MONDAY
DECEMBER 31 - 2018
Emsworth
walk
This morning's
constitutional walk took me round the town millpond,
down to Slipper Millpond and back through Brook
Meadow. The only observations worthy of a mention were
a single Lapwing sporting a wispy crest in the town
channel near the quay and a Grey Heron taking a snooze
on the raft on Peter Pond.
SATURDAY
DECEMBER 29 - 2018
Warblington
to Nore Barn
The Havant
Wildlife Group walked from Warblington to Nore Barn.
Here they are assembled on the seat at Nore
Barn.
They had some good
sightings including Green Woodpecker and Redwing
There were a number of
egrets in a field at Warblington Farm including one
Cattle Egret.
For the full report go
to . . . http://familyfellows.com/hwg-walk-reports-2018.htm
The
Fox and the Harrier
Derek Mills
got these cracking images from the Havant Wildlife
Group's walk a week before Christmas showing a Fox
jumping to try to bring down a Marsh Harrier that was
mobbing it - it failed!
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 27 - 2018
Black
Swan in harbour
Jean and I had
a walk round the town millpond this morning. There was
nothing of special interest on the pond. However, we
found a single Black Swan in the low water channel
beneath the quay, trying unsuccessfully to make
friends with the local Mute Swans.
We usually do get a
visit from Black Swans at this time of the year; last
winter during December 2017 we had up to three of them
in the harbour, and occasionally on the millponds, so
there may well be others around this year too.
In the winter before that, we had a long staying
family of six Black Swans which were ever present in
Emsworth Harbour from Jan 27 until Mar 11. I
discovered that these birds came from a nest site at
Riverside Park on the River Itchen in Southampton.
FRIDAY
DECEMBER 21 - 2018
Brook
Meadow flood
I had an
e-mail from Pam Phillips this morning to say the south
meadow was partly flooded and impassable. I went over
later to check it out. The first flood of the winter.
At least, the new Environment Agency flood warning
notice is now doing its job!
The River Ems is
running high under the south bridge.
First
Celandine
Coming home
though Bridge Road car park I spotted a yellow flower
of Lesser Celandine (just one) glistening in the
bright sunshine of the year on the wayside - the first
of the winter and a sign of spring? After all, it is
the shortest day of the year, which presumably means
summer is on the way!
Two trees at the
northern end of the car park have large growths of
Mistletoe - one of which (on a Hawthorn) is right next
to a Christmas tree aka Norway Spruce - a nice
seasonal combination.
Spotted
Redshank at Cobnor
Sue Thomas
says . . . "the
pools at Cobnor Point were full of birds at high tide
today. All alone was this bird. It has very prominent
white markings on its head around the bill and eye. Do
you think it's a spotted redshank?"
Not much doubt about
that Sue. Spot on I would say. How nice to see another
Spotshank away from Nore Barn.
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 20 - 2018
Brook
Meadow workday
I went over to
Brook Meadow this morning for the final conservation
work session of 2018. The weather was fine and sunny
and fairly warm, though very wet underfoot from recent
rain. There was a good attendance of 14 volunteers led
by Jennifer Rye in the yellow jacket.
The main task was to
trim the two laid hedges, one on the Seagull Lane
patch and the other on the west side of the north
meadow. This work was largely supervised by Mike who
was responsible for the original laying.
Video clip of hedge
trimming . . . https://youtu.be/tWK2JyR8k28
Colin supervised some
tree lopping aided by Thomas and Terry. Meanwhile
Nigel and Maurice used the power scythe to clear
excess vegetation from around the hedges and the tall
Black Poplar trees. The session finished early at
11.30 for the traditional Christmas
celebrations.
Dan provided hot
mulled wine laced liberally with brandy with which we
had mince pies and stollen.
Video clip of the Xmas
celebration . . . https://youtu.be/SZqwSw2VQ3o
Jennifer's full report
of the work session along with lots more photos can be
seen on the Brook Meadow web site
Go to . . . https://www.brookmeadow.org.uk/conservation-news/
Wildlife
observations
Song Thrush
and Great Tit were singing strongly for the first time
this winter, along with the regular Robin. I also
heard a short burst from a Blackbird.
