MONDAY
OCTOBER 31 - 2011
EMSWORTH
HARBOUR
I went round the
harbour this morning with Jane Brook in place of our
regular waysides surveys. Not much happening on the
waysides at present. 10am to 12 noon. Tide rising to
high water at 2pm.
This was Jane's first
harbour bird watch and we managed to see most of the
common species. Plenty of Brent Geese and Black-tailed
Godwits along with good numbers of Redshank, Wigeon
Black-headed Gulls. We had a particularly fine view of
a flock of Godwits flying around and coming down near
Nore Barn.
Four Tufted
Duck, 2 males and 2 females, were on the town
millpond, which is the most so far this winter.
Brent Geese:
Main harbour - 212 with 19 juveniles in families 4, 3,
3, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1 (counted earlier). Nore Barn - 64
with 10 juveniles in families of 5, 3, 2. These will
be included in the Brent Goose Breeding Productivity
Survey as I think they have not been counted before.
My current percentage of juveniles is 13%. It looks
like a good breeding season, but not a bumper one like
2005.
Black-tailed
Godwits: Well spread out around the harbour and
not easy to count. I would estimate around 100 max,
though I was only able to go through relatively small
groups for colour-rings. L+LL, G+WR G+BW ROL+RLR. All
regulars.
Other birds: About 30
Wigeon. 11 Teal in the Nore Barn Woods channel. 18
Shelduck further out.
GODWITS
SPURTING WATER
Anne de Potier has
discovered a likely answer to the puzzle of what the
Black-tailed Godwits were doing apparently 'spurting
water' from their bills at Nore Barn on Oct 25.
It could be due to
something called 'prey transport by surface tension of
water'. Don't ask me what it means but there is a good
link to an article on it which shows a Hudsonian
Godwit seemingly doing exactly the same thing as
ours.
http://www.pbase.com/mbb/prey_transport_by_surface_tension_of_water_
Googling Surface
Tension Transport adds more details, especially
http://slybird.blogspot.com/2007/12/oct-2007-auk-unique-foraging-mechanism.html
If anyone can help to
explain this effect, please get in touch.
SUNDAY
OCTOBER 30 - 2011
EMSWORTH
HARBOUR
Black-tailed
Godwits
Black-tailed Godwit
numbers are certainly on the rise in Emsworth Harbour.
On Saturday morning Richard Somerscocks counted 187 on
the mudflats west of the Sailing Club, the largest
number so far this winter season. They included
colour-ringed regulars RYL+RLY, ROL+RLR, W+WN and G+BW
. Many others had their legs in water.
Richard found a
similar number in the eastern harbour this morning
including G+BG, G+BW, W+WN, ROL+RLR and R+GY. All
regulars in Emsworth this autumn. It is interesting
that we are not getting any new colour-ringed Godwits
despite the actual numbers almost doubling. There was
one other ringed bird but the shot Richard got was
very distant and inconclusive, possibly G+Y(B or G).
We did have just one sighting of G+YB last year, so we
need to keep a look out for it.
Richard's
photo of some Godwits taking off
Other
waders
Other waders seen by
Richard on the eastern side this morning included 5
Greenshank with the regular OO+YY among them.
On the mudflats off Great Deep were the usual flock of
250-300 Golden Plover. Inland there were
several Skylarks as well as a pair of Stonechat and 2
Kingfisher were at Little Deep and another on
its usual perch at Great Deep.
Richard did not see
the Spotted Redshank at Nore Barn, nor did I
when I had a look late this afternoon. Where the heck
has it got to?
OTHER
WILDLIFE NEWS
Roe
Deer
Romney Turner sent me
some more photos from the walk she and Ken had from
Emsworth to Westbourne through the fields on October
25. One was of a group of three Roe Deer which were in
the area of land belonging to Constant Springs to the
north of the footpath to Lumley Mill. Romney says they
looked like mum and twins; "Watched us and had a feed,
we were very quiet, used to wildlife. They eventually
disappeared and it had been lovely to see
them".
Treecreeper
Romney also sent the
following photo of a Treecreeper, not an easy species
to take. The bird was on the path from the end of
Seagull Lane to the A27 underpass just as Romney and
Ken turned right to go up to and through the
underpass. Always a difficult subject to
capture.
Dead
Fox
I was very surprised
and saddened to find a dead fox on the footpath
outside our house this morning, clearly hit by a
passing car during the night. The animal was in
remarkably good condition with no signs of mange which
characterises so many urban foxes.
Avocets
Tony Wootton saw 6
Avocets on Ferry Pond at Pagham Harbour this
afternoon.
WEST
WITTERING
Chris Cope reported on
yesterday's walk by the Havant Wildlife
Group
Report on page . . .
Saturday
walks - reports
GODWIT
FEEDING HABITATS
Pete Potts provided
some very interesting information in reply to my query
as to why the Black-tailed Godwits have moved away
from Fishbourne to Bosham and Nutbourne this year.
"The reason for shifts
in godwit concentrations will be food supply. They
predominantly feed on bivalve molluscs e.g.
Scrobicularia plana. Once they have depleted them in
one area, at least, to a numbers of a certain shell
size that makes it not efficient to continue to feed
there, they move to other places with richer pickings.
Some of the bivalves they favour take several years to
get to a worthwhile size for the godwits to eat; that
is why the godwits vacate an area for a few years till
the crop of molluscs is back to harvestable size once
again. This is a bit over simplified but it is along
the right lines.
Of course, godwits
also eat marine worms but I think the molluscs are a
better source of food energetically than worms on the
inter-tidal. In the winter, during periods of wet
weather, as we know, they rapidly move to favoured wet
grassland sites to eat earth worms and tipulid (crane
fly) larvae forced to close to the surface by
flooding/water logging, e.g. at North Walls Pagham
Harbour, Meon valley at Titchfield Haven, Avon Valley,
Pulborough Brooks, etc.
So, the message is,
all these creeks that godwits use on a cycle,
sometimes with gaps of a few years, are vital to the
species long-term survival. The large number of
potential feeding sites (restaurants) offered in The
Solent's harbours, estuaries and surrounding wet
grassland, make this area such an important place for
godwits to winter and stage on migration.
The survival analysis
done comparing wintering godwits in The Solent and
some east coast estuaries back in Year c.2000 showed
that godwits wintering here at that time had a much
higher annual survival rate than godwits wintering on
Suffolk/Essex coast - Jenny Gill wrote all this up in
her Buffer Effect paper in Nature. Whether this still
holds true with milder winters and shifts in godwit
numbers is not known, but it may well be the case. We
can look at survival rates again and now that we have
good samples marked on Suffolk and in N Kent and we
have enough winters worth of data (i.e. resightings)
we can re-do the survival analysis to see what has
changed. However, the number of available habitats and
proximity of wet grassland to mudflats has not
changed.
PS if anyone is
interested in coming out cannon-netting in The Solent
I am always recruiting new team members and need good
sized teams each time. You are welcome! Pass the
word."
My
follow-up questions
I asked Pete a few
additional questions:
1. How do the Godwits
manage to open the shells under the mud?
A: They don't open the shells. They eat the whole
shell and crush them in their gizzards.
2. Presumably the
molluscs are eaten by other waders too?
