Birdwatching in Emsworth
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SPOTTED REDSHANK SIGHTINGS
FOR WINTER 2021-22
in reverse chronological order

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MONDAY JANUARY 24 - 2022
Nore Barn

I got to Nore Barn at midday - about 3 hours to high water. The tide was still quite low and the stream running well. What I assume was a 'new' Spotted Redshank was feeding in the stream when I arrived; it remained for 15 mins or so until chased off by a dog. I managed to get some photos and a video. The bird was feeding in stream quite happily with people passing by and looks as if has established itself in this prime feeding area, taking the place of the old Spotted Redshank that had been coming for the past 17 years, now presumably deceased!

Video clip of today's Spotted Redshank . . . https://youtu.be/G35GinkiUf0

A young lady from Bird Aware was established at the end of Warblington Road chatting to passers by about the birds in the harbour, mostly Brent Geese and Wigeon with a few Black-tailed Godwits. She was grateful when I pointed out the Spotted Redshank which she had not seen.


SATURDAY NOVEMBER 20 - 2021

New Spotted Redshank at Nore Barn?

We have a regular Spotted Redshank in the Nore Barn stream again. I saw it last week and Tony Gray got some excellent photos and video (see blogs for Nov 9 and Nov 11). Susan Kelly has also seen it on a couple of occasions in the past week. The question remains could this be our long standing Spotted Redshank which has been coming to Nore Barn for the past 17 years but which failed to turn up this season?

I went to Nore Barn at 9.15am this morning, about 2½ hours to high water. The tide was rising and the harbour gradually filling. Plenty of Brent Geese were calling and flying around. No sun and no wind, so conditions were ideal.

The stream was still fairly empty, but there was the Spotted Redshank in the upper stream feeding quite happily in the fast running water just like the old Spotted Redshank used to!! It is a pretty smart bird is certainly welcome where ever it's from

In all, I watched it for about 30 minutes as it fed mostly in company with a Black-headed Gull which was busily engaged in mud paddling to dislodge food items. You can see it in the photo below. The Spotted Redshank spent quite a lot of time feeding around a temporary weir of stones that someone has built across the stream. This barrier probably provides a nice trap for creatures coming down the stream. The red arrow points to the Spotted Redshank in the photo below. Incidentally, the bird was not disturbed at all by people and dogs walking along the paths close to where it was feeding which is what we came to expect from the old Spotted Redshank

The only other birds in the stream were a Common Redshank and a Black-tailed Godwit.

 

I could just make out the regular colour-ringed Greenshank far out on the saltmarshes point, but it did not come into the stream to feed while I was present.

Precisely at 9.50 the Spotted Redshank suddenly flew off going south towards Hayling. I would not have expected this sudden departure by the old Spotted Redshank which used to hang on feeding in the stream until the bitter end.

Video clips . . . Note: I find the best way to open these flies is 1. right click the link then 2. select open in a new window

Spotted Redshank feeding in fast flowing Nore Barn stream
https://youtu.be/9eCQZKI2dfs

Black-headed Gull 'dancing' in Nore Barn stream with Spotted Redshank nearby.
https://youtu.be/U1rNB2h8Ydo

Spotted Redshank feeding around the stone weir on the Nore Barn stream
https://youtu.be/5E1X2xVPht8

So, the question remains is this bird our old Spotted Redshank? It's possible, but I doubt it. Last week's observations by myself and Tony Gray on Nov 9 and Nov 11 suggested to us that it was not the old bird, but a new one, probably a juvenile. It was brighter, cleaner looking and sharper than our old friend and it did not behave in the same confident manner, eg it was tentative about coming into the stream to feed with the residents Greenshank and Common Redshank. Nevertheless, today's Spotted Redshank did come into the stream and seemed comfortable there. So that's puzzling!
Overall, I am inclined to say that the Spotted Redshank many people have been seeing at Nore Barn for the past week or so is not our old friend of 17 years but a newcomer. However, it would be good to get other people's views about this bird which now seems to be settled into a regular feeding routine at Nore Barn - best seen 2-3 hours either side of high water.
Please e-mail me with any sightings, photos, videos at . . . brianfellows@tiscali.co.uk


WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 17 - 2021
The old Spotted Redshank??
Susan Kelly reported seeing a Spotted Redshank feeding in the stream at Nore Barn at 8.45 this morning close to the bridge. This could be the new Spotted Redshank which we have already seen, but more significantly Susan added that the bird was 'unbothered by passers-by' which is exactly the behaviour one would expect from the old Spotted Redshank. We must investigate this further.