Our best find of the morning was a perfect Song
Thrush nest which was revealed during the trimming
of the laid Hawthorn hedge near the west side
plantation. We all admired its perfect round
structure, well laced with small twigs and lined
smoothly inside with mud. Song Thrushes do not line
their nests with grass, moss, etc, as do most other
birds. In the photo, the small greenish objects in the
nest are not eggs! They are a seedling shooting.
Finally, The Winter
Heliotrope flowers are now at their best along the
river bank.
Note
on Winter Heliotrope
Winter
Heliotrope (Petasites fragrans) is in
the same family as Butterbur (Petasites
hybridus), both of which we have on Brook
Meadow. Unlike Butterbur which is native to this
country, Winter Heliotrope was introduced here in the
early part of the 19th century from North Africa. This
accounts for its winter flowering, whereas Butterbur
flowers in the spring. It is thought that Winter
Heliotrope was introduced by beekeepers as an early
pollen and nectar source for bees as it its flowers
are highly aromatic. It quickly escaped and is now
firmly established as a wild flower in this
country.
Winter Heliotrope is dioecious, with male and female
flowers being borne on separate plants. However, as
with many alien arrivals in the British Isles which
find themselves in a less than optimum environment,
Winter Heliotrope was not able to flower properly and
has never produced seed in the wild. It reproduces
entirely vegetatively through its long rhizomes, an
ecological strategy which has enabled it to spread and
multiply.
The complete absence of female plants in the British
Isles is puzzling. It is possible that female plants
could have been selectively removed by beekeepers to
promote the fragrant male plants which have pollen and
nectar to attract to bees. Female plants have no
scent, pollen or nectar. The propagation and spread of
Winter Heliotrope would not have been hindered by this
sexual selection as they reproduce very well
vegetatively, without the need for sex!
Stace and Crawley: 'Alien Plants' state " . . .as far
as we are aware female plants do not occur anywhere in
Europe, either wild or cultivated,. It seems highly
like that is a native of North Africa and alien in the
whole of Europe". P.259.
Langstone
Mill Pond
Yesterday,
Peter Milinets-Raby visited Langstone Mill Pond (from
9am to 9:55am - tide in). His report follows:
The pond held 40+ Mallard, 4 Coot, 6+ Moorhen, a
Kingfisher and a single Teal.
On the flooded paddock were 33 Teal, 4 Wigeon, 5
Pheasant and a single Redshank.
Off shore were 48 Shelduck, 12 Wigeon, 3 Great Crested
Grebe and 8 Red Breasted Merganser.
On the way home, at 10am for an hour I visited the
Bedhampton Mill Pond or as I like to call it Bidbury
Mill Pond. Disappointing really, as this pond used to
hold 10+ Coot, 16+ Mallard, 10+ Gadwall, 8+ Tufted
Duck, 3+ Little Grebes, Kingfisher etc, Today it only
had 4 Coot, 6 Mallard, a single Little Grebe and a
juvenile Ferruginous Duck. Great views as it
actively dived for an hour before wandering into a
corner of the pond that was out of view. Peter's
record shot.
Avocets
at Salterns
Eric Eddles
has had a wonderful week for Avocets at Salterns quay
in Portsmouth. He had a maximum of 12 yesterday.
Hazel
catkins
Tony Wootton
got the first Hazel catkins in flower on the Hay long
Billy Line today. Nice to see Tony also captured a
tiny red female flower in his photo. This is not
particularly early for catkins, Ralph Hollins
regularly used to see them in December.
Havant
Borough Council Environmental Survey
Ray Cobbett of
Friends of the Earth provides the latest news . . .
Members
may recall that we've been working with local
environmentalists on putting pressure on Havant
council officers to update its biodiversity action
plan (BAP) as part of the work in progress on the
Council's Local Plan. After being advised in October
that they hadn't got time to engage with the local
conservationists on the shaping of the new BAP we set
about organising an online opinion survey to which
many of the 670 who responded were members of FOE and
22 other local nature groups. We presented the results
of the survey at an open meeting last month at which
Dr David Rumble from the Hampshire Wildlife Trust was
the main speaker. Earlier this week the News ran a
full page article about that meeting. We are still
working to get sight of the council's current work on
the BAP and will provide a further update in the New
Year
Here is the link to
the report . . . http://www.havantfoe.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Havant-Natural-Environment-Survey-Results-Report-2018.pdf
and to the News
article. . . . https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/plea-to-save-hampshire-s-wildlife-as-stats-reveal-decline-in-birds-and-garden-creatures-1-8741501
MONDAY
DECEMBER 17 - 2018
Glorious
Emsworth
What a
difference a day makes. After such a ghastly weekend
weather-wise, this morning was glorious, the sun was
shining, there was no wind and not a cloud in the sky,
perfick! as Pop Larkins would have put it.