A: Yes, probably but different waders eat different
species and different age classes of bivalves and
there is still much to learn.
3. Does the Godwit
consumption of molluscs account for the spurting of
water from their bills which I have observed?
A: Pete had never
heard of that, so I sent him the photo of two
Black-tailed Godwits apparently spurting water from
their bills at Nore Barn on Oct 25. He thought it
might be a world first (!!) and worth a note for
International Wader Study Group Bulletin.
4. There is also a
pattern of Godwit feeding in Emsworth Harbour. What I
have noticed over the years, is that in July-Sept the
Godwits concentrate in the eastern harbour and then
move across to the western harbour from Oct onwards.
Again, due to food supply I assume?
A: Emsworth Harbour local changes are very
interesting; probably just depleting one food supply,
then moving on to another rich picking. Is the roost
site the same when feeding at each site?
SATURDAY
OCTOBER 29 - 2011
EMSWORTH
Emsworth
Millpond
Three Tufted Duck were
on the pond this afternoon, two males and a female.
Numbers should start to build up as winter sets in.
Two Common Gulls were also on the pond among the 100
or so Black-headed Gulls. One of the Common Gull had a
dark grey mantle and dark flecked head indicating a
first winter juvenile.
Nore
Barn Woods
Amazingly, the small
path to get to the Spindle bush in Nore Barn Woods
that I suggested in yesterday's diary entry has since
been blocked by branches. Presumably the conservation
group do not wish people to use this path. However,
there is an easier access about 20 metres to the east.
Once in the woods bear right to the Spindle.
Corvid
roost
There was a mini
Corvid roost of about 100 Carrion Crows on the grassy
island immediately to the east of Conigar Point. I
assume this is a stop over place on the way to the
main roost, probably, at Wade Court.
Nore
Barn stream
By 5pm the stream was
emptying rapidly of tidal water and was ideal for the
Spotted Redshank, but it did not turn up. That is two
days running with no sightings, which must mean the
bird has yet to get into its old routine.
MARSH
HARRIER
A juvenile Marsh
Harrier is currently showing well over Thorney Little
Deeps. Richard Somerscocks has had two sightings of
the bird on Oct 23 and Oct 28 (with a photo). Thorney
Island Warden, Barry Collins also saw it quartering
the Little Deeps today. Barry says it was the same
bird that he saw flying north over Pilsey Sands on Oct
20.
GODWIT
NEWS
Anne de Potier managed
a trip to all 3 West Sussex channels to look for
Black-tailed Godwits today.
At Nutbourne there
were 92 birds, including L+WN, R+RN and LGN+OLO. Also
greenshank GY+GY in its usual place, and at least 450
Brents on the cereal to the east of the bay.
Bosham produced 76
godwits, with just O+OL among them. On the rape to the
north of the houses/east of the creek were some 300
Brents and 200 more in the intertidal waiting to join
them, and trickling in. A reliable friend of Anne's
whose house overlooks the field said that the Ruddy
Shelduck (previously at Nutbourne) was in the Bosham
flock, and had been previously, though Anne did not
see it.
Fishbourne was very
low in numbers, with just 21, but LRG+OLO was among
them.
Comment
It is interesting to
see how the Godwits appear to have shifted their
preferred feeding area from Fishbourne to Bosham and
Nutbourne this year. Any reason for this?
Here in Emsworth,
Godwit numbers have shot up to 130+ after being in the
80s. Last year they peaked at 160 in November. We are
getting a number of regular colour-ringed birds: in
particular, G+BG, G+BW, G+WR, L+LL, W+GO, W+WN,
ROL+RLR and RYL+RLY all with 8 or more sightings.
There are others we see occasionally. We have not had
any of the OLO+ Suffolk-ringed Godwits in Emsworth as
yet this season.
The full list is on
the web page at . . . Black-tailed
Godwit
WILDLIFE
PHOTOS
I was very pleased to
meet up with Romney and Ken Turner, both keen wildlife
photographers, on Brook Meadow on October 25. I
directed them to Westbourne through the fields at the
back of Westbourne Avenue, a walk which they really
enjoyed with some interesting wildlife
observations.Romney sent me the following excellent
action photos for the web site.
Grey
Squirrel with acorn
"As we got into the
field some squirrels were harvesting and burying
acorns and also playing. This one ran across the field
with an acorn in its' mouth and then ran back again
deciding to bury it closer to the tree. Not the best
photo I have ever taken but it was a quick shot as it
just took off."
Kestrel
takes off
"Moving on to the next
field the weather worsened and we ran to shelter under
the trees from the rain and hail. As I pushed back
against the hedge I looked up and saw that a Kestrel
had perched on a branch in the dead tree opposite. It
didn't spot me for some time as it was raining and I
was well under the tree. I got sitting shots if you
want any but it had its' back partially towards me. It
took off the branch in the picture, you probably know
the tree well". I do!
FRIDAY
OCTOBER 28 - 2011
EMSWORTH
HARBOUR
Emsworth
Millpond
The first pair of
Tufted Duck of the winter were on the millpond
this morning. They are a bit later than usual.
Black-tailed
Godwits
09:45 - About 3 hours
to high water. Harbour filling rapidly.
From the millpond
seawall I counted 132 Black-tailed Godwits in the near
side of the main channel. I managed to check about 80
of them for colour-ringed and found only the
following, all regulars this autumn:
G+BG, L+LL, W+WN and
RYL+RLY. In amongst the Godwits were 10 Turnstone and
a few Redshank.
Richard Somerscocks
found what was probably the same flock on the mudflats
west of the Emsworth Sailing Club building after high
water this afternoon, with a similar collection of our
regular colour-ringed birds: G+BW, G+BG, L+LL, ROL+RYL
and RYL+RLY.
Nore
Barn
10:15 - Stream was
gradually filling up with tidal water when I arrived
with Little Egret feeding all alone. I waited until
11:15 when the stream was completely full, but there
was no sign of the Spotted Redshank. I was interested
to hear the Little Egret calling out, something I have
not heard it do in the stream before. Calling out to
the missing Spotted Redshank maybe?
Wigeon numbers
are growing; I counted 34 on the water this morning,
the most so far this autumn. Just 4 Teal at the far
end of Nore Barn Creek. 14 Brent Geese, with one
family with 2 juveniles, were in the bay with 18
Shelduck further off shore.
Spindle
'berries'
While I was waiting
for the Spotted Redshank, I had a look for the Spindle
bush in Nore Barn Woods, which my friend Jack Garvey
alerted me to and which I did not know about. I found
it easily following Jack's directions. To find the
bush, walk along the north path, stop opposite the
tall telegraph pole in the field, and take a narrow
path into the woods, just to the left of an isolated
Hawthorn sapling. The Spindle bush, which is currently
covered in bright pink fruits, is a few yards down
this path.
Missing
seat replaced
The seat, which had
been removed from the west of the Emsworth Sailing
Club building, was being replaced when I passed by!
What was the sense in taking it away?
BROOK
MEADOW
Birds
I saw a Jay
flying over heading towards Lumley; surprisingly, this
was my first Jay record on Brook Meadow for 2011 and
takes the bird list for the year to 52.
Insects
This was certainly the
morning for Red Admirals. I saw two in the Nore
Barn area and another 4 on Brook Meadow.
