Weston shore, Southsea Castle and Titchfield Haven, Hampshire

The first proper days birding of 2025 started strangely.  It was still very cold and frosty but gone was the blue skies of yesterday, replaced with ashen grey skies, but still quite calm.  The night before I thought I had arranged to meet Ian at the Weston Shore in Southampton.  I turned up fifteen minutes early, got out the 'scope and tripod and started to scan the still waters.  The tide was out and I immediately found a Great Northern Diver on the far side of Southampton Water, too far for the camera.  Scanning around there were also quite a few Great Crested Grebes and Brent Geese.

I found a Slavonian Grebe, relatively close when you consider the position of the other birds, but again only good enough for a record shot.

Scanning further I found another Great Northern Diver, the bonus of a Black-throated Diver, the white patch at the rear showing well and eventually the Red-necked Grebe over the other side in front of Hythe marina.  

Job done, but where was Ian.  I looked at my phone and there was a message from Ian.  We had both made mistakes, I assumed Weston, Ian assumed meeting at Southsea for the Purpled Sandpipers.  I checked Google, 30 minutes to Southsea, I had cleaned up here so decided to drive over to Southsea.

It was indeed 30 minutes and I parked and then walked around the castle to the esplanade.  I found Ian and he had found three Purple Sandpipers asleep on the rocks close to the water's edge.

Two at first

But then joined by the other, all quite comfortable amongst the rocks.

We went for a walk around the castle and down to the Blue Reef.  We were now looking for Black Redstart and as we walked back to the castle, Ian found it searching for food under the seats at the top of the castle walls.

This is the immature male I saw back in December, it has the distinctive white patch in the wings, but as yet doesn't have the grey black plumage of the male.

It jumped up to the wall and the breeze that had picked up showed the black feathers underneath the grey brown colour of the plumage.

It then dropped off the wall and we lost it for awhile, but relocated it on the steps leading up from the grass.

From there back up to the wall by the seats and sat nicely for us.

Nice foreground and background.

Then some lovely views.

It then dropped off the wall once more and away across the open ground.  The tide was rising and it was about two and a half hours before high tide.  We went back to the rocks to see if the rising tide was forcing the Purple Sandpipers close to us on the esplanade.

They were still there but the waves crashing on the rocks was splashing the sandpipers and they were indeed moving now.

But the movement was to search for somewhere with shelter so they could go back to sleeping.

The ridges in the these rocks was useful fro providing grip, away from the ridges they were finding it slippery.

A snooze amongst the limpets.

Whilst there wasn't that much action it was a chance to capture the Purple Sandpipers in their environment amongst the rocks.

This is why it is not as straight forward in finding them now as it was before the works started.

With all three together once more and asleep this was the last shot.

It was cold, the wind had picked up from the east.  We debated where to go, Hayling was a possibility, but we felt it might be very unpleasant in the cold wind at high tide.  Eventually we decided that the best place to be would be the hides at Titchfield, so we headed there.

Walking around to the visitor centre the tide was very high and we could see the high tide roost on the shingle spit.  Sanderling and a Ringed Plover were visible.

We walked around to the Meon Shore Hide.  In Duck Bay there were quite a few Common Gulls and where the water was ice free, Shoveler and Teal close to the reeds on the right hand side.

Entering the hide, a female Marsh Harrier hunting over the reeds at the back of the scrape.

Coming in over the reeds, head down scanning.

Most of the south scrape was frozen, there was some open water in front of the hide and a patch leading from the right hand side across the scrape.

Settling down a Water Rail flew across in front of us, never pausing long enough to use the camera.

The islands were empty as the Oystercatcher and Lapwing choose to stand on the ice together.

The ice though was providing some entertainment.  The Moorhen came out of the reeds on the right and looked to make there way across the ice to the island in front of the hide.  They then decided to leave and head to the reeds on the left hand side.  It was icy and they struggled to keep their feet so flapped their wings to balance, the wind then caught the wings and the shot across the ice like kite surfers.

A couple of Shelduck were flying around the scrape.

Snipe island had been empty, but two Snipe flew in and buried themselves amongst the dead reed stems.