The Millpond was, living up to its name, just like a
millpond. The Swan pair was swanning around as if they
owned the place. They do! Also on the pond, just
visiting for the winter, were 46 Coot, but there was
no sign of any Goosander or even Red-breasted
Merganser which would be very welcome guests. There
was another 36 Coot in the main harbour, making a
grand total of 62, a fair winter gathering, though not
exceptional.
Colour-ringed
Greenshank RG+BY (Left leg: red over green. Right
leg: blue over yellow) was feeding busily in the small
outflow channel from the southern end of the millpond
close to the Emsworth Sailing Club building.
This Greenshank is an
old friend. Ringed over 5 years ago on 19-Mar-13 by
Pete Potts and his team on Thorney Island, it has been
seen regularly in Emsworth Harbour each winter since
then. It was one of the birds fitted with a geolocator
to track its movements; although this device was
removed a couple of years ago we are still awaiting
the results! Where exactly does the bird go in the
summer?
A little later I found the same Greenshank feeding in
the low water channel near Emsworth Quay in company
with a Common Redshank.
I stopped to chat to a
couple who were birdwatching from the millpond
seawall. They were not experienced birders, so I was
able to point out some of the less obvious wintering
birds, such as a Grey Plover on the edge of the
channel and a pair of Gadwall sailing down the main
channel. We spent an enjoyable few minutes watching a
Turnstone on the shore right in front of us busily
flicking over bits of seaweed in its search for food.
Such an active and delightful little bird, but all on
its own.
I got a short video
clip of Turnstone in action. The music in the
background is Beethoven's 6th which I was playing on
my iPhone as I walked round the pond. It adds to the
pleasure. Go to . . . . https://youtu.be/y6B_CzWXNQc
Warblington
shore
Peter
Milinets-Raby visited the Warblington shore this
lunchtime !2:25pm to 2:30pm - tide out:
Ibis Field: 3 Green Sandpipers dashing about, chasing
each other, with lots of calling and even feeding in
the muddy bits of the field - great stuff (see photo).
7 Little Egrets - the
hardest thing to photograph in bright sunshine, trying
to get the exposure correct (see photo - one of only
about four that were ok of 300+ pics - hard work!!) 1
Buzzard over. 3 Song Thrush
Conigar Point: 8 Red
Breasted Merganser, 15 Shelduck, 5 Grey Plover, 75
Brent Geese.
Off Pook Lane: Amazingly 3 Avocets feeding along the
tide line - Always a pleasure to see!
12 Grey Plover, 10 Red Breasted Merganser, 2 Great
Crested Grebe, 83 Shelduck, 90 Teal, 371 Brent Geese,
100+ Dunlin, 20 Wigeon.
Cattle
Egrets at Warblington
Peter
Milinets-Raby provides the low down on the Cattle
Egrets at Warblington.
A single bird has been present since late November and
from early December two birds have been present.
They have alas been favouring the field to the west of
the cress beds, which is deep within the farm complex
and can not be viewed from any public footpaths. This
is the current field of choice of the farmer to
release his herd after milking. The birds have very
occasionally been seen in the Ibis Field and once or
twice have wandered to the fields by Pook Lane.
And, here comes the great news! Since the weekend, the
farmer has started to release part of his herd after
milking into the fields by Pook Lane. It is thus only
a matter of time before the egret flock (currently
consisting of 7 to 11 Little Egrets and 2 Cattle
Egrets) will move into these fields and thus become
visible to the general public.
Today, alas, the birds were still happily feeding in
the field by the cress beds with only a small number
of cows. With permission I managed to grab the
attached photo.
Chris Barry was also
at Warblington Farm today and managed to get a distant
shot of a single Cattle Egret with two Little Egrets
feeding appropriately close to cattle. The Cattle
Egret is on the far left.