From the Lumley Path
footbridge, I saw at least three Common Darters flying
over the Peter Pond channel, two males and a female.
Japanese
Spindle
Following yesterday's
dissection by Ralph Hollins of the fruit bodies of a
Japanese Spindle, I had a close look at the white
berries on Japanese Spindle on the river bank near the
north bridge using my scope. As predicted by Ralph, at
least one of the white berries had started to split,
revealing the bright orange aril beneath. I shall look
forward to seeing the bush with all the arils showing.
The following digiscoped photo shows the white
'berries' but not the splitting one.
Tree
surgery
The tree surgery on
the Crack Willows on the west bank of the River Ems
just south of the S-bend has dramatically opened up
the river, which had been previously covered in fallen
tree branches. The trees will sprout and become
attractive pollarded Willows in time, like others
similarly lopped on the meadow. The resulting logs
have been piled up too close to the river bank, and
the conservation group would be advised to move them
further away to prevent them getting tossed in.
THORNEY
DEEPS
Richard Somerscocks
went down to Little Deep just after high tide where
there was lots of activity. As well as the usual Coots
and Tufted Ducks there were also Wigeon, Teal and a
Pochard. On the reeds there were Reed and Cetti's
Warblers and the odd glimpse of the Bearded Tits. A
group of Long-tailed Tits also flew past at one stage.
Everything
got airborne when a Marsh Harrier made an appearance.
THURSDAY
OCTOBER 27 - 2011
NORE
BARN
09:30 - 10:00 - About
3 hours to high water. Rain in the air, but fairly
calm.
Stream was gradually
filling up. Spotted Redshank and Greenshank
were feeding together in the stream with a Grey Plover
and Common Redshank close by. Later, they were joined
by the Little Egret.
On the water were
17 Wigeon, the same number as yesterday, along
with 7 Mallard and 16 Mute Swans.
Two Grey Herons
were an unusual sight in the shallow water. 27
Brent Geese were on the western shore, but no
juveniles.
A large flock of
128 Black-tailed Godwits were feeding off the
western shore, the largest flock we have recorded so
far this autumn in Emsworth. Most of the Godwits were
in shallow water and legs were not visible. Another 3
Black-tailed Godwits were at Nore Barn, making a grand
total of 131.
Interestingly, this
pattern is similar to last winter when we also had the
first large Godwit count of 130 on Oct 29. Numbers
then built up to a maximum of 160 in November, so we
shall see what happens this year.
Dog
disturbance
Just as I was leaving,
two boisterous dogs chased into the stream, scaring
off all the birds. I spoke to the lady owner saying I
thought it would be best if she kept her dogs on leads
while passing the stream, so as not to disturb the
migrant birds which feed there. The lady complied with
my request and put the dogs on leads. Whether she does
this in future remains to be seen, but one has to try
to educate dog owners about the importance of not
disturbing the birds. Most people just do not think.
OTHER
NEWS
Japanese
Spindle
Ralph Hollins passed a
Japanese Spindle shrub and collected one of the fruit
clusters. Back at home he dissected a couple of the
fruit bodies and took a photo. He expects the whitish
'bobbles' on our Brook Meadow shrub will eventually
split open to reveal colourful arils with the reddish
coloured outside layer and the nut of the seed inside.
"As it seems that the 'nut' has not yet developed in
the 'proto-fruit' which I dissected it may be some
time before your 'bobbles' open!" I will keep a look
out. I assume the fruits ripen later than the native
ones as they are 'foreign'.
Garden
BirdWatch Blogspot
The BTO
GardenBirdWatch Scheme has just started an interesting
blog from Mike Toms.
http://btogardenbirdwatch.blogspot.com/?dm_i=NXK,KU8M,3UEDCR,1OYD5,0
WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER 26 - 2011
NORE
BARN
15:00 - About 4 hours
after high water. Very heavy showers. During one of
the showers as I was sheltering in the woods, I had
the pleasure of seeing a beautiful complete
semi-circle rainbow over the houses with a hint of a
secondary one. Pity I could not get the whole of the
bow in the photo.
I counted 89
Black-tailed Godwits on the mudflats in Nore Barn
Woods creek, including several regular colour-ringed
birds: W+GO, R+GY, G+BG, G+BW G+WR
The first Wigeon
of the autumn were in the channel. I counted 17 of
them.
Spotted
Redshank and Greenshank were feeding together in
the low water stream. Here is the Spotshank.
On the way home, I
heard a Blackbird subsong from a garden in
Warblington Road, my first of the autumn.
REEVE'S
PHEASANT -
Note, the correct spelling is probably Reeves's
Pheasant
I had a phone call
from Richard Jones who had seen a group of 6 Reeve's
Pheasants, one cock and 5 hens, in a field at the
eastern end of Long Copse Lane near to Westbourne. I
went up there this afternoon to have a look, but did
not see anything of them. I must admit to have never
heard of Reeve's Pheasant, so here is some information
about them gleaned from Wikipedia.
The Reeves's Pheasant,
Syrmaticus reevesii, is a large (up to 210 cm long)
pheasant within the genus Syrmaticus. It is endemic to
China. The name commemorates the British naturalist
John Reeves, who first introduced live specimens to
Europe in 1831. Note the correct spelling is Reeves's
Pheasant.
The male is a brightly
plumaged bird with a scaled golden white and red body
plumage, grey legs, brown iris and red skin around
eye. The head is white with a black narrow band across
its eyes. The male has an extremely long silvery white
tail barred with chestnut brown. This photo is from
the internet.
This spectacular
pheasant is mentioned in the Guinness World Records
2008 for having the longest natural tail feather of
any bird species; a record formerly held by the
Crested Argus Pheasant. It can measure up to 2.4
metres or 8 feet (2.4 m) long.
The female is a brown
bird with blackish crown, buff face and grey brown
barred tail feathers. The hen Reeves's Pheasant is the
same size as a male Common Pheasant.
There are no known
subspecies but there is some variation in plumage.
The Reeves's Pheasant
is endemic to evergreen forests of central and eastern
China. Where introduced they also inhabit farmland
close to woodlands. They have been introduced for
sport and ornamental purposes to Hawaii, USA, Czech
Republic, France and the UK. In the latter three
countries they have built up small breeding
populations, and are still released on a small scale
for shooting, often alongside Common
Pheasants.
Due to ongoing habitat
loss, and overhunting for food and its tail plumes,
the Reeves's Pheasant is evaluated as Vulnerable on
the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. There are
thought to be only around 2000 birds remaining in the
wild.
Reeves's Pheasants are
known to be aggressive towards humans, animals and
other pheasants.
Their call note is
unlike other gamebirds in that it is a musical warble,
more passerine sounding than would be expected. Their
diet is vegetable matter as well as seeds and cereals.
They are fairly common in aviculture.
A clutch of 7-14 eggs
are laid in April or May and incubated for 24-25
days.
SNIPPETS
FROM RALPH HOLLINS WEEKLY WILDLIFE
SUMMARY
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/ralph.hollins/Summary.htm
I hope to make this a
regular feature of items, particularly where Ralph
comments on wildlife reported in this diary. But this
is no excuse not to go to Ralph's web site where you
can find lots of other wildlife gems that should not
be missed. We are very lucky to have such a great
local wildlife facility for our area, so please make
use of it. Ralph is particularly hot on moths at
present!
