4th November - Calshot Spit and Shatterford Bottom New Forest, Hampshire

The main purpose for visiting Calshot was of course to see the Boat-tailed Grackle, but as I have mentioned in the previous post there were also others to see while others were entertained by the grackle.  As the grackle hid under boats I was called to the beach where a Red-throated Diver was just off shore.  Red-throated Divers are not always as confiding as there cousins the Great Northern and Black-throated in the winter so this was a great opportunity for a close encounter.

This bird is now in winter plumage, the grey head and neck and then the darker back which has white checkmarks.

As with most divers and grebes the eye is red which apparently helps with sight in the dim water.

The Red-throated Diver is the smallest of the divers we see here in the UK.  All the divers have a similar grey plumage in the winter, the r\ed-throated can be identified ny the appearance of an upturned billm the lower mandible being angled.  They also hold the head high with the bill usually pointing upwards.

It never ceases to amaze me how far they can travel underwater.  Watching this bird it would dive and you think it will appear in a particular spot and it either doubled back on itself or went a lot further.  The tide was coming in, and this probably helped when it went with the tide, but it could still travel a fair way against the tide.

I was trying to get a shot where the diver was just on the crest of the wave, which was not easy in the rough water.

This shows well the upturned beak.

This is my favourite image from the portfolio.

The position of the eyes is almost binocular, which must help when hunting under water.

The closest I got to the crest of a wave photo.

There was other activity on the sea, a large flock of Turnstone were gathered on the beach and they would be disturbed by dog walkers and they would fly back and forth along the beach.

Its no secret I do like a Common Gull and this adult was sat on the water close by.

Then it took flight and flew past me.

It was at this point I returned to the Grackle.  Once having filled the camera with many similar shots I decided to move on.  Before the grackle had appeared I had planned to go looking for the Great Grey Shrike that had been in the Pig Bush area at the end of last week.  Since then it seems it was more reliable in the Shatterford area, so this was where I was headed.

On arrival there was a report that it was showing in the Woodfidley area which was to the south of the Bishop's Dyke that runs through the marsh.  It was a mild morning, the wind blowing from the south bringing unseasonal temperatures, but it was lovely to see the autumn colours of the forest lit up buy the low sunshine.

There was still cotton grass flowering in the marshy area close to the railway bridge.

I carried on all the way down to the second set of bridges that cross the streams in the area know as Woodfidley passage.  Here looking along the line of dead silver birch, where in the past a Great Grey Shrike over wintered.

The report said it was in dead trees behind the lake.  There is a body of water close by, but I wouldn't call it a lake, so I made my way there and came across a small group of birders.  The shrike was on top of one of the dead birch on the other side of the water.

A closer view, the shrike the white dot at the top of the dead tree, the smaller branch amongst a group dead birch just left of centre!

I did though get a closer shot.

This was the first Great Grey Shrike viewable in the forest for a couple of years, the last one present in the winter of 2022/23.  This then was a very welcome bird.

It moved around the area quite frequently, using the vantage points of the dead birch trees.  The closest it managed to get was when it settled on a short stump close to the edge of the water.

Whilst not a shot that would win any prizes it does show nicely the underwing pattern of the shrike.

Some nice autumnal background.

I had been hearing Crossbills fly over and seen a few pass overhead.  One though was calling frequently and had to be perched up.  I scanned the pines nearby and found a nice male bird right at the top of a tree.

The shrike returned to hiding so I decided to make the trek back to the car park.  The clouds were closing in so I decided to head home after a great day.  Wonderful to see the Boat-tailed Grackle, despite its provenance, and to catch up with Great Grey Shrike at last.  The Red-throated Diver and Crossbill were a wonderful bonus.

