DAILY DIARY

HAVANT NATURE NOTES for 2012

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Despite the chill north east wind the bright sun and cloudless sky made it a pleasure to be out this morning and there were several signs of spring including the first flowers on White Comfrey lining the small stream running through the Parchment housing from the Homewell spring. Not new, but colourful and surprising was a fresh flower on the putative Geranium reuteri plant in the alley off East Street.

Crossing Park Road South near the Langstone roundabout I noticed the leaves of Danish Scurvygrass were now visible (though it may need both colder weather and a little precipitation - salt spreading and snow or rain - to bring the plants into flower but we have a little time before Feb 17 which is the date on which they started to flower last year). One white flower which was out was an Ox-eye Daisy in grass beside the water wheel close to the A27 and further down the Langbrook stream several Lungwort plants were in flower in gardens.

Coming out onto the South Moors I put up an unexpected combination of two Snipe feeding alongside two Song Thrushes, and when I got to the north end of the Orchid field I not only enjoyed bright yellow Marsh Marigold flowers on two plants but also put up what may have been a Jack Snipe though I saw nothing to prove the claim - the only suggestive features were that I thought it looked smaller than the other two birds I had just seen and that it flew off in total silence but I did not see the length of the bill and it did not make a short, low level flight and then go to ground (but that may be because it was heading for the Southern Electric office building and had to go over it).

At the south end of Southmoor Lane one Alexanders plant was starting to flower and on top of Budds Mound Common Fumitory and Small Nettle were both still flowering. On the pools were many Teal with the other expected species plus a pair of Canada Geese clearly thinking of nesting here.

Coming home via Langstone Pond a male Kestrel allowed me to walk right below the branch on which it was perched but otherwise there was nothing special to note and not a single Cherry Plum flower to record.

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As Crossbills had been reported from Havant Thicket earlier this week, and as John Goodspeed had found them still there a couple of days ago, I drove to the Thicket ths morning to look round the conifers alongside what I call the 'Yellow Brick Road' (the road for Forestry Vehicles to access the Thicket from the B2149 Havant to Horndean road which enters the Thicket almost opposite Castle Road in Rowlands Castle and runs almost due west).

Walking north to this area from the public carpark I could see plenty of the 15cm long, cigar shaped cones on mature Norway Spruce trees which had not yet been attacked by the Crossbills so I continued to search the area keeping an eye open for the silent shower of falling scales torn from the cones by silent and invisible Crossbills - this is often the first sign of their presence but I could not detect it here. Luckily I had not walked far north of the area when I heard the unmistakeably 'Chup, chup' call and looked up to see the red underside of a male flying almost overhead to allow me to add the species to my year list. That was the only Crossbill that I saw but on my way back I walked through an old Spruce plantation where the ground was littered with cones like those in my photo below which are typical of how these birds carefully strip each cone, pulling out each scale in turn before extracting the seeds nestling within the base of those scales - in my photo below you can see that each of the 250 or so (my estimate) scales on each cone has been neatly removed with none of the damage that the teeth of a Squirrel would inflict.

While in the Thicket area I heard a couple of Bullfinch plus a Nuthatch with both Long-tailed and Coal Tits and saw two Buzzards soaring high above. At one point a complaining crowd of Siskins landed in tree tops near me but they flew off before I could get a visual on them. Also seen distantly was the crowd of Gulls and Corvids on the Gipsies Plain - among them I could hear some of the Rooks that no doubt come from the Rowlands Castle rookery near the railway station with maybe some from the Leigh Park gardens rookery whose trees overhang the road taking you north from Leigh Park into the Durrants area which comes before the Rowlands |Castle roundabout.

Back at home I was walking down the road outside my house when I added a second bird (following the Crossbill) to my year list - this time my first Sparrowhawk which was on a slow high patrol of its home territory, brought to my attention by the calls of gulls. Mention of gulls reminds me that earlier in the week a pair of Herring Gulls landed on the chimney stack of the house across the road from mine and raised their heads in a noisy show of thinking the nearby rooves might make a good nesting place. They did the same last year though nothing came of it but I am pretty sure that for several years there have been some nesting on the factory rooves up New Lane not far to the north.