Ruddy
Shelduck
One was with Brent at
Nutbourne Bay on Oct 20 and 21 and it too may be a
wild bird, maybe coming from as far away as Turkey
where there is a very large wild population. I suspect
that this may be the same bird which arrived at Pagham
Harbour on Oct 14 and was then seen at Farlington
Marshes on Oct 15 and 16 before moving to Nutbourne.
It could well be the same bird which turned up last
year at Pilsey on Oct 1 before moving around
Chichester, Langstone and Pagham Harbours though the
winter until it left on Apr 2
Waxwing
On Oct 20 a site in
southern Sweden reported a flock of 830 birds as they
began to move south and on Oct 21 at least one was
seen in the Netherlands
Dunnock
The first report of
song since July 26 comes from Brian Fellows in the
Nutbourne Bay area on Oct 21 - I wonder if the song
was provoked by the arrival of continental immigrants
causing a resident bird to defend its
territory?
Robin
There has also been an
increase in Robin song in the past week and I see that
Sandwich Bay reported an influx of around 60
continental birds on Oct 13 with the Oare Marshes in
north Kent reporting the presence of 'masses' on Oct
16 - maybe the song we are now hearing means that the
continental birds have infiltrated through Sussex to
Hampshire?
Blackbird
I was surprised when
Chris Packham was unable to answer a viewers query
during this week's Autumnwatch programme - the
question was about why a number of Blackbirds had been
seen recently with dark (not yellow) bills. That
reminded me of my puzzlement a few years ago when
Lawrence Holloway seemed to insist that dark bills
were indicative of continental origin - as I
understand it all Blackbirds have dark bills during
their first winter with the males only acquiring the
bright yellow in the spring after they hatched.
Ralph is correct. See
illustration of 1st winter male in the Collins Bird
Guide p.277.
Fieldfare
Now widespread in
southern England with a max count of 800 at Seasalter
in north Kent on Oct 20 with plenty more to come (a
potential total of 63,381 at 7 Netherlands sites on
Oct 21). On arrival in England the birds tend to fly
north away from the densely populated south coast so
it is not surprising that the nearest report to the
Havant area this week was of 135 over Butser Hill
(Petersfield) on Oct 17
Bearded
Tit
For most of the year
these birds never see anything outside the reed bed in
which they feed, sleep and raise their families but
during September and October some bravely set out to
seek new homes either in response to post breeding
population pressure or the chill of approaching winter
- most movements are, I think, within England but
there is a small arrival of winter visitors from the
continent. When the urge to move to a new site begins
to influence the birds they can be seen 'high flying'
above their home reedbed - flying up high into the air
but dropping back into the reeds from which they came
- but when the urge becomes stronger than the need for
the safety of the home that they know they set off on
what may be long distance flights - on Oct 21 at least
9 flew east away from the Thorney Little
Deeps.
Magpie
I know that some 'bird
lovers' think Magpies should be eliminated (and that
Larsen traps have been regularly used in the
Havant/Emsworth area to catch and despatch them) but I
am puzzled as to how one died on the Emsworth Marina
seawall on Oct 21. Brian Fellows found it freshly dead
and seemingly in good health on Oct 21 and a photo of
it on his website shows some marks on the side of the
head which might be the result of pecking by other
birds or less likely air gun pellets while the neck
feathers show a possible indication of it having had
its head in a noose or possibly having had its neck
wrung but there is no strong evidence of the cause of
death nor why the corpse was found beside a little
used path near lots of humans.
Insect
News highlights:
Both Dragonflies and
Butterflies were out in extraordinary numbers for the
second half of October and in particular a very late
Ringlet butterfly was found. A good selection of
moths, including many late migrants, were recorded and
I have been introduced to some new Beetle and Spider
species as a result of this week's reported
finds
Plant
News highlights:
Several unexpected
flowering plants for this time of year include Common
Flax, Soapwort, Water Chickweed, Narrow-leaved
Ragwort, Dyers Greenweed, Moth Mullein and Chamomile
were found during the week. Shaggy Soldier was a new
addition to the Emsworth village list and the first
frost brought out the first Winter Heliotrope flowers
of the winter season. I was particularly pleased to
find the Rayed form of Groundsel flowers (and Dwarf
Spurge) in the Warblington Farm fields and Brian
Fellows added Corn Mint to the list for that area and
three new Cockspur Thorn trees to his 'Wayside' list.
Corn
Mint
Brian Fellows found
some of this flowering in fields north of the Nore
Barn wood on Oct 17. I have found Water Mint (which
has its flowers in a terminal whorl at the top of its
stem) in several damp (and some not so damp) areas
around Havant but have not been in the area where
Brian made his find of plants with multiple whorls of
flowers up their stems.
Note: these plants can
be seen in the field by the casual path that leads
from Nore Barn through to Brook Gardens.
Rayed
Form of Groundsel
Found on Oct 21 in the
big Warblington Farm field between Nore Barn and
Warblington Church where I have found it in past years
- see my Diary page for that day for more detail and a
photo. Stace names this rayed form as var hibernicus
and says that it is the result of hybridisation with
Oxford Ragwort plus subsequent 'back crossing' (not
sure what that means but I assume it to mean a second
round of hybridisation). The Hants Flora says this
variant is more commonly found near the sea and that
it has been found in 19 Tetrads of South Hampshire but
only 2 in North Hampshire (a Tetrad is a map square
measuring 2 x 2 km).
Shaggy
Soldier
Lots of this flowering
in the abandoned Prinsted Market Garden plot on Oct 17
and a few more plants found by roadside kerb stones at
the junction of Queen Street with the A259 in Emsworth
- seemingly a new addition to the Emsworth village
flower list.
FISH
IDENTIFICATION
Nik Knight recommended
Louise MacCallum, the Environment Officer of the
Langstone Harbour Board
environment@langstoneharbour.org.uk for fish
identification, e.g. the green fish that Gavin Millar
caught in Emsworth Harbour last week. We did in fact
nail that one in the end, but it is worth knowing
about Louise for future inquires.
TUESDAY
OCTOBER 25 - 2011
BROOK
MEADOW
Japanese
Spindle
Ralph Hollins
identified the mystery shrub on the west bank of the
River Ems just south of the north bridge on Brook
Meadow which I queried on October 22 as Euonymus
japonicus (Japanese Spindle). Unlike the
native Spindle, this shrub is evergreen, having dark
green shiny leaves, with slightly serrated edges. The
leaves are relished by the black and white
caterpillars of the Magpie Moth.
Like the Spindle and
Yew the fruits are called 'arils', which have soft
edible coverings for the seed, they are sometimes
called 'false-fruits'. They act as an edible
enticement to animals to eat them to promote seed
dispersal. The arils on the Brook Meadow plant, at
present, are white and have a small nut inside, but I
assume, from photos I have seen on the internet, they
will turn red as they mature. For photos of this shrub
go to . . . http://digilander.libero.it/ipdid/photos-eng/euonymus-japonica---japanese-spindle.htm
Birds
and Water Vole
The Blackbird with
the white patch on its wings was on the Gooseberry
Cottage drive. This bird is familiar to the residents
of The Rookery as it comes into the gardens. A Wren
was singing in Palmer's Road Copse.
