Tick, tick, tick

Not a broken watch, but a person yearlisting on a sunny Saturday in January.
The year lsiting is going well, One hundred and three different birds so far this month. Over half way to the #my200birdyear target.
It's going to get a lot harder - in fact I may not get to 200 at all, I havent underestimated that fact at all but we'll give it a damn good go. It's becoming addictive again.

But if this addiction takes me to the quiet parts of our countryside or coastline, I reckon I can live with that.

First up today was Chilling / Bronwich near Titchfield Haven. Target - Long Tailed Duck, Scaup and Common Scoter all listed out to sea for a few days at least.
Picking up Golden Plover on the walk from the car park to the coast (#104) we soon honed in on the flock of birds, bobbing on the waves. Hello Scaup and LT Duck (#105 / #106).  sadly no sign of the Scoter, or Eider that have also been listed, "Further up Southampton Water", one local birder told us.
(click on pics to enlarge).

Being so close to Titchfield and sunny day we thought a quick check on the Snow Bunting was in order. Try and get some better pics, using the tripod this time.

Although it was listed in the Visitors Centre, we didnt see it today. A Common Gull made it #107 for the year, a few pics of the Sanderling also taken - and a few Turnstone for good measure.

A few kite surfers were out on the water today. Including the guy from Mythbusters.

From Titchfield it was a busy traffic drive across (or actually around) to Southsea Castle. The Purple Sandpiper (#108) took some finding today. Easy to miss due to the sun and splashing waves, we actually only saw one today, but that's always enough.

A Rock Pipit (#109) had the decency to fly past as we looked out to sea. It landed close enough to snap. Herring Gull also added here (#110).

On to Farlington to see if the Short Eared Owls were out. I already have them (for the year list) but as Rach was with me we thought it a good place to go for a stroll.

No luck with the Owls. Saw a Marsh Harrier (already got), a pair of very showy Raven and also heard a Bearded Tit in the reeds. On checking, it appears I hadn't listed the Beardies from a fortnight ago, so that makes it #111 for the year list.

'Triffic'.

I can walk around Andover town and see no one I know. Today at Farlington I bumped in to 3!
Steve from Greenham (an old resident in my Wardens job) and Simon and Ann-marie from Andover. Funny old world, innit!

Simon and Ann-Marie enjoying the cold weather.

Year-listing in the sun.

Another day off and another adventure.

The frosty start and cold north wind meant a not too early start. 10 minutes of deicing the car and I was on my way to the New Forest at around 8:30 this morning.
The year listing has been going well. I have tried to concentrate a little on the rarer things that potentially wont be here for long. eg. the Cattle Egret and Snow Bunting from last week (or was it the week before?)
I've slowly trickled my way up to 85 on the year list. A sunny trip to Blashford Lakes last weekend brought good ticks in the form of Brambling, Goldeneye, Goosander and Great White Egret. We dipped on the Bittern, but I'm used to dipping on Bittern!

Today I was after a few more coastal birds, and in particular what's far out to sea. A Diver of sorts would be amazing, maybe one of the rarer grebes too?  Sadly my optimism often outclasses my actual Bird ID skills, but it was worth a try.

First stop was the car park of Beaulieu Road Train Station. My (many times previously mentioned friend) Joe had taken me here before for Crossbill, but we dipped that day. I suspected the same today. Difficult birds, Crossbill.

Picking up a Mistle Thrush and Treecreeper just before the car park, I searched all the pine trees, listening out for an unusual call. Sadly all I got were numerous Goldcrest and a Coal Tit.  Hmmmm.

A stroll north, to Shatterford car park (the other side of the railway line) and it was looking to be going the same way. So I cheated...
Playing the Crossbill call from the RSPB website I almost instantly attracted a pair over. They'd come to check the noise out.

I wouldn't dream of playing any calls close to the breeding season, It is not the done thing, but mid Jan I reckoned I'd be ok.
As soon as they flew over, really, within seconds, I stopped the audio file and started taking pics. This was the first decent chance to take pics of Crossbill for me. Ok, I had a juvenile way up in the trees at Rooksbury in the Autumn, but this beats it 'hands down'!

The obliging pair.  The male is red and the female green.

Back in to the car to try and defrost the fingers! The cold north wind was definitely doing its job today!!!

It took about 30 minutes to get to Pennington Lane car park, just enough time to warm up.

The first thing I noted was how wet it was everywhere. A lot of the fields were flooded, which could make it very hide to find any waders etc. as they had a much larger area to search for food in.

The fields were full of Wigeon and Teal. Shovelers doing their thing too, and most noticeable was the massive amount of Pintail there. All looking splendid in the bright winter sunshine. 

I do like Wigeon. It's a sad day when they fly back north for the summer. 

Other than those listed above, who were in great numbers, there wasn't a massive amount of other stuff. An obliging threesome of Snipe at the edge of Keyhaven, but sadly no Dartford Warbler. I think I heard a Stonechat but couldn't locate it.

The low sun made sea-watching difficult from here so I headed back to Fishtail and Butts sea wall. En route a birder told me that they'd just seen a Marsh Harrier and Bittern in that area. Both would be 2017 year ticks. A Bittern would be an excellent one indeed! 

True enough, after a short time the sky had a lovely Marsh Harrier in it.  A bit of a way off, but I got a few pics that prove it was one. A long search of the reedbeds sadly offered no visible Bittern. 