After yesterday's gloom today's sunshine was reason in itself for smiling but the glorious colour of my first Grey Wagtail for the year flying up from the Homewell spring in the centre of Havant to perch on a rooftop in full sun against the background of the blue sky above caused me to nearly cheer out loud. On that same walk to the Havant shops I also enjoyed the sight of both the pure white of Field Pennycress and the bright blue of Green Alkanet flowers.

The phone rang at luchtime with a query from a Portsmouth NEWS resporter saying she had been told that there was an unexplained absence of Grey Squirrels from Havant Park and wondering if I knew the reason to which I could only say that if this was a normal winter Squirrels should now be hibernating in their Dreys and that the unusual aspect of current Squirrel life was that there were any at all to be seen - that fact that there are was brought home to me this afternoon when I walked in the Warblington area and saw three different Squirrels all sitting on branches in traditional Squirrel Nutkin pose munching on what I must assume were nuts.

On that walk I was hoping to see the Cattle Egret but failed to do so (it was certainly seen yesterday morning and I expect it is still around somewhere). Along the Langstone east shore the Blackthorn flowers which had been open on Jan 1 were still on show and today's news was that as I headed up Pook Lane I found many Cherry Plum trees starting to open their buds (one flower had already started pushing its petals out of their sheath) and as I walked the path from Wablington Church to Nore Barn I found Sun Spurge freshly flowering alongside a plant of Groundsel covered with the unusual rayed form of flowers. In the big field south of the Church Path two flocks of Brent were still present but only totalling some 300 birds, not the 5,000 plus that were here recently.

At Nore Barn the Spotted Redshank was still present despite the iminence of sunset, and before seeing it I had found several flowers on the large plant of Japanese Honeysuckle that covers the brambles and climbs the surrounding trees at the west end of the woodland (I noted this as there were no flowers to be seen on the plant I passed earlier by the Billy Trail in Havant)

Before setting out the local Crow family of four were in the garden for their usual breakfast and I was surprised to see that one of the two young birds which have been coming here for the best part of a year was still quivering its wings and begging food from one of the parents.

Heading down the Billy Trail it was nice to hear Mistle Thrush song from the area near Langstone pond indicating that the bird which I saw twice there in final days of 2011 (but did not get on my Jan 1 list) is still around. Also in that area I heard two or three Wrens singing as well as the Dunnocks that are now heard daily.

Reaching the Oysterbeds with the tide very high (forecast as 4.8m) there were plenty of birders, several saying the Shore Lark had been seen 'not long ago' but no one seemed to see it while I was there (maybe as a result of several Brent and a mass of Dunlin roosting on the area of the Tern island where the Lark was supposed to be seen) so I headed on south down the Coastal path.

First stop was at the shore copse in line with Daw Lane hoping to see early wild Primroses in flower but I found no buds among the very fresh leaves. Further south the West Lane fields held an estimated 1500+ Brent which I gave a cursory once over in case the Brant which has been in this area recently was showing its whitish flanks but again no luck.

Near the Sinah Gravel Pit lake an Oak tree had a vocal flock of some 20 Greenfinch in its topmost branches - a welcome indication that these birds, which have been so scarce here this winter that I did not get the species on my year list until yesterday, are returning.

Reaching the Ferry area I checked out the grass in the centre of the roundabout where Early Forget-me-not will be in flower before too long (unlikely until March!) and was rewarded with a colony of what I put down as live Heath Snails (Helicella itala) - yesterday I was writing about my interest in Snails which had been re-aroused by Graeme Lyons recent blog entry but after seeing these molluscs I realised that I had not checked the size of their belly-buttons (umbilici) as this is the only sure distinction between H. itala (width of umbilcus is one third of the shell diameter) and the Striped Snail (Cernuella virgata which has a much smaller umbilicus - other than this both species look like 'mint humbugs' being white with dark lines). Both species are fairly common on calcareous grass in southern England.