Jeff Fleming spent his
lunch hour in 'his spot' on the river bank in Palmer's
Road Copse and had sightings of both Kingfisher
and Water Vole (12.30).
Other
plant news
The white-flowered
Common Comfrey is in flower. False Oat-grass is in
full flower and looking very good around the meadow.
This year's new green cones and last year's old brown
cones are contrasting on the Alders.
I had a little mooch
around Lumley copse where I found a single plant of
Marsh Horsetail with just 7 vertical ridges on
the stem; the ridges are more numerous on the more
common Field Horsetail. This was only the second find
of Marsh Horsetail on Brook Meadow, the other being
near the bend on the north path.
I also found what I
think is only the second Yew tree on the Brook
Meadow site, just a small sapling growing in amongst
the tangled undergrowth in the copse. The other Yew
was planted on the east side of the north meadow.
Visitors
On the north path near
the north-east corner, I met Romney and Ken Turner,
who are keen wildlife photographers from Southbourne.
They were not familiar with Brook Meadow, but I
encouraged them to come again and let me have any
wildlife images of interest for the web site.
NORE
BARN
Spotted
Redshank
14:00 - About three
and a half hours after high water and the stream was
fairly empty of tidal water. I was very relieved to
see the Spotted Redshank in the stream with the usual
Greenshank, particularly as there had been no
sightings of it for a couple of days.
For all the Spotted
Redshank news go to . . . Spotted
Redshank
Black-tailed
Godwits
After about 10
minutes, a flock of 80+ Black-tailed Godwits, which
had been feeding in the Nore Barn Woods creek,
descended into the stream where the Spotted Redshank
was feeding. This is the first time I have seen
Godwits feeding in this area this autumn. Maybe, they
came to welcome back the Spotted Redshank? They
included many of the regular colour-ringed Godwits
that we have recorded many times this autumn: G+BG,
G+WR L+LL, W+GO, RYL+RLY, ROL+RLR. About 60 of the
Godwits subsequently flew west to settle on the
mudflats west of the Emsworth Sailing Club building.
Peregrine
Richard Hallett
arrived in time to see the Spotted Redshank and the
Greenshank feeding in the stream along with some of
the Godwits. At about 14:30, Richard spotted a
Peregrine flying low over the western harbour, which
put up the main flock of Black-tailed Godwits near the
sailing club. All but one of the other Godwits that
were in the stream also flew west, presumably heading
for the eastern harbour.
Black-tailed
Godwits spurting water?
It was not until I
examined my photos, that I noticed on one photo a
couple of the Black-tailed Godwits were apparently
spurting water from their bills. I have not seen this
behaviour before, though it might be explained as a
way of ejecting unwanted water taken in with food.
For all the up dated
Black-tailed Godwit news go to . . . Black-tailed
Godwit
HUMMINGBIRD
HAWKMOTH
A Hummingbird Hawkmoth
was in my garden this afternoon, visiting each one of
the Verbena flowers, one by one, dipping its proboscis
into them, but not remaining for long at any. I assume
there was little nectar left to attract it. It also
had a quick sniff at the roses, but that was all. The
only other Hummingbird Hawkmoth in the garden was on
Oct 2, also on the Verbena flowers. This was the best
photo I could get of it.
MYSTERY
CATERPILLAR - Ruby Tiger
It took Ralph Hollins
a little time to find a possible match for the
caterpillar that Jane and I found on Christopher Way
yesterday (Oct 24). The common woolly bear type
caterpillars of the Fox Moth and Garden Tiger Moth
have some black hairs giving a two tone appearance and
also they go into hibernation early in the summer and
do most of their feeding in the spring. Ralph thinks
the one which matches the Christopher Way one on both
points is the Ruby Tiger.
See http://www.ukleps.org/morphology.html
- Use FIND (CTRL + F) and enter Ruby Tiger then scroll
down to see the Ruby Tiger caterpillar - just like
ours! A very useful web site for caterpillars.
Ralph added: The Ruby
Tiger feeds on a variety of plants such as Docks,
Dandelions, Yarrow etc and is found in meadows, woods,
etc. Further it waits until the autumn before it goes
in search of a hibernation site which it was probably
doing when found. Note that its colour is variable and
could have some black in it.
HAVANT
THICKET
Tony Wootton took his
U3A group birdwatching in Havant Thicket this morning.
They saw 10 Goldcrests, 1 Buzzard, 1 Jay, 1
Yellowhammer and 2 Red Admirals.
MONDAY
OCTOBER 24 - 2011
WAYSIDES
SURVEYS
Jane Brook and I did a
tour round some of the waysides this morning, just
checking them out and litter picking rather than
serious surveying, since there are no new plants
coming through.
Broad-leaved
Cockspur Thorn
Starting at the
Westbourne Open Space we admired the Broad-leaved
Cockspur Thorn trees which are covered with bunches of
large red 'haws'.
We wondered if any
birds took these berries which, on close inspection,
had a rich juicy flesh and a hard nut. In contrast,
the 'haws' of the native Hawthorns were small and puny
with little flesh. We agreed the Cockspur Thorns
definitely enhanced the attractiveness and ecology of
the wayside. The leaves were turning beautiful shades
of red, orange, brown and yellow.
Wild
Clary
On the Christopher Way
verge there were just a few flowers on the Wild Clary
but most plants had gone to seed. We collected some of
the seeds in the hope of propagating some to try to
establish them on another wayside.
We found an
unidentified light brown caterpillar crawling
slowly across the Christopher Way path which Jane
transferred to the wayside after taking photographs.
Driving along
Christopher Way we noticed a large growth of
Mistletoe on one of the planted prunus trees
near the southern entrance to the road. Patrick Murphy
tells me there are at least another 4 trees in
Christopher Way with Mistletoe growing in
them.
Araneus
quadratus
On the New Brighton
Road junction wayside Red Clover and Common Fleabane
were still in flower along with the usual Autumn
Hawkbit. We found a Four-spot spider (Araneus
quadratus) on this wayside, the first one I have
seen anywhere this year. What appeared to be a silken
nest was nearby.
On the Emsworth
Recreation Ground, Narrow-leaved Michaelmas
Daisies by the northern fence still have some open
flowers, much smaller and paler than the normal
Michaelmas Daisies.
On the Lillywhite's
path I pointed out the Shaggy Soldier plants
growing on the kerb of the traffic island at the end
of Queen Street. By chance, we happened to meet Ralph
Hollins along the path, it was Ralph who first told me
about the Shaggy Soldiers.
Nore
Barn Spotted Redshank
Jane and I went to
Nore Barn after we had finished the waysides surveys
at about 12.30. The stream was fairly empty of tidal
water by then (3 hours after high water) and ideal for
the Spotted Redshank in previous years. However, it
was not there, just the Little Egret was feeding in
the stream.
Ralph Hollins also
looked in vain for the Spotted Redshank when he passed
later in the morning. This is two days when there have
been no sightings of the bird and I wonder if it could
it be changing its habits. Or maybe, it has yet to
settle back into the old routine.