The Shelduck then dropped on to the ice in front of the hide.  And found moving quite difficult.  I am not sure if the Shelduck was drinking when it put its bill on the ice or it was using its bill to stabilise it as it moved.

Some stills of the Shelduck.

A surprise was a couple of Bearded Tits that flew from right to left and then back, in front of the hide, again much to quick but clear views.

Out over the reeds we saw a single Kestrel, three Buzzards and the possibly two Marsh Harriers.  Something happened at the Frying Pan and all the duck flew towards the scrape.  These Wigeon tried to land on the ice.

Unfortunately they were not happy and were soon off, flying around the scrape before heading back towards the Frying Pan.

The Wigeon were joined by a large flock of Teal, that did exactly the same as the Wigeon.

A Grey Heron flew onto the scrape and we hoped we might get to see it try and land on the ice, but it avoided the embarrassment and disappeared behind the reeds.

Finally it was left to the Moorhen once more to show what should have been done.

It was still cold but the strong easterly wind was blowing the open water in a channel across the ice and opening up the scrape.  However we didn't believe this would change our fortunes, so we decided to call it a day and headed home.  Snow was forecast later in the afternoon and I didn't want to risk getting caught.

3rd January - Itchen Navigation, Winchester, Hampshire

Happy New Year!

My New Year birding was put on hold for a few days, but Helen and I did managed a walk along the Itchen Navigation.  The weather was absolutely lovely, cold, frosty and with that beautiful azure blue sky and a very low sun.  Before we left home, here is some taste of what the morning was like, the frost touching the edge of one of my garden ornaments.

From the high street we followed the river down to the mill and then around to the sports ground where the fiercely flowing Itchen turns into a calm chalk steam, meandering along.  The path comes alongside the water, the vegetation on the bank was covered in frost and where pieces of chalk were exposed they were covered in ice as the cold forced the absorbed water out of the rock

Just after I took this photograph I disturbed a Kingfisher and it flew across the river and unfortunately out of sight.  Walking on a Green Woodpecker called and flew across the river towards the sports ground.

You can almost feel the cold in this view along the river.

The trees along the path forming a lovely frame for the blue sky and water.

The water temperature was warmer than the surrounding air and a layer of mist was just above the stream as the water warmed the cold air and condensed what water there was in it.

Some beautiful reflections from the surrounding trees.

The path then rises above the navigation canal.  Once upon a time you could walk alongside the edge of the water, but the trail has fallen away in places and it is a very difficult path.

The Itchen Navigation is a 10.4-mile disused canal system in Hampshire, that provided an important trading route from Winchester to the sea at Southampton for about 150 years. Improvements to the River Itchen were authorised by act of parliament in 1665, but progress was slow, and the navigation was not declared complete until 1710. It was known as a navigation because it was essentially an improved river, with the main river channel being used for some sections, and cuts with locks used to bypass the difficult sections. Its waters are fed from the River Itchen. It provided an important method of moving goods, particularly agricultural produce and coal, between the two cities and the intervening villages.

In the 1960s, the value of the towpath as a leisure amenity began to be recognised. The deputy county clerk for Hampshire walked along the towpath from end to end in 1966, together with members of the Ramblers Association. He decided that rather than challenge the legality of the towpath diversions, he would invite the local authorities through which the navigation ran to assume responsibility for maintaining the towpath.

Eventually the path comes out of the trees and falls away to run alongside the canal, just before a weir.  Here we cam across another Kingfisher perched in the many branches hanging over the canal.

I particularly liked this view across the canal to the tree between the bushes  

The path then heads south and then turns right to cross the water meadows alongside the river Itchen.  We stopped at one point to watch a male Mute Swan evicting what looked like an immature swan that was not part of his family.

After crossing the river we walked through the meadows to the church of St Cross and then alongside one of the many streams going past the sports ground of Winchester College.

Looking to the east here was a lovely view of St Catherine's Hill with its small copse of trees at the top.  Despite it now being midday there were still patches of frost to be see on the grass where the long shadows of the trees and bushes had protected it from the sunshine.

We ended up walking through the courtyard of Winchester Cathedral and back through the high street.  As we came through the cathedral I was reminded of the Peregines I had watched last year and hoped that maybe this year they will be more successful and raise some young.