De-ja-vu..  Again.

The sea offered a new tick in the form of a few Red Breasted Merganser but sadly nothing else. 

Many Pintail and Wigeon bobbing up and down on the waves but not the birds I was hoping for. Oh well. Back to the car and drive around to Normandy Marsh.

Not a year tick, but was pleased to see over a dozen Avocet on Normandy. Not sure I've even seen one there before.  

Shelduck, Teal, Wigeon and Pintail, plus a few Redshank and Blackwits, but no (needed) Greenshank today. The plus was the usual Kingfisher working the channel between lagoon and sea defence.

The sea wall defences also offered a Dartford Warbler which showed REALLY well for while, and a couple of Goldfinch eating the seeds on some tweasels. And of course a few more Wigeon and Teal. 

A quick check of Hants Birds and I see there are some Mandarin Duck (8) at Fishlake Meadow. A very rare chance to see these stonking ducks. Can't think of any previous opportunities locally, so on the way home I call in there and gratefully pick up Year Tick number 96!  

Very pleased with how the day went and also how the year list is growing. Year List Here.

 Roll on the next adventure!

Whoops! Year-listing again! But what a way to start!

Yeah, I thought I'd give it another bash.

For those that don't know, there is nothing cryptic about it, year listing is simply listing how many different types of bird you see in a year. Birdwatching Mag is running a #My200BirdYear 'competition' and I've got a few friends to have a go at it too. As many have said, it's a good way to get off your arse and get out to a few more places.

I had a go at year-listing in 2011 and got to 191. Five years later and I think I am a little better at identifying things and knowing where to go to see stuff, or as importantly, which website or twitter feed to keep an eye on. Of course that doesn't guarantee seeing the target bird, but it's like aiming for the men with scopes at Nature Reserves - take every bit of help you can.

I've learnt that to get to close to 200, you need to jump on what ever is local - in particular the things that won't be in the area for long. Rare birds should be very high on your agenda on 'day off' plans.
With that, and the promised good weather in mind, today was all about them.
Cattle Egret and Snow Bunting on the South Coast.  Road Trip!

The Cattle Egret are at Warblington. That's right on the Hampshire / Sussex border, after the Hayling Island turn off  - so quite a way from Andover.  I realise that thinking 'Hayling is far away' probably isn't great considering that there might be a few 'jump in the car' moments to tick off a rare duck that pops up on the Solent on a Monday evening etc.
I figured I would keep an eye on the daily bird website - Hants Birds would be a good idea. Head to Titchfield Haven for the Snow Bunting and then decide whether to head further East if they were still there. Grab a couple of Short Eared Owl on the way back home too.

Hants Birds checked over breakfast and it was decided to go to Mercer Way in Romsey first as the Hawfinch were back..  9:30 a.m. - begin.

Taking longer than I'd hoped, on a day where it was probably not yet above zero, one lone Hawfinch finally showed its self.

Job done! First year tick of the day. Still hadnt seen a Pheasant.
No news yet of any Cattle Egret or Snow Bunting (at Titchfield), but I headed to the South Coast anyway.

Driving along the sea front, up towards Titchfield Haven I see a lot of people stood in a circle on the beach. The Snow Bunting is still here then!!

Parking up and walking to the ensemble, I add Turnstone and Oystercatcher to the Year List, along with a couple of Brent Geese. Should be a good day! Optimistically I scour the reserve for a Marsh Harrier - why not push the luck a little...

The Snow Bunting is as used to people as the pair I saw last year at Southsea. Another good tick that needed jumping on. It surely wont be here much longer.

Sanderling, Dunlin, Ringed Plover to name a few on the sea front. Still no news of the Cattle Egret, but I decided to head to Warblington too, providing I could find it!
A quick stop to snap the 30 Eider that are miles out to see, but still a Tick!

Close to Emsworth, on the southern side of the A27, I arrive to see an elderly couple looking at a hedge.. (always aim for those with scopes). I ask them if they can see the Cattle Egret and they confirm.  Park up and share their view of a few white blobs through a hawthorn hedge 100 metres away.  Triff!

A bit of patience and strolling up the road and after a while a couple of Cattle Egret fly in to the field closest to me. I get a few snaps through a small hole in the hedge and am happy with that. Cattle Egret is a 'lifer' for me. Never seen any before.

A few more, better shots over a gateway as I walk back to the car and it's time to drive the short trip to Farlington Marshes - target Short Eared Owls, whilst picking up anything else that might be there.

Farlington..

Kestrel, Avocet and Pintail added to the list, to name a few and I note a lot of cameras, scopes etc. by the reed bed..  Beardies? yes, Beardies!

I've only seen Bearded Tit two times before, managed to get a really poor shot of them once, but had better luck today. At least three in the reed bed close to the path. Result!
Not easy to snap, they land near the top of the reed, which then falls down behind other reeds under their weight. Happy enough with these though.

The Short Eared Owls also popped up whilst I was there. One perched up by the lagoon and two briefly in the Point Field. No Red Breasted Merganser today, so a return trip will no doubt happen soon enough.

Four O'clock and time to walk back to the car and fight the traffic. Happy with the fact that I went to 4 places and saw the 4 things I wanted to see. That, doesn't happen very often at all.

A good day.

Oh, and the Year List is now on ..  Sixty Four