Colour-ringed
Spotted Redshank
Richard Somerscocks
walked down the Wickor Bank this evening and found a
group of 58 Black-tailed Godwits on the shore,
including a number of regular colour-ringed birds:
W+WN, RYL+RLY, G+BG and ROL+RLR. Richard also found
the colour-ringed Spotted Redshank W+GY amongst the
Godwits.
This bird was ringed
by the Farlington Group on Thorney Island on
16-Oct-08, the only Spotshank ever to be ringed by
this group as far as I am aware. It has been sighted
on 32 occasions, mostly by Barry Collins on Thorney
Island, but occasionally at Nutbourne Bay, but this
was the first ever sighting of the bird in Emsworth
Harbour!
SUNDAY
OCTOBER 23 - 2011
Mystery
bird - Buzzard?
Barry King-Smith sent
me a couple of photos of a very pale bird sitting on a
fence near his house in Racton. My guess is that it is
a very light Buzzard, probably juvenile. See Collins
Bird Guide p. 91. Any other offers?
Thorney
Island
Richard Somerscocks
went down to Little Deep mid morning today. "The tide
was still a bit too far in for any waders, but I was
rewarded with a Marsh Harrier traversing over the
Deeps. Unfortunately it was a bit into the sun to get
any good pictures. It moved from Little Deep south
over Great Deep and then onto Thorney where I lost
sight of it. On the way back along the Wickor Bank a
Skylark landed on the path just in front of me
- the first I had seen for a while. In the Harbour
there were a couple of Sandwich Terns
fishing.
Bosham
Around lunchtime
Richard went over to Bosham where there were a good
number of Black Tailed Godwit and lots of Brent Geese.
"There were 2 groups of Godwit at Bosham numbering 42
and 31. North of Bosham at the top end of the creek
there were another 200. In total there must have been
about 275. There were only 6 ringed birds, which I
thought was surprising given the numbers. But I am
fairly confident that there were no more since they
were all quite close to the shore. They were: O+BW,
R+RN, O+LO, RL+GL, O+BO & L+OO. I attach some
pictures of these for your record."
Nore
Barn
Richard did final
check at Nore Barn which revealed no sign of the
Spotted Redshank. Richard Hallett was also there this
morning just after high water and also failed to see
it. Strange?
A group of 38 Godwit
were off the Sailing Club, including W+GO, W+WN, G+BW,
& ROL+RLR.
SATURDAY
OCTOBER 22 - 2011
BROOK
MEADOW
Speckled Wood was
flying beneath the south bridge in Palmer's Road
Copse. I always see them in this area. A Green
Woodpecker was calling from Palmer's Road Copse. I did
not see the bird, but I do hear it here from time to
time.
The newly cleared area
in the northern part of the south meadow opens up a
vista to the line of Alder Buckthorns and the large
Weeping Willow. The tree clearance below the S-bend
has also opened up the river, so one can now see the
river!
Clearance
of scrub on Brook Meadow creates a vista to the Alder
Buckthorns
The Cow Parsley
on the main river path opposite the gasholder is
still in flower, though not looking quite as good as
it did two weeks ago. Other flowers on show along the
path include Bramble and Hedge Woundwort. Elsewhere on
the meadow the main flowering plants are Hogweed,
White Dead-nettle and Bristly Ox-tongue, plus a few
bright yellow buttercups in the orchid area. Banks of
Michaelmas Daisies and the Gorse on the causeway is in
flower.
There is a mystery
bush on the west bank of the river about 20 metres
south of the north bridge with bright green leaves and
white berries. It looks like a Laurel?
NORE
BARN
17:15 - Tide was
rising, but the stream was still fairly low. At
precisely 17:30, the Spotted Redshank which was
first seen here yesterday, flew in from the east and
onto the stream. It settled quickly, feeding on the
edge of the gradually filling stream. This was my
first sighting of the winter. Great stuff.
All the Spotted
Redshank news with lots of photos can be found on a
special page . . . Spotted
Redshank
MYSTERY
GREEN FISH
Gavin Millar went
fishing today with his grandson in the Emsworth
Harbour and caught a bright green fish which was a
mystery to him. I asked Gavin to send me a photo so
that I could put it on the web site just in case
someone knowledgeable about fish might be able to
identify it.
I have had a look
through my 'Reader's Digest Field Guide to Water Life'
(the only nature book I have with fish in it) and the
only fish that it at all resembles is a young
Ballan wrasse (Labrus bergylta). The book
has an illustration of some young Ballan wrasse, which
certainly look like the one in Gavin's photo. The book
says they are common in rock pools along the shore.
'Their bright green colour provides good camouflage
where green weeds abound'. Gavin said the fish was
caught among some green Sea Lettuce.
The NAFC Marine Centre
in the University of the Highlands and Islands web
site has an illustration of a Ballan wrasse which is
being studied as a cleaner fish for the biological
control of sea lice on farmed salmon.
http://www.nafc.ac.uk/Use-of-Ballan-wrasse-as-cleaner-fish.aspx
FRIDAY
OCTOBER 21 - 2011
NUTBOURNE
Nutbourne
Bay
09:30 - I walked from
the end of Farm Lane to the shore. The tide was
falling with about 3 hours after high water. There
were plenty of birds milling around the shore where
the footpath emerged, mainly Wigeon (c400) with
a few Teal (c20). I was particularly pleased to find a
small group of 8 Pintails including equal
numbers of males and females.
I was disappointed to
find only 20 Black-tailed Godwits along the
edge of the water, as Tony Wootton had 150 here
yesterday. They included one colour-ringed bird, L+GL
which has been fairly regular at Nutbourne over the
years.
The 'resident'
Greenshank GY+GY was in its usual place in the
small stream to the west of the bay. This bird has
been regular in this stream for many years; my
personal first sighting of GY+GY was in 2004 on
19-Nov. Here is my digiscoped photo when it finally
stopped running around.
Ruddy
Shelduck and Brent Geese
Following the
directions of Tony Wootton, who came here yesterday, I
found the Ruddy Shelduck feeding with a flock of Brent
Geese on a large field of what looked like sown winter
wheat on the Chidham side of Nutbourne Bay just past
the first bend.
I counted 23 juveniles
in the flock of 75 Brent Geese, which is very
close to Tony's count yesterday of 25 juveniles in a
flock of 75. I could not determine the family groups
with any accuracy as the birds were all close together
and moving around. About 30 minutes later the Brents
flew down onto the Nutbourne shore together with the
Ruddy Shelduck, which is where I took this digiscoped
photo.
I heard my first
Dunnock song of the autumn from bushes on the
shore while watching the Brent Geese.
BOSHAM
Bosham
Channel
11:00 - I parked on
the beach to the east of the village and took the
footpath through the houses to the western shore to
view the main channel.
I counted 92
Black-tailed Godwits on the near shore, including
two colour-ringed birds. The only one I saw clearly
was RL+GL. I personally have not seen this one before,
and the only record I have of it is a sighting at
Pulborough Brooks in November 2010.
Black-tailed
Godwit RL+GL in Bosham Channel
I counted 50 Brent
Geese on the near shore with 4 juveniles in two
families of two youngsters.
THORNHAM
LANE
Cattle
Egret
I called in at
Thornham Lane mainly to check on the status of the
long staying Cattle Egret. It was still in the field
with the herd of cattle at the end of the lane, where
it has been since it arrived on August 14th, now in
its 10th week! Surely, this must be the most watched
Cattle Egret in this country and is so easy to see and
photograph in among the cattle.