 

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 11 - 2021
A new Spotted Redshank
Yesterday (Nov 10) Tony Gray got some excellent photos and a video of a Spotted Redshank at Nore Barn. Tony's photos convince me that this is not the same bird that I have been watching and recording for the past 17 years. The new bird looks bright and sharp and could be a juvenile, even an offspring of the regular Spotted Redshank?

Its behaviour is also different from our regular Spotted Redshank as I noted in yesterday's report. As before the bird did not move into the stream to feed with the Greenshank, Common Redshank and Black-tailed Godwits which the regular Spotted Redshank certainly would have done.

Tony observed it for an hour and it stayed put on the edge of the saltmarshes. He thought the bird seemed tentative about joining the others in the stream which is not the behaviour we would expect of the regular Spotted Redshank which has been so tame and unfazed with people and dogs nearby. Tony's photos and an excellent video of the new bird can be seen on the Facebook page 'Wildlife in Havant, Hayling and Emsworth'.

I think we can now say with some confidence and sadness that the Spotted Redshank which became such a firm favourite with Emsworth folk and which attracted photographers from around the country has died. It lived for at least 17 years which is a very good age for a Spotted Redshank - maybe a record? I personally became attached to this little bird over the years and always looked forward to its reappearance in October. Yes, I feel a sense of loss, but also gratitude for the interest and pleasure this friendly bird has given to so many people. Sorry I am anthropomorphising. I will leave my special web page as a tribute to this remarkable bird. He was undoubtedly THE Emsworth Spotted Redshank!


MONDAY NOVEMBER 8 - 2021
Nore Barn
11am. Tide rising to high water at 13.30. Conditions were ideal for the Spotted Redshank! I met Peter Milinets-Raby who had just come from the eastern Emsworth Harbour where he saw a Spotted Redshank fly towards Nore Barn so he came over to have a look. With our scopes we quickly located a Spotted Redshank sitting in rising water in the bay with a Common Redshank and a few Black-tailed Godwits nearby. Meanwhile, Peter counted 163 Brent Geese, 119 Wigeon, c100 Black-tailed Godwits and 2 Turnstone.
When Peter left I walked down to the stream to wait for birds to turn up. I noticed someone had constructed a dam with stones across the top of the stream, not seriously blocking the flow of water. The only bird to arrive was a Common Redshank.

So, I walked a little way round the shore and found the Spotted Redshank on the far edge of the saltmarshes together with a Black-tailed Godwit.

I watched it for about 15 minutes as it moved a little way along the shore to rest behind some grasses, but it went no further. Then, at about 11.35 it flew off heading south towards Hayling Island. Now, our Spotted Redshank would certainly have moved into the stream to feed, so my hunch is that this was a visiting birds and not our regular one. But I shall keep checking. We have often had extra Spotted Redshanks turn up at Nore Barn over the years, so today's bird was not totally unexpected. However, it was our first Spotted Redshank at Nore Barn this season, so let's keep looking.
When I left the tide had filled the stream; the lone Common Redshank was snoozing on the edge of the saltmarshes.


WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 27 - 2021
Nore Barn
13.45. Tide rising to HW in 2 hours. I stayed for about 30 mins watching the stream slowly fill up on a neap tide.
The only birds in the stream during the time I was there were a few Black-headed Gulls, a pair of Mute Swans, a Little Egret, two Black-tailed Godwits (juveniles) and a Common Redshank.

Surprisingly, the regular colour-ringed Greenshank (G+GL) was not present. Here's one I took last week.

No sign of the Spotted Redshank. I am feeling on edge, but it is not too late for this famous bird to turn up for its 18th winter. Two of the first sighting dates over the past 3 years have been right at the end of October: 31-Oct in 2019 and 30-Oct in 2018. So there's still time.

 


For other sightings and photos go to . . . Spotted Redshank Home Page