I am grateful to Chris
for providing a map showing the location of the Cattle
Egret that he saw which as shown was in what Peter
Milinets-Raby calls 'the Ibis field' as several years
ago it housed a Glossy Ibis (Feb-Mar 2013). As Peter
said in his report, the cattle are being moved into
the fields by Pook Lane so they should be easier to
see. Pook Lane is on the far left of Chris's map. I
would be grateful for any more reports and photos.
FRIDAY
DECEMBER 14 - 2018
Langstone
Mill Pond
It was sunny
for a short while as Peter Milinets-Raby visited
Langstone Mill Pond this morning from 9am to 11:15am -
low tide.
It then clouded
over
Off shore: 268 Dunlin,
9 Grey Plover, 109 Shelduck - a very good count - just
a few shy of the maxima over the last six years, 33
Wigeon, 161 Teal (see photo), 4 Lapwing, 432 Brent
Geese, 2 Sandwich Tern, 17 Red Breasted Merganser, 2
male and 1 female Pintail, 2 Greenshank in the pond
outflow (Usual colour ringed bird G//R + BR//-), 4
Great Crested Grebes.
On the pond: 3 Little
Grebes - wow three?? Usually only the one! 8 Teal, 1
Water Rail dashing along the edge of the reeds.
Perched Kingfisher (See photo with grebe underneath -
such a rare sight in the pond area to have one perched
- they always dash about and hardly let you see them).
Garden
birds
While waiting
for a bricklayer to arrive to repair the garden wall,
I relaxed in the back room watching birds flocking to
the feeders. Over a period of about an hour I counted
12 House Sparrows, 1 Chaffinch (a rare sighting these
days), 2 Great Tits, 1 Blue Tit, 2 Long-tailed Tits, 1
Robin (trying desperately to cling on to the feeder),
2 Dunnock (tail wagging in courtship), a male Great
Spotted Woodpecker, 2 Magpies, 4 Starlings and 3
Collared Doves. Best of all was a pair of tiny
Goldcrests actively feeding in the tall Silver Birch
tree that overlooks the garden - the first since Nov
2017. PS The bricklayer did not turn up!
TUESDAY
DECEMBER 11 - 2018
Warblington
shore
Peter
Milinets-Raby reports . . .
Another glorious sunny morning. I concentrated on the
Warblington shore this morning 9:05am to 11:45am - low
tide.
Ibis Field: Water Rail heard, 1 Redwing, 4 Little
Egrets (see photo), 1 male and 3 female Pheasant, 1
Green Sandpiper flew off the water cress beds, circled
around and landed out of sight. 34 Skylark and 25+
Linnet in the big field to the east of the Ibis Field.
Mini reed-bed behind
Conigar Point: 1 female Reed Bunting (see photo), 1
Water Rail heard.
Conigar Point: 12 Grey
Plover, 6 Shelduck, 89 Brent Geese, 1 Teal, 15 Dunlin,
1 Great Crested Grebe.
Off Pook Lane: 1 male Goldeneye, 3 Red Breasted
Merganser, 17 Dunlin, 57 Shelduck, 121 Brent Geese, 9
Wigeon, 31 Teal, 18 Black-tailed Godwits, 11 Grey
Plover, 79 Lapwing, 1 Greenshank, 5 Golden Plover
(first of the winter), 5 Stock Dove, 10 Curlew in the
field by the barn.
And finally the best birds of the day (new site tick
for me) were a flock of 6 Egyptian Geese that
flew north inland over the Warblington castle tower.
Nore
Barn
I walked over
to Nore Barn. What a morning. Is this really December?
There were plenty of birds in the harbour with the
tide rising, including Wigeon and Brent Geese, the
latter's croaking calls creating a fine atmosphere.
The Spotted Redshank
was in the stream along with a couple of Black-tailed
Godwits, but no Greenshank today. Nice reflections.
MONDAY
DECEMBER 10 - 2018
Emsworth
to Warblington
Peter
Milinets-Raby had a wander along the shore from
Emsworth to Warblington as the tide pushed in this
morning (9:15am to 11:45am). Here are his observations
and counts.
Beacon Square: 108 Brent Geese, 2 Shelduck, 24
Wigeon, 3 Turnstone, 1 Dunlin.