The
Cattle Egret with cattle in field at the end of
Thornham Lane, Thorney Island
EMSWORTH
HARBOUR
12:00 - I viewed the
eastern harbour from the marina seawall at low water.
The Black-tailed Godwits were so well scattered over
the mudflats that I did not attempt to count them.
Greenshank
Ten Greenshank feeding
in the low water town channel were far easier. They
included at least one colour-ringed bird: OO+YY a very
familiar bird in Emsworth Harbour over the years and
previously seen this autumn by Richard Somerscocks on
08-Oct-11.
Brent
Geese
I counted 142 Brent
Geese in the main channel, including 41 juveniles.
Sorting out the families was quite difficult as they
were all mixed in together, though I did see the two
families of 5 juveniles which were slightly separate
from the rest. I decided to include these figures in
the Brent Goose Breeding Productivity Survey, as this
was by far the largest Brent flock and the most
juveniles I have recorded in Emsworth so far this
autumn, and remove the earlier records from Emsworth.
Today's sightings of Brent Geese take my current
percentage of juveniles to a more realistic 14.57%.
Dead
Magpie
I was surprised to
find a fresh dead Magpie on the marina seawall, the
first one I ever recall seeing. I had to stop to
admire its plumage, intense black and white,
iridescent blue on the wings and a long green tail
with a red and mauve tip.
NORE
BARN
Spotted
Redshank is back
16:30 - I went to do
my daily check of the stream about 2 hours to high
water and found a delighted Richard Somerscocks there
to give me the good news that the Spotted Redshank was
back! It had been in the stream about 30 minutes ago,
but had flown and Richard had not seen it again. He
showed me his photo of the bird and said it was
typically sprightly and tame. I stayed for about 15
minutes, watching the regular Common Redshank,
Greenshank, Lapwing and Grey Plover, but no Spotted
Redshank. But it will be back!
Our
famous Spotted Redshank, back for the 8th winter
running, with its 'friend' the Greenshank
THORNEY
DEEPS
Bearded
Tits galore
After my experience
with Bearded Tits at Thorney Deeps yesterday, Tony
Wootton could not wait to get down there this morning.
He found about 30 Bearded Tits, including 9 which flew
up over his head and away over the harbour, a bit like
they did when I was there. What Tony did manage which
I did not was to get some splendid photos of both male
and female birds in the reeds. While he was there Tony
also saw Reed Bunting, Buzzard, Swallow and heard
Cetti's Warbler and Water Rail.
Male
Bearded Tit
Female
Bearded Tit
THURSDAY
OCTOBER 20 - 2011
EMSWORTH
HARBOUR
Black-tailed
Godwits
I counted a total of
80 Black-tailed Godwits from the marina seawall at
about 9.30 this morning on a falling tide, including 7
of our regular colour-ringed birds: G+BG, G+BW G+WR
L+LL, W+GO, W+WN, ROL+RLR.
Brent
Geese
22 Brent Geese were in
the harbour this morning, including one family with 5
juveniles, that I saw yesterday, and two other
families with 4 and 3 juveniles respectively. As I
have probably already counted these families in
Emsworth Harbour previously, I shall not include these
in my Brent Goose Breeding Productivity Survey.
Other
birds
There was a lot of
Redshank (c200) on the mudflats plus several
Greenshank which were constantly calling.
WEST
THORNEY
I walked a little way
down the Wickor Bank on the western side of Thorney
Island as far as the Little Deep. Another 11
Black-tailed Godwits were feeding on the shore by the
start of the Wickor Bank, making a total of 91 for the
harbour.
Bearded
Tits
The reedbeds at Little
Deep were much as Tony Wootton likes them for
photography, calm with very little movement of the
reeds. The birds certainly did not disappoint. Bearded
Tits were 'pinging' everywhere and I got good views of
both male and female birds in the reeds close to the
main track, but alas no photos. I also had a splendid
view of a group of 10 Beardeds flying above the
reedbeds for about 30 seconds, calling as they flew.
Their flight was surprisingly leisurely and relaxed,
which meant I could count them easily, before they
dropped down into the reeds.
I also saw several
Reed Buntings in the reeds as well as a Blue Tit and a
Robin and the usual Cetti's Warbler singing.
BROADMARSH
Brent
Geese juveniles
I went onto the
Broadmarsh mound at 11am, mainly to add some 'meat' to
my Brent Goose Breeding Productivity Survey results by
looking through some larger flocks. Ralph Hollins was
here yesterday and found 206 Brent on the Budds Farm
shore with at least 36 juveniles (17.5%).
This morning, I
counted a total of 392 Brent Geese on the shore
beneath the mount and in the Hermitage Stream, plus
another 70 further west towards Chalk Dock. In all,
there were 28 juveniles (6.1%) in what appeared to be
11 families, one of which (in the mouth of the
Hermitage Stream) I am sure contained 6 youngsters.
This brings my results so far this winter to 441 aged
Brent Geese, 51 juveniles, 11.56%. This figure is
probably still a too high, since Ralph reports the
best estimate he has seen so far comes from Kent where
two different flocks, each of 2000 birds, were counted
on the same day and each flock had 6% juveniles. See
Tony Wootton's report on the Brent Geese at Nutbourne
below for yet more evidence of a good season.
Other
birds
4 Wigeon were in the
Hermitage Stream bay, the first I have seen this
autumn. Birds on the Budds Farm Ponds included the
pair of Pochard reported yesterday by Ralph, plus
Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal and the usual residents.
NORE
BARN
I had a couple of
trips to Nore Barn around high water to check the
stream, but there was no sign of the Spotted Redshank.
It is early days, but I am a little bit concerned!
NUTBOURNE
Ruddy
Shelduck
Tony Wootton had a
tip-off that a Ruddy Shelduck was at Nutbourne, so he
went over there this afternoon and found it and
photographed it. This bird is almost certainly an
escape, maybe from Arundel Wildfowl and Wetlands
Trust, though Tony could see no rings. Interestingly,
the status of Ruddy Shelduck is controversial, with
the national ornithological authorities claiming that
there have been no wild records since 1940, but both
SOS and HOS seem to accept there are some late summer
influxes from Eastern Europe. So, you never know . . .
I have suggested Tony reports it to the SOS Sightings.
Tony
got this photo of the Ruddy Shelduck with a family of
juvenile Brent Geese
Other
birds
Tony found a group of
75 Brent Geese including 25 juveniles. Yet more
evidence of a good breeding season for the Brents.
Tony also had at least 150 Black-tailed Godwits, some
Greenshank, Redshank, Dunlin, Grey Wagtail, plus some
Wigeon and one male Pintail. A good haul.
WEDNESDAY
OCTOBER 19 - 2011
EMSWORTH
HARBOUR
Brent
juveniles
There were two
families of Brent Geese in the harbour at 11.30 this
morning with an amazing 5 juveniles in each one. I
have not had two families of 5 youngsters since the
mega breeding season of 2005 when we had 25%
juveniles. I also had one with 6 juveniles that year.
Clearly, we could be in for another record breaking
year for breeding productivity.
