Peter Jones Wildlife blog

Magical morning.. Quick walk round horse paddocks before work. Some of the paddocks are looking quite overgrown, and attractive to Warblers.. Mainly Whitethroats, and Chiff-Chaffs, with a Female Blackcap the last couple of days. Was hoping that overnight rain would have brought a migrant or two down but no joy. (These fields can be pretty good for common migrants after overnight rain. I recall a fall of double figure Wheatear and a Whinchat a few Springs ago). Today started very quiet, and a heavy downpour didn't exactly help! until... a quite amazing run of sightings unfolded above my head: First a Hobby passed thru twice, the second time very nearly grabbing a Goldfinch. This was followed by a Sparrowhawk, and also another Bird of Prey which looked like a Peregrine, but was always going away. Two more Sparrowhawks appeared over the treeline, and another Falcon, this one definitely a Peregrine. A good day for Raptors as Kestrel and Buzzard was also in the area. I'd no sooner f...

Two vastly differing weather forecasts for this weekend, so I spent the nice morning on the hillside looking for migrants overhead. A weird start with 1500 Woodpigeons streaming North in the first hour after dawn. All were on a line East of Romsey, and was quite a spectacular sight. The other notable highlight was two Yellow Wagtails. I don't see many in Hampshire, so it was good to see one perch in a tree top before being joined by another and continuing South. Not much else except for a few Swallows heading South. Tomorrow, I'll be out again, with a wet weather strategy! #vismig http://www.trektellen.nl/trektelling.asp?telpost=1416

Roles reversed Migration watch was pretty dire this morning with just 2 Swallows on the move. 4 Little Egrets and a Tufted Duck overhead were the only other birds of note. I'm noticing a total lack of Finches / Passerines moving past this hill, except bizarrely, for the 2 Crossbills on my initial recce which is slightly worrying for my future success here. Elsewhere, the local horse paddocks had quite a few Whitethroats, a Juvenile Stonechat, which was a real surprise. We had Stonechats here in the Spring, but they must have gone very quiet during the breeding season. I had presumed they had moved on. Also, Garden Warbler and Blackcap, plus a very sleek looking Hobby over the village. The Garden had a Willow Warbler drop in on Tuesday. #vismig   http://www.trektellen.nl/trektelling.asp?telpost=1416

Honey Buzzard bonus In two minds whether to get up when the alarm went off this morning.. Fortunately I managed to make the effort, and just as well I did. I don't see many Honey Buzzards in the UK, and today's sighting was a real surprise. A dark plumaged bird, that initially had me thinking what on earth it was, as luckily, it flew towards me. I was eliminating Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Red Kite, until the long wings, and long tail, plus small protruding head and thick barred underwings and belly suddenly clicked. The slow wing beats, and frequent glides on flat wings, all pointed to Honey Buzzard, and after scrambling up a small bank and ignoring the fact I had knealed on a thistle, I got a superb but brief scope view before it was lost behind trees.  Other birds included Hobby, flying away from me, and clinched as it turned, and gave away it's distinctive silhouette. Certainly finding this watchpoint a challenge with the sun a constant problem, and birds appearing from pr...

An hour of vis-mig at Romsey followed by 30 mins or so in the private horse paddocks near the house this morning. Vis-mig was pretty slow with a bright start, but very low cloud hampering the sightings later on. No wind whatsoever. In 90 minutes I did manage a Hobby South , and Little Egret North. Plus around 60 House Martins, mainly feeding but a handful drifted South. The Horse Paddocks picked up slightly with 2 Meadow Pipits, a Chiff-Chaff, and a couple of Whitethroats. #vismig   #birds

Arrived at new watchpoint just after Dawn. The usual Gulls commuting down the Test Valley, and a few Swifts over Fishlake. Sun was a bit of a pain this morning but this shouldn't be a problem in the Autumn mornings! Also, near the Sewage Works, the bat detector picked up Barbastelle, Noctule, Common Pipistrelle, and Soprano Pipistrelle amongst an annoying crescendo of insect chatter.  Elsewhere, the semi-rough horse paddocks near home were pretty good this morning with Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Chiff-Chaff, Whitethroat, half a dozen Linnets, and a Peregrine overhead. Amazing what a few weeds and out of control bushes can attract! #vismig   #bats   http://www.trektellen.nl/trektelling.asp?telpost=1416

2 hours this morning at the Romsey STW watchpoint.. Species Count Mallard 2 Cormorant 21 Grey Heron 2 Buzzard 1 Lapwing 4 Green Sandpiper 1 Black-headed Gull 64 Lesser Black-backed Gull 4 Herring Gull 2 Stock Dove 2 Woodpigeon 13 Collared Dove 2 Swift 9 Great Spotted Woodpecker 2 Jackdaw 80 Raven 2 Swallow 2 Chiffchaff 1 Starling 473 Pied Wagtail (yarrellii) 2 Greenfinch 5 Goldfinch 2 Siskin 1 Mainly local birds on their daily commute, the Green Sandpiper a nice sighting, and Swifts nearing departure. A good number of Starlings for the time of year, emerged out of Romsey / Fishlake roost. #vismig

Vis Mig 2014! I've decided to rotate my vis mig efforts. Trying out a new location each year. Michelmersh / Brook has been excellent, so too has Badminston, but both are less than ideal this Autumn.. Brook has a very keen Gamekeeper that doesn't want me to put so much as a foot off the footpath, so the view is not as good as previous years. Badminston has been transformed into a flat desert by the Gravel workings by the look of it! So, I have decided either Stansore Point overlooking the Solent at Lepe, with a chance of Finches overhead, and the lagoon that held a Lesser Yellowlegs last winter. Popular with the public though; Or the view below of the River Test and Test Valley near Romsey. Tried here for 40 minutes after Keyhaven this morning, and the view is pretty good.. I could see all the Hirundines over Romsey / Fishlake Meadows, including up to 36 Swifts, a small flock of Mistle Thrushes, 2 Lapwing, and most unusually, 2 Crossbill overhead. The area is also good for Gulls...