4th November - Great-tailed Grackle - Calshot Spit, Hampshire

On Sunday afternoon news broke of a Great-tailed Grackle, found around Calshot Castle on Calshot Spit.  This would be a mega first for Great Britain and of course Hampshire, the problem was though this species has never been recognised as a potential vagrant and with the proximity to one of the largest container ports in the world, Southampton it was almost obvious the bird had arrived on a ship.  Great-tailed Grackles are found in central America, I have seen them in Costa Rica, and not the sort of area where many ships would come from, so how did it stow aboard a ship to Southampton.  The debate continued through the day as many managed to see the bird.  For me though I just had to see the photographs and read the debate.

Then overnight into Monday the bird was re-identified as a Boat-tailed Grackle.  The bird's slimmer bill, more rounded head and distinctly softer expression pointed instead to an Atlantic Boat-tailed Grackle, a form of a species confined to the eastern United States.

As a postscript to this on the 19th December the news came through that DNA testing on some poo collected revealed that the Boast-tailed Grackle was in fact a GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE

I couldn't get there on the Monday, but was confident the bird would still be there on the Tuesday.  Sure enough when I got up there was the report that it was still present so I headed straight away to Calshot Spit, a piece of land that sticks out into the western Solent.

It wasn't as busy as I expected and walking to the castle it didn't take long to find the bird as it was perched on a boat with long lenses pointing at it.  It didn't stay long there though and flew to a plastic drum, where there was some food.

Further evidence of the bird being from the east of the range came in the form of the pale yellow irises, which are typical of the Atlantic population (other subspecies exhibit darker eyes). This bird proved extremely confiding, typical behaviour of this bold and adaptable species which is well known for scavenging in urban environments across the US and Central America.  I have experienced the species in the US and Costa Rica where they show no fear of humans.

The occurrence represents the first record of Great-tailed Grackle in Britain. However, given the bird's proximity to one of the country's busiest shipping ports – Calshot Spit lies immediately south of the Port of Southampton – its arrival via boat seems all but certain. As such, the record is expected to fall into Category E when assessed by the relevant committees, which means this will not be accepted as a new British bird.

Never say never though, who knows there may be others and in time could be accepted to category A, so this was an insurance of that occurring and of course the opportunity to enjoy a lovely bird.

A good view of the pale yellow iris, the slim bill and a rounded head.

It was at this point I was distracted by another bird out on the sea, this post will concentrate on the Great-tailed Grackle due to the rarity of this bird in Hampshire.  I will catch up on the rest of the day's action in the next post.

Great-tailed Grackle is a large subtropical grackle found in saltmarsh habitat in the eastern United States. It has adapted well to human habitation, residing in urban areas and scavenging trash. Although largely sedentary throughout its range, some birds from northern portions of the breeding range move south to coastal Virginia and Florida for the winter. 

Extralimital records are rare: one on the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee, is the most notable, with a handful seen on boats off the New Jersey coast. Populations in the Bahamas, New Providence, Nassau and Paradise Island in the West Indies are thought likely to have become established via tour boat.

I came back from the beach to experience the confiding nature of the bird, it coming as close as a couple of feet as it foraged in the grass and around the edges of the RNLI station.

Here it shows off the impressive tail that gives the bird its name.

It moved to the wooden sleepers that separate the beach and the car park.  I was able to get low to capture these giving an all white background to frame the iridescent plumage.

The tail once again.

It was foraging all the time checking for any opportunities to feed.

Everything was inspected to see if it could be eaten, here a discarded empty packet of cigarettes.

This shows how close the photographers were getting and it wasn't a case of the photographers getting too close, the grackle came to them.

After all the foraging it was time for a drink from a puddle, scooping up the water and swallowing by throwing the head back.

Just after this shot it took off and caught something in midair.

It turned out it had caught a wasp, it manipulated the wasp in its bill to remove the sting and than crushed it and swallowed.

Who knows what will happen to this bird.  I have seen some posts suggesting it should be flown home, I can't see that happening, but again never say never.  It is a shame it will not be accepted as a first British Grackle, the system will, I am sure, not consider it as a category A bird.  Some argue that other small warblers known to have arrived aboard ships have been accepted, the argument for them is that they are proven migratory birds, the grackle is not.

Still I enjoyed the time with it and it was a privilege to see this lovely bird up close on British soil