Emsworth Harbour: 13 Grey Plover, 312 Dunlin, 9
Black tailed Godwit, 8 Red Breasted Merganser, 10
Turnstone, 1 Greenshank, 6 Lapwing, 99 Brent Geese, 26
Coot, 18 Teal. a pair of Gadwall, 6 Shelduck, 1 Little
Grebe.
On the Mill Pond: 34 Coot, 1 Little Grebe, 1
Grey Wagtail.
Nore Barn: 180 Brent Geese, 58 Black tailed
Godwit, 7 Grey Plover, 225 Wigeon, 49 Teal, 3
Shelduck,
1 Greenshank (G//R + GL//-) and 1 Spotted Redshank in
stream along with 3 manic dogs, a mum with her toddler
daughter padding and two photographers with cameras
with enormous lens's. Brutal disturbance, but the
birds stayed in the stream.
3 Black-tailed Godwits did flush from the stream.
Warblington: 6 Little Egrets, 1 Jay.
Conigar Point - tide now too high: 165 Brent
Geese, 13 Shelduck, 15 Wigeon.
On the last bit of mud out in the channel resting were
342 Dunlin, 51 Grey Plover and 1 Lapwing.
Off Pook Lane: 41 Wigeon, 2 Sandwich Tern
resting on buoys, 20 Curlew on field south of the
cemetery, 1 Great Crested Grebe.
Brian's
notes:
Peter's count of 60 Coot in the harbour and on the
town millpond indicates the arrival of wintering
birds. We often get a fairly large flock of Coot in
Emsworth in winter, sometimes 150+, so numbers could
continue to rise as winter kicks in.
Here is a shot I
got of about 40 Coot near Emsworth Quay in 2010.
The Spotted Redshank
and Greenshank at Nore Barn are well adapted to dogs,
children and inconsiderate photographers. They ignore
them unless the intruders get too close. If that
happens they move away a short distance before
returning when the coast is clear. Even so, people
should respect migrant birds and not disturb them when
they are feeding. What is amazing is that the Spotted
Redshank still attrracts photographers looking for an
easy shot after 15 years!
Spotted Redshank
feeding in the Nore Barn stream
SATURDAY
DECEMBER 8 - 2018
Millpond
News
Yesterday,
Susan Kelly saw five Red-breasted Mergansers on the
town millpond in foul, foul weather. The two original
pairs, plus another with indeterminate plumage, maybe
a juvenile?
This is the four
I saw on Thursday
Susan also saw two
adult pairs of Tufted Ducks on the pond, and a little
grebe in the harbour.
I went down to Slipper
Millpond this morning where the regular Mute Swan
family of 2 adults and 3 cygnets was swimming around
near the Hermitage Bridge.
A Great Black-backed
Gull was settled on the south raft - probably one of
the pair that have nested there for the past 7 years.
I counted 8 Cormorants, mostly resting on the rafts.
PS - Thanks to Dan
Mortimer for helping to update the signcase displays
on Brook Meadow this morning.
Avocets
at Nutbourne
Tony Wootton
and the Havant Wildlife Group saw approx 50 Avocets in
Nutbourne Bay this morning.
For Tony's full report
and more photos go to . . . http://familyfellows.com/hwg-walk-reports-2018.htm
THURSDAY
DECEMBER 6 - 2018
Mergansers
on millpond
I walked
around the millpond this morning at about 11am to
check the two pairs of Red-breasted Mergansers that
Susan Kelly and Tony Wootton told me about yesterday.
They were still there, swimming and diving for food in
the southern part of the pond near the Slipper Sailing
club. Lovely to watch. Red-breasted Mergansers are
regular winter visitors to Emsworth Millpond, but
these are the first of this winter. The male on the
left in the photo is displaying to the females.
See short video clip .
. . https://youtu.be/cX8MCA1yvVs
I also found a
single female Tufted Duck on the northern section of
the pond.
WEDNESDAY
DECEMBER 5 - 2018
Mergansers
on millpond
Susan Kelly
and Tony Wootton separately reported two pairs of
Red-breasted Mergansers on the town millpond this
morning. These handsome birds are regular winter
visitors to Emsworth Millpond, but these are the first
of this winter. Here is a photo of a pair taken a
couple of years ago.
