, 1385 Brent geese and 450 golden plovers.

Fareham and Gosport

Birds at Cams Bay on 8th included single greenshank and turnstones, 40 black-tailed godwits, a goldeneye and 7 red-breasted mergansers.

A red-throated diver flew west at Titchfield Haven on 9th and 10th. There were 25 eiders out on the sea. On 10th there was also a little auk off shore.

A black redstart was in Hardway Gosport gardens on 10th. The usual ring-billed gull was in Walpole Gardens.