On the grassland south of the Golf Course my only note was a first sight of the leaves of a couple of Green-winged Orchids that will soon be pushing up in their thousands. Heading back to the West Town station and the coastal path up Staunton Avenue I had a much more unexpected sight for late January - a smallish Hedgehog actively searching for worms or other food in the broad roadside grass verge.

Back at the Oysterbeds the birders and the roosting birds had all left the lagoon area though one of the last to depart said the Shore Lark was still there so I got out my scope for a careful search of the tern nesting isalnd but had no luck for about 15 minutes during which another birder (who turned out to be Mark Swann whose usual patch is the Testwood Lakes at Totton) arrived. When my patience ran out and my stomach told me it was long past lunch time I put my scope back in its case and was just mounting my bike to leave when Mark spotted the bird and we both had excellent views of it through the scope - a lifer for me bringing my humble year-list to 76 (and in view of Brian Fellows remark that I probably by now had over a hundred flowering plants on my plant list I checked that and found that it currently stands at 96)

My latest weekly summary of reports is now available by clicking Weekly Summary here

My latest weekly summary of reports is now available by clicking Weekly Summary here

A walk down the Langbrook Stream to Budds Farm and back gave me the above three new bird species, bringing my yearlist to 72 species, but also added several new flowering plants including the cauliflower-like Giant Butterbur (Petasites japonicus) which still grows by the Langbrook Stream where it was planted by ecological consultants 'greening' the then new IBM site in the early 1980s in an area now 'out of sight and out of mind' just north of the bridge which once connected Langstone Dairy Farm to the South Moors where the farm cattle grazed.

Other new plants for the year list were Common Alder, Green Alkanet, Field Pennycress, Small Flowered Cranesbill, Wavy Bittercress, Spear Thistle, Hemlock Water Dropwort and Pellitory of the Wall. Another two new flowers for the year were seen in gardens and not counted as wild - one was Nasturtium and the other cultivated Cowslip.

Also seen at the outset of the walk and still bearing two flowers was the as yet undetermined 'Large Herb Robert' (probably Geranium reuteri) which I am not including in my database or year list until I know what to call it! A little further on, in Juniper Square, a bush of Japanese Spindle had acquired a brighter red colour as it seeds have shed a second coat (the first gave the seeds a dull whitish look, the second (almost translucent) allowed the final red colour to shine through dimly and now, after casting this, the seeds have a glowing red colour.

Returning to the bird interest I had turned off the streamside path to look for the Giant Butterbur and maybe the female 'common' Butterbur plants also planted there some 30 years ago when a small brownish bird attracted my attention as it flew downstream. I did not get a clear view of it in flight but guessed that it might be a Water Rail and so rushed to the stream bank to scan the area where I thought it had landed. I then saw it cross the stream and got several further glimpses to confirm its identity. It's behaviour was that of a bird blundering about in vegetation it was totally unfmiliar with (normally rails creep about their territory in a way that gives no clue to their presence until the call) and this made me think this bird must already be on its return migration which normally takes place at the end of March (another result of the spring like weather).

After emerging from the bramble and nettle patch my eye was caught by what looked like a piece of black plastic which seemed to be caught against the trunk of a Poplar tree some 40 feet up it - if it was a bird I thought it must be a Black Woodpecker to be able to cling to the trunk where it was apparently finding something to eat. What it was doing I really have no idea for it very soon clumsily descended to a branch on which it perched momentarily before jumping off and flying down into the stream showing me that it was a Moorhen!

Over at the Budds Farm Pools I found what I am almost certain was the 'Fudge Duck' (the long established winter resident hybrid Ferruginous x Pochard). As it was today in the eastmost pool giving close views from the 'viewing bench' I could see it well (though not the bill nail as it was, as usual, sleeping with its bill tucked under its wing). The first thing that attracted me to it was the large bright white undertail patch, and a longer look showed that it was not at all like a female Tufted Duck but its plumage was in a worn state and not showing the ferruginous colour on its breast and flanks that I have seen in past springs and it also had what might have been a hint of a 'tuft' on its head but could have just been a single out of place feather. All the time I watched it it was keeping close company with a male Pochard and I was surprised that it seemed smaller than the Pochard (when seen alone it always seems to look larger than either a Tufty or a Pochard but this must be an illusion caused by its general shape and the way it seems to float hgher in the water than either of the other two species. Just as I was leaving another birder came along with a scope and luckily he did not disagree with me that it did not look like a Tufty but he admitted he was not familiar with what to look for in confirming its identity!