TUESDAY
DECEMBER 4 - 2018
Brook
Meadow
It was a
beautiful morning for a walk through the meadow. The
slightly melancholy winter songs of Robins were heard
in several locations. A Little Egret was
fishing in the river near the north bridge and
caught a couple of fish while I was watching. Here's a
short video clip I managed to get of this fine bird in
action. . . . https://youtu.be/AOEOo2ed04Y
I was interested
to see the Meadowsweet still in flower in the
centre meadow just below the main path.
I also noted Hogweed,
Wild Angelica and White Dead-nettle and a splendid
example of late Cocksfoot.
In addition there is
plenty of flowers on the Gorse bush on the
causeway near the Lumley gate.
Other flowers noted on
my walk included a few bright yellow flowers of Autumn
Hawkbit
and Pellitory-of-the-wall with hints of
flowers.
Early this afternoon,
I was pleased to meet up with Dan Mortimer who has
agreed to help to with the signcase updating. Today we
had a trial run of the procedure which worked
perfectly. Dan opened each of the three signcases and
removed the display boards. He then delivered them to
me at my house where I will update the displays in the
next day or two. Then, probably at the weekend, Dan
will collect the boards from me and replace them in
the signcases. Thanks, Dan. That is a great help.
Emsworth
Harbour
Peter
Milinets-Raby visited the Emsworth area as the tide
fell (11:35am to 12:50pm).
Here are his
observations:
Beacon Square: 230 Brent Geese, 4 Grey Plover, 95
Dunlin, 3 Turnstone, 7 Teal, 82 Wigeon.
Emsworth Harbour: 8 Coot, 2 Lapwing, 10 Little Grebe,
1 Turnstone, 222 Dunlin, 18 Grey Plover, 132 Brent
Geese.
Mill Pond: 31 Coot,1 Little Grebe.
Nore Barn: 34 Brent Geese, 76 Wigeon, 11 Teal, 1 Grey
Wagtail, 19 Black-tailed Godwit, 1 Spotted Redshank in
the stream with 1 Greenshank (G//R + GL//-), 2
Shelduck, 1 Dunlin.
MONDAY
DECEMBER 3 - 2018
Warblington
Peter
Milinets-Raby visited Warblington in the late morning
(!0:38am to Noon - tide beginning to drop). What a
windy day - blowing the air out of your lungs!
Ibis Field:3 female Pheasant, 7 Little Egrets, with 4
in the field next door. 2 Green Woodpecker in
cemetery.
Conigar Point: 7 Teal,
76 Wigeon, 175 Brent Geese, 76 Dunlin, 7 Shelduck, 1
Red Breasted Merganser.
Off Pook Lane: 274 Brent Geese, 2 Wigeon, 14 Dunlin, 2
Red Breasted Merganser. And my first Goldeneye
(male) of the winter.
SUNDAY
DECEMBER 2 - 2018
Brook
Meadow Workday
I went to the
meadow at 10am this morning mainly to take photos of
the regular 1st Sunday in the month conservation work
session. Very mild temperature, no rain, but wet
underfoot. Maurice Lillie led the session with a good
turn out of volunteers.
Main jobs. 1. cutting
the path round the back of the Gwynne Johnson Rowan
plantation which I had suggested. This has greatly
improved access to the trees for management and opened
up this beautiful plantation for general viewing.
Here is Tony
trimming brambles on the path around the Rowans.
2. Trimming off
branches overhanging paths - led by Colin
3. Mowing and clearing
a bit more of the orchid area.
This is a good idea as the orchids are spreading
outside the boundaries of the original area.
4. Building a
hibernaculum for reptiles in the south east corner -
led by Jennifer.
I came across another
fairly mature young Oak tree with retained leaves
(marcescence)
on the east side of the north meadow (south)
SATURDAY
DECEMBER 1 - 2018
Short-eared
Owls
Christopher
Evans says the Short-eared Owls are appearing at
Thornham Point quite regularly both early in the
morning and late afternoon. This photo was taken down
by the Deeps as the light was fading in the field in
front of the bungalows.
Nore
Barn
Christopher
also went to Nore Barn and got shots of a juvenile
Brent Goose (one of the few this year), a Black-tailed
Godwit
and the Spotted
Redshank in the stream.
For
the previous entries go to . . November
1-30
