Winchester Birding: July 2013

Friday 12 July 2013

11/7/13

There was a Red Kite soaring above Chilcomb, seen from Magdelen Hill Down.
Magdelen Hill Down held some nice butterflies including Speckled Wood, Ringlets, lesser Tortoiseshell , Marbeled Whites and meadow Browns. There were no Chalkhill Blues which are common here.
I also heard a Reed Warbler singing, which is a very weird place for it. But probably a migrant resting there ?

Meadow Brown

Ringlet

Speckled Wood

Lesser Tortoiseshell

Red kite

Sunday 7 July 2013

6/7/13

LNY
I had one Little owl in Chilicombe. A patch record, it was mobile but faithful to one small area. I sa it at about 9 pm.
It leads to the question, is it just a visitor or does it live here ? there have been a few possible reports for it here, but i have not heard of one proven one. So i will continue to check it out and see if it stays.

Tuesday 2 July 2013

2/7/13

At 3:00 I had one Ad. Med Gull flying over, and circling the SF. There was a flock of about 20 Black-Headed Gulls and one very tatty juv.I had a flyover Redshank, a new year bird. It was flying very high over the SF and I did not see it but i heard it calling. One Reed Bunting was singing from the SF, six Whitethroats were also singing on the fence by the SF.

On St. Catherines hill there was a kestrel hovering above the Dongas. A flock of five Linnets were feeding in the scrub. A mixed flock of 36 Goldfinches and Greenfinches were also feeding on some scrubs.

1/7/13

There was a massive report of 39 Med gulls on the SF at 12:00. By 1:15 there was only 12.
This surely must be the most ever recorded on patch ? The SF water levels continue to drop, soon there might not be any water left. This is promising for the upcoming passage of some wader, hopefully some will pass through. Black Tailed Godwhits are a possibility ( mainly August), Greenshanks and Redshanks will hopefully also pass through later on in the year

Patch

My patch consists of many different habitats.

Here is a list of some of the habitats and regular birds I see there.

Winnal moor - A semi large area of reeedbed, Cettis warbler are found there throughout the year. A small wintering population can also be seen. Siskins are sporadic winter visitors to the alders close by. Reed and sedge warblers are common birds here in the summer. Blackcap, whitethroat, chiffchaf and willow warblers are also found here.

Crab wood - A pristine well kept ancient woodland. Marsh tits are common here. Treecreepers and Great spotted woodpecker are common birds here also. Lesser spotted woodpeckers were once breeders but are no longer found here.

St.Catherines hill - Chalk downland. Yellowhammers breed in summer. Lesser whitehroat are occasional visors to what is known as the dongas on the hill.Willow warbler breeds here.It gets exciting in Autumn when many Autumn migs can be found in scrubs. Common Redstart, Winchat, Wheatear, Spotted flycatcher, ( also a spring mig), and some other scarcer birds.

Winchester Sewage farm - The place where I get the largest number of bird species and it produces the rarest. It is a closed reservoir which I view from the side. There is often mud around the edges. Teal, Shoveler and Snipe are common winter visitors. Lapwing are found throughout the year but large flocks ( c. 500) form in winter. Passage is good for waders getting Little ringed plover, Green and Common Sandpipers. Rarer passage waders include Black tailed Godwhit and Greenshank. A large gull flock can be found in winter containing Common, Hering, Lesser Black Backed, Black headed and sometimes Great black backed gull. This attracts a normally yearly Iceland gull. Goosander is a scarce visitor here in winter months. A Barn Owl can be seen hunting in the meadows above the SF in late winter evenings. Spring can get passage Sand Martin as well as Lesser Whitethroat. House Martins and Swallows are common throughout the summer. Whitethroats breed on the fence by the SF. Shelduck are rare breeders.

Farmland - Meadow pipits breed here, along with Skylarks. Red-legged Partridges are found here also. Woodcocks winter in dense but small woodland by Farmland.

East part of patch - Firecrest breed here, as well as not confirmed Spotted flycatcher.

Water Meadows - Little egrets winter here, Kingfishers breed here and Grey Wagtails also.

Winchester area I watch