December Update: Water, Water Everywhere

 

A brief cold snap produced some crisp, misty mornings in early December, but was soon followed by more wet and windy conditions, one of the warmest Christmases on record and yet another drenching from Storm Gerrit. By the end of the month, Setley Pond had swelled to almost twice its normal size and our trickling streams had turned into raging torrents. Some nimble footwork (and good quality footwear) still enabled us to achieve five full circuits of the patch during the month, with a final flourish of 45 species on the 30^th setting a new December record. No new birds were added to the year list which remains at 97, five short of last year’s total. All lists can be found on eBird via the link:  https://ebird.org/hotspot/L12697095 

Aside from the flooding, the main headline this month has been the huge numbers of Winter Thrushes -  far more than in recent years. During the middle weeks of the month, it seemed that almost everywhere we looked there was a Redwing or a Fieldfare. A local birder, Steve Keen identified a huge roost on the edge of our patch at Wilverley Inclosure, counting over 20,000 Redwing on one evening alone, with an estimate of at least 40,000 birds in total. The numbers were starting to tail off at the end of the month, suggesting that the supply of Hawthorn berries may be dwindling, so it will be interesting to see if we continue to find them as easily in the coming weeks. Song Thrushes have started singing again, along with the predicted return of the mournful Collared Dove call, which resumed promptly at the beginning of December, as in previous years.  

Redwing in early morning frost (photo credit: Mark Halligan)

Another birding highlight was our second yearly record of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, interestingly at the same location as the bird seen back in September. The woodland around the site seems too sparse to support breeding, and we have never heard their characteristic drumming or call on the Patch. This may reflect our timing, as the location of the woodland means that we are usually reaching this area several hours into the day, which may be after their morning display has concluded. We will remain vigilant in the Spring in case their recent breeding success in the New Forest has extended into our patch.

Raptor sightings this month included fine views of a female Goshawk on 16^th December, and higher than usual numbers of Sparrowhawk,  presumably attracted in by the nutritious ‘thrush fest’. A Common Buzzard was a regular visitor to the Sway football pitches, enjoying the worms on the damp fields, but there was still no sign of a patch Merlin or Hen Harrier, despite plenty of reports elsewhere in the Forest this Winter.

The high water levels at Setley Pond created some challenges for our local Grey Heron but a trickle of wildfowl maintained interest at this site. A male Goosander reappeared early in the month, joining the regular pair of Canada Geese, up to 7 Mallard and intermittent visits from Cormorant and Kingfisher. A single Little Egret alighted briefly on the flooded field behind the Sway Allotments, along with a pair over the heath on one occasion.

Cormorant - enjoying the facilities on Setley Pond

Stonechats and Dartford Warblers usually become harder to find as the winter progresses, but the milder weather meant that we continued to have sightings of both species throughout December, albeit in lower numbers than in recent months. Good sized flocks of Lesser Redpoll and a few lingering Linnet were also evident, but sadly no Brambling or Hawfinch have passed through the patch this year.

January is typically our toughest month for birding, with species counts at their lowest, but reports of Waxwing sightings near Winchester, as I write this blog, give continued cause for optimism. The arrival of 2024 also provides the opportunity to ‘wipe the spreadsheet clean’, so that every bird seen will be a Patch Year Tick – for the first week at least! 

Sustaining the interest in a monthly blog with limited changes to the birding patterns from year to year is likely to be challenging, so I am going to move to a ‘seasonal’ summary every 3 months in 2024, with a brief weekly round-up following each patch visit. A full summary of 2023 will also be following in the coming days, so I will sign off for now, wishing you all very Happy New Year.