By now the sun was setting but I was in time to get a good view of one Rock Pipit on the South Moors shore

With only time for a short outing this morning but also in the hope of finding a Treecreeper (no luck there) I drove to the southern edge of the Stansted estate for a look round the Redwood Groves but before entering I went a short way along the track which eventually leads to the Racton Monument (my map calls this track Park Lane but others call it Monument Lane). A newly deepened ditch beside the lane has drained much of the water that I expected to flood the footway but also made it more difficult to cross into Pitts Copse south of the lane. I eventually succeeded in crossing and began to scan the million stems of Lesser Periwinkle plants that cover the woodland floor - eventually I found what I was looking for - a single brand new Lesser Periwinkle flower!

In the Groves I was not equally lucky in finding a Wild Strawberry flower among the many Strawberry leaves beside the footpath as soon as you enter but I was soon distracted from this search by the glorious song of a Mistle Thrush which continued for what seemed like five minutes. I never saw the bird but did add Goldcrest to my yearlist among a Tit flock and I also heard my first Chaffinch attempting its song. Reaching the first of the Redwood trees I saw many small male flowers at the tips of the branches - gently tapping one released a great cloud of pollen. A little further on I watched four Robins (seemingly two pairs) determining the boundaries of their respective territories without fighting - much hopping around one or two bushes.

While among the trees I heard the calls of a nearby Buzzard and on emerging from them to take the path from the north end of the Groves across the grass fields back to Park Lane I watched at least three Buzzards enjoying the sunshine which was by now beginning to generate thermals for them to soar. My only other notes were of two fungi species found in Pitts Copse - on a tree stump I collected what turned out to be Bonnet Mycena with pinkish gills and a white spore print plus a very young Common Inkcap which surprised me by having (at that early stage) white gills.

This morning I headed for the Hayling Oysterbeds to have a look at the birds brought there by the high tide. My route took me down Wade Lane past the pony field south of Wade Court where the flooded area was alive with Teal now making their bell-like calls as they sense the approaching spring.

The water's edge of the harbour off Langstone village had many more Lapwing than usual (with a few Black-tailed Godwits) and when I got to Langstone bridge and looked back to the saltings off Northney marina I was able to count some 80 Shelduck. Another small flock of Blackwits was present in Texaco Bay and as I reached the old rail line I saw a birder looking intently inland making me wonder if he had spotted a Little Owl in the trees on the far side of the marshy field. When I reached him he said, without my mentioning the name, that he had been watching a Little Owl, not where I expected it but across the main road on the roof of the metal shed of the road trailer business and this immediately made me curious to know more so I set up my scope to discover that the 'Little Owl' was one of those 'bird scarer' models of a pseudo Eagle Owl (something I have never noticed there before).

Cycling on to the Oyster Bed pools which were by now nearly full I again used my scope to enjoy the thousands of waders on the bund walls and the many Mergansers on the harbour beyond (among them were a few Goldeneye and Great Crested Grebes but no Black-necked Grebe that I could see). Surprisingly both the Mergansers and the many Ringed Plover were new to my year list but they only brought the number of species on it up to 66. On the earth mound by the lagoon the large crop of dead Teazels had attracted a flock of around 50 Goldfinch and in the gateway of the field north of the lagoon the Sweet Violets had started to flower.