Here
is one of the Brent Goose families
Today's juveniles
takes my current breeding productivity percentage to
an astonishing 47%, though this figure is almost
certainly too high since I have not counted any large
flocks as yet. Also, families tend to gather near the
shore, which is where all my counts have been made.
Black-tailed
Godwits
I counted 82 Godwits
in the eastern harbour between 11:30 and 12 noon, with
about half on the green mudflats close to the marina
seawall where I was standing and half on the far side
of the channel. This is our regular flock confirmed by
the presence of some of our regular colour-ringed
birds: G+BG, G+WR , L+LL, W+GO, RYL+RLY. Caroline
French was quite right that the rings of Godwit L+LL
really do look yellow in bright sunlight, but they are
definitely lime.
Godwit
news from Itchenor
Ed Rowsell had 44
Black-tailed Godwits at Itchenor with 2 colour ringed
birds LY+OX and Y//R+YL. LY+OX was seen by Richard
Somerscocks in Emsworth Harbour earlier this month on
09-Oct-11. Y+YL - my last sighting was last winter in
Fishbourne on 18-Sep-10
Nore
Barn
I went to Nore Barn
twice today to check for the return of the Spotted
Redshank, at 14:00 (2 hours before high water) and at
18:00 (2 hours after high water), but there was no
sign of the bird on either occasion. So, the record
first sighting date of Oct 19 last year will not be
broken.
A Lapwing was
the only bird in the stream on the first visit, its
colourful iridescent plumage showing well in the
bright sunlight. A single Black-tailed Godwit, 2
Greenshank and several Redshank were a bit further
out, but no sign of the Spotted Redshank anywhere.
A Grey Plover
was masquerading as the Spotted Redshank in the stream
on my second visit, but it did not fool me despite the
darkness!
TUESDAY
OCTOBER 18 - 2011
NORE
BARN
Waiting
. . .
I have been to Nore
Barn twice today to check for the return of the
Spotted Redshank; once 3 hours before high water this
morning (12:30) and again 3 hours after high water
this evening (18:30). This morning, just the regular
Lapwing was in the stream.
This evening, my heart
gave a flutter when I saw a long-legged, long-billed
wader feeding in the stream, but it was very dark and
the bird was not all that close. I certainly could not
see the leg colour, but what I could see of the pale
plumage and the feeding behaviour strongly suggested
Greenshank and not Spotted Redshank. But, maybe . .
.
Along
the shore
I went for a walk
along the shore to wait for the tide. Red Admiral and
Speckled Wood were flying and a male Common Darter
settled briefly on the seawall. There are still a few
Golden Samphire plants in flower.
OTHER
NEWS
Sparrowhawk
returns
Patrick Murphy
reported that the local Sparrowhawk was in his garden
again this lunchtime. Attached photo shows it lurking
in our apple tree looking down on the bird feeders
(devoid of birds - they must have seen it coming).
Only got the chance of one shot before it flew off to
look elsewhere.
New
Flower Guide
Several people have
asked me to recommend a good flower guide for
non-experts (like me!). Unfortunately, my favourite
flower book by Blamey, Fitter and Fitter Blamey is now
out of print and difficult and expensive to find
second hand. However, I think a reprint is planned.
I had a look at the
new 'Collins Flower Guide' by Streeter and others in
Waterstone's in Chichester. Quite impressive. Includes
good sections on trees and grasses, which look better
than those in Blamey. However, the illustrations are a
bit small and it might be better to wait for the large
print version which I gather is coming. There are no
maps and it is very bulky and heavier than Blamey. The
price of the Collins Guide in Waterstone's was
£20, but it can be got for £15 or less at
Amazon. A good alternative.
MONDAY
OCTOBER 17 - 2011
WAYSIDES
NEWS
I did the waysides
survey on my own this morning as Jane could not make
it. There was not a lot to report.
The full report is on
the waysides web site . . . http://www.emsworthwaysides.hampshire.org.uk/few-NEWS.htm
Broad-leaved
Cockspur Thorn
I discovered a group
of three planted trees with bunches of large red
'haws' on the Spencer's Field verge which I am sure
are the same species of American Hawthorn that we have
on the Westbourne Open Space - ie Broad-leaved
Cockspur Thorn.
Shaggy
Soldier
I am grateful to Ralph
Hollins for drawing my attention to the presence of
plants of Shaggy Soldier growing from roadside
kerbstones on the north west side of the grassy
traffic island at the bottom of Queen Street. I went
down to have a look this evening and counted 5
flowering plants. The plants are close enough to the
Lillywhite's path wayside to be included on the list.
Shaggy Soldier is also a new plant for the Emsworth
waysides.
EMSWORTH
HARBOUR
Eastern
harbour
11:30 - Standing on
the millpond seawall looking across the harbour. The
tide was rising to high water in about 3 hours, so
most of the mudflats were covered. 82 Black-tailed
Godwits were various resting, snoozing on one leg
and feeding on the small area of green mudflat still
remaining on the north side of the town channel. The
only colour-rings I could read were G+BW L+LL W+GO -
all regulars in Emsworth this autumn. There was no
sign of any Brent Geese.
Nore
Barn
12:00-12:45 -
Approaching high water the stream was filling up, but
there was no sign of the Spotted Redshank. A Lapwing
and a Grey Plover were the only birds in the
stream.
While waiting for the
tide to fill the stream, I had a walk around the edge
of the arable field to the west of Brook Gardens. A
number of plants were flowering along the edge of the
field, including lots of Scarlet Pimpernel, Scentless
Mayweed, Groundsel and Corn Mint. Most interesting,
was a bank of Great Horsetail adjacent to the
small stream which runs into the harbour, the best
growth of this plant I have seen anywhere locally.
17:00-17:30 - I
returned for a second look at the stream 2-3 hours
after high water, but still no sign of Spotted
Redshank. However, I did have a flock of 22 Mute
Swans in the stream for the first time this
autumn.
GODWIT
NEWS
Itchenor
Ed Rowsell reported 32
Black-tailed Godwits at Itchenor today, including 2
colour ringed birds O+LO that was sighted here a few
weeks ago and O+GW, Ed noted the W ring was very
discoloured, but looked like a discoloured white
rather then faded yellow or lime. Comment: I have no
record of O+GW but have several records for O+GL and
O+GY in the Fishbourne Channel.
Later in the day Ed
had 247 Black-tailed Godwits at Mud berths at
Itchenor, but up to their bellies in water, so no
chance of seeing rings. So, clearly, there are good
numbers of Godwits in the Fishbourne Channel.
Emsworth
Harbour
Caroline French saw
about 66 Black-tailed Godwits in Emsworth Harbour at
around 10.45 -11.15 yesterday morning (Oct 16)
including the following colour-ringed birds: ROL+RLR,
W+GO and G+BW, These were all regulars in Emsworth
this autumn. Caroline also saw a couple she was not
sure about. G+G? (she couldn't see the lower ring);
this was probably G+GY another Emsworth regular.
Y//R+LY ? I am not sure what this one was as we have
not had any Y//R Godwits in Emsworth so far this
autumn. We did have a few records for Y+LW last
winter, which is the nearest I could get.
The
full list of all the colour-ring BW sightings in
Emsworth this autumn is
on . . .
Black-tailed
Godwit page