2nd January - Hill Head, Brownwich Cliffs and Warsash, Hampshire

 2021, a new year, but still very much like the old one, the same bad news in the media and cold weather.  But a new year brings optimism despite the gloom that surrounds the world and part of that optimism is the start of a new year list.  I am not an avid lister meaning that I am not twitching, but will always keep a list for life, the county my patch at home in Four Marks, the garden and of course the year.

Today it was back to Hill Head where I had hoped for a sun rise like last time, but it wasn't to be.  I was greeted with dull, overcast conditions and a cold northerly wind, which to be fair was much better than the weather that I had left behind in Four Marks, quite persistent rain that only stopped once I passed under the M27.

A large raft of Brent Geese were just off shore and twelve Eider could be seen on the exposed shingle as it was a low tide.  Scanning at distance I picked up a group of Common Scoter.  Great Crested Grebes flew past in numbers of five and six, all heading into the area around the Darling Bouy, The numbers have significantly increased over the last few weeks, I counted 54 on Wednesday and there was another count of 80 at the end of the year.

The Eider finally moved from the shingle as the tide began to rise.  In the gloom black and white images proved to be the best way of showing them.

A Little Egret flew past, here you get some idea of the light, this being lightened to get the best possible image.

More groups of Common Scoter were found and several could be seen flying west into the bay, unfortunately we could not find any with white wings.  Looking north across the reserve and the river Meon the sky was a little brighter with pockets of pink and yellow appearing as the sun was now up, but behind the clouds to the east.

A female type Marsh Harrier was perched in one of the bushes in the reed bed and of course the Lapwing were circling the scrape along with Shoveler, Teal and Wigeon.  Close to the road on the water there were Gadwall and a few Little Grebes.

Along the beach there were plenty of Turnstone, but no sign of any of the Sanderling that had been about last week.  We decided to walk up to the cliffs at Brownwich, elevation would help scanning the sea.

At the first stop we met up with Mark Francis who pointed out a very distant Guillemot that was extremely hard to pick out and then a Great Northern Diver that didn't stay long, flying off to the west.

We moved on to the next two openings from which we continued to scan the sea, but there was not much else other than considerable congregations of Eider and Common Scoter, the latter again not showing any white in the wings.  Below the number of people on the beach increased significantly as the sun began to show.  This meant there was very little chance of any Sanderling.

Looking East the emerging sun and aspect again created that silver look on the sea.

While straight out you could see the divide between the cloud and the blue sky to the west.

As we decided to leave and head back down to the sea wall I thought I should at least get a record of the many Eider just off shore.

Back on the sea wall a Velvet Scoter was reported but we couldn't find even any Common Scoter from where the cars were parked.  We walked around to the harbour.  At the roost on the beach behind the harbour there were fishermen so there were no waders at all.  In the harbour the Turnstone were lining up on the groyne at the harbour entrance.

There was nothing at the bridge, not even a Little Grebe so we decided to walk back and decide where to go next.  It was very busy again at Hill Head and having decided against the Canal Path we opted for Warsash, where there was the possibility of close diver views and hopefully not so busy.  As we drove along the road leading to Solent Breezes it was clear it was going to be as busy with cars lining the road.  Fortunately there were no cars in the area by the sub station.

After a quick look for the Little Owl around Workman's Lane which resulted in the usual experience but there were Black-tailed Godwits and Curlew in the field behind the tree lined fence.  We headed down to the beach where there were many people but very little else.  The Brent Geese went up over the fields at the back of the reserve.

From out of a completely empty sea and Great Northern Diver appeared, again a distant bird so all we could do is to get a record shot.

There were sleeping Teal on the Meander pools with a single Little Egret, and then up at the scrape there was a single male Pintail and three visible Snipe at the back on the bank.  It was beginning to feel like the last time we had been here in October.  That day it was blue skies, a high tide and very little else.  Still we persevered and walked on to the spit. Here we met a group of birders that pointed out the Bearded Tits were showing well at the sluice

Negotiating our way around dog walkers we stopped at the sluice to scan the reeds.  Last time here we had heard them pinging away but ot seen them.  Today though I picked up one at the top of a reed stem quite high up and showing well.

It was a female and almost immediately we could see that this bird was ringed, the pink rings standing out despite the poor light.

The second bird also a female was feeding from within the reeds, The ringed bird dropped down to join it, not so easy to see or photograph.

The two birds were being very confiding moving from the poor light into good and frequently either coming to the top of the reeds or picking a stem on the outside or one that would drop the bird down like an elevator.

Due to the fact that they are more frequently heard than actually seen and if they are seen it is a glimpse as they fly away with an undulating style over the tops of the reeds or between gaps in the reeds, when one does show well you just shoot away and make the most of it.

Known as a Bearded Tit, due to some similarities with the Long-tailed Tit, and the Bearded Parrotbill, the parrotbill family they were originally placed in, they are now in fact the only member of the Panuridae family which led to them being named Reedling, a name that some use but the commonest is Bearded Tit.  Molecular studies have shown that they are probably more closely related to Larks.

While we were photographing them the most frequent point discussed was "it was a shame they were not males!"  The males have a black malar stripe that resembles a moustache, along with a blue grey head, while the females are much plainer but still manage to display the acrobatics the male does.

Not sure what is going on here.  It seems to have flipped itself over, whether to scratch and preen or to check for predators.

The ringed bird has been present since November and we learnt from the other birders that it had in fact been ringed at Radipole just outside Weymouth.  Other than the rings there was a distinct difference between the two birds, the ringed bird having more distinct darker markings on the orange brown of the back and even the head.  I wondered if this might have been an immature male, but it turns out the juvenile birds moult to adult plumage by October.  Also the juvenile male would have a dark lores and yellow bill while the female would have a yellow bill as both adult birds do.  While most females are plain on the back some can show dark markings.

On Sunday I was sent the details of the ringed bird.  Apparently it was ringed as a female AJE9423 on the 15th November 2020 at Radipole Lake in Weymouth.  Most birds do not migrate other than for eruptive or cold weather.  The birds ringed at Radipole rarely leave although, as well as this one, a bird was reported from Dungeness a few years ago.

A wetland specialist they switch their diet between reed aphids in the spring and summer and then reed seeds in the winter, the digestive system changing to cope with very different seasonal diets.  In winter they can be seen collecting gravel and grit to aid the digestion of the seed.

Every so often they would fly off and you could hear their ping calls from within the reed bed, but then they would return again to feed on the seed heads on the stems that sometimes would drop down close to the water.

Every time they would fly off we would prepare to leave only for them to return or the sun came out to pick them out beautifully.

All the time the Beardies were present there was a Reed Bunting also feeding on the seed heads.  As it worked its way to the top it would be known as "oh no that's the Reed Bunting!".  So I had to get a photograph to confirm its presence.

Finally we managed to drag ourselves away and started the walk back to the cars.  On the scrape there were three Pochard now with the duck and every so often waders would fly past having been disturbed by the walkers along the beach.  One flock was of Dunlin and Ringed Plover but more frequently Turnstone.

The sun was getting low in the sky and once again the clouds were producing some dramatic scenes.  Here with the old Fawley Power Station centre piece.

And a close up of the orange ochre sky behind the pylons leading from the old power station.

The walk through the paddocks produced nothing, and a search around the cottage could not find any Little Owls so normal service has resumed there.  Not a bad start t the year, but after the reports of New Year's Day we did feel a little let down, but great to be out in the sunshine, just wish there were not so many people about.