Heading south down the Coastal Path I took the path by the Pill Box to reach Daw Lane (thus missing the shore copse in line with Daw Lane where wild Primroses could already be out) and then headed for Northney where I entered North Common to have a look at the old Holiday Camp boating lake in which a wintering Whimbrel has been reported seven times since the start of October. When I reached the useful bench which overlooks this flooded area I saw (in addition to many Teal and roosting Redshank) a single Whimbrel-like bird standing motionless next to a single Egret. Sadly, when I got my scope on this bird (which had a hooked rather than curved bill and had a faint central crown stripe) I could see no hint of any eye stripes and both the size of the bird and the length of its bill were bigger than I would expect for a Whimbrel so I could not add the species to my year list but I did learn something from the Collins Bird Guide which is that Curlew can sometimes show a faint crown stripe.

While still on North Common I checked the northern fringe of the big bramble patch (considerably cut back over the past year) which is opposite the bund wall track leading north from the main path to the Marina entrance. Here, in the area previously hidden from sight by brambles, a massive display of flowering Sweet Violets can be seen, making up for the fact that growth of the brambles in other areas makes it almost impossible to get the south side of this patch where I have in the past enjoyed the sight and smell of the violets.

Nothing much more to add but after passing the still flowering Japanese Honeysuckle beside the Billy Trail I noticed a good half-dozen new Lesser Celandines flowering beside the trail, spread over a lengthy section.

Although there were plenty of common birds including noisy Nuthatches and a Great Spotted Woodpecker, plus Great, Blue and Coal Tit song as well as the Rooks and Gulls (Black-headed and Common) on the Gipsies Plain, there was nothing unusual in the way of birds or plants. I only noted three items of interest - one was a brief glimpse of what was probably a Bank Vole to judge by its reddish brown coat, the second was probably a Weasel (a small dark object moving very fast across the track some way ahead of me and then moving through the trackside grass with a bobbing motion until it disappeared under bushes), and the third was a Yew tree covered with what I thought were called Pineapple Galls but I subsequently found that that name applies to a different gall mainly occurring on Spruce trees - the one I found can be seen at http://www.bugsandweeds.co.uk/galls%20p1.html#TaxoTaxi and is called the Yew Bud Gall (Taxomyia taxi) caused by the Yew gall midge (also named Taxomyia taxi) which flies in July. Also noticeable in the country park area were many fresh Molehills now that rain has made tunnelling easier for both the Moles and the worms they are after.

My latest weekly summary of reports is now available by clicking Weekly Summary here

So far I have seen the results of 15 NYD bird lists, 12 of them achieved on Jan 1 in atrocious weather, so it is amazing to see that Team Ornitholidays (Nigel and Phil Jones from the Romsey area) actually broke the previous record of 120 (set in 2009) with a score of 121. Two more Hants teams each achieved 116 while fourth place on the honours board went to Robin Attrill on the Isle of Wight with 109. Fifth highest score was achieved by the last of the four Hants teams to take the challenge seriously - they scored 106. The highest score in Sussex was 90 achieved by Russ Tofts and next came Derek Hale on the Isle of Wight with 81. South East Hants was represented by John Norton and Peter Raby who managed to clock up 72 while Steve Mansfield scored 72 on his bike in the Alton area and the Havant Wildlife Group managed a very respectable 52 on foot in the Langstone area. My own cross-border score cycling from Langstone to Nutbourne was 48, just one less than the Sussex team of L & F Dray. Three more Sussex teams achieved 84, 67 and 59 respectively but are disqualified as they did their counts in the much better weather on Jan 2.

Since my previous entry on Jan 3 when I thought I had found an uncommon plant called Geranium rubescens I have had a reply from Martin Rand (south Hants plant recorder) suggesting that my plant might be an even rarer species - Geranium reuteri - which has just started to invade this country from the Canaries. Until the plant has been examined by an authority on alien plants (most likely Eric Clement from Gosport) I cannot claim the honour of finding a genuine rarity but the possibility certainly boosts my excitement in the chase for species old and new which has already brought my list of flowering wild plants for 2012 to 64. To supplement the evidence for the plant being G. reuteri I revisited the site today and took a couple more photos showing the site and collecting more specimens of the leaves and flowers (still leaving a healthy plant with at least two buds coming into flower).

After this visit I went on to Waterloo Road and took a photo of the Whitlowgrass on which the flