South Coast Assault

An early start on Sunday morning saw me, my uncle Jay and Matthew heading down the M1 towards the New Forest.  The roads were empty so we were soon eating up the mile arriving at Hawkshill Inclosure just before 8.45am.  After a short walk to the site we were in position ready for the Dark-eyed Junco.  Chaffinches, Reed buntings and Siskin were around the bird seed as we arrived.  Several Raven were heard calling overhead whilst waiting.  After about 20 mins the Junco eventually showed itself really well on the ground, before moving onto the large horizontal trunk at the back feeding.   Happy with our views the next port of call was the Spanish Sparrow at Calshot.  The short drive to Calshot took no time at all.  As we arrived people were already onto the bird.  It was showing about 5 metres away in the hedge calling.  Having seen Spanish Sparrow in Europe before this bird was less of a thrill than what was to come in the afternoon.

Having never had chance to see a Dartford Warbler in the UK it was decided that Beaulieu road station would be the best place to try for the birds.  Once arriving we headed along the heath path keeping our eyes peeled for any Dartfords.  No sign at all so we decided to check out the woodland for Lesser-Spotted Woodpeckers.  Once in the woodland I heard several Nuthatch and eventually heard a Lesser-Spotted Woodpecker.   With the Lesser Pecker in the bag it was time to head back to the car,  but not before checking out some bushes in the middle of the heath.   As we approached the bushes two birds lifted from the heath showing ‘long-tailed tit like’ flight.  Instantly we knew they were Dartford Warblers.  They hid in the bush, but eventually showed in the bright sun, giving excellent views and another lifer for me.  The eye of the warblers resembles that of a Pochard.

With three lifers in the bag already this was turning into a cracking twitch but it wasn’t finished yet.  After an hours’ drive we arrived at Pagham Harbour LNR.  This has recently be acquired by the RSPB so I’m sure work will begin on the site in the near future.  We set of along the north wall looking for the Paddyfield Warbler.   From the reports over the previous days I wasn’t expecting good views at all, with the favoured spot being a fair distance away from the path.  We noticed a bunch of birders further along the path.  As we approached some were beginning to leave so I got the horrible feeling we had just missed the bird.  This proved correct.  We got chatting to several birders who said the bird was showing down to 10 metres.  We weren’t too down hearted as this proved the bird was in the area.   After a half hour wait one of the birder who left whistled from back down the path saying he had re-found the bird.  It was time for a good ‘old twitch run....  Arriving at the spot I instantly picked up on the bird in the reeds close to the bank.  It didn’t half move quickly through the reeds and grass.  We were able to watch the Paddyfield Warbler for around 20 mins again showing in the grass at the bottom of the path down to 10 metres. 

Having looked up the bird in the Collins before I left I was surprised with the different colourations on the bird.  The book does not do the bird justice!  The top of the head showed darker patches, even seeming grey in some light.   The short primary projected was easily noticeable, and once the warbler turned the rufous brown on the tail was striking.

After unbelievable views of the Paddyfield it was time to move onto Black Downs in search of the Parrot Crossbill.  With no reports all day optimism wasn’t high.  This proved correct as once in position only half a dozen Common Crossbill were around the pond.  We did however get excellent views of the Crossbill.  Another raven was again heard overhead.   We got talking to a couple of birders who had been in position since 8.30am with no sign.  That’s dedication!

Other Species of interest during the day:

Knot, Grey Plover, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Pintail, Brent Geese, WF Geese, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Dunlin, Green Woodpecker.

The days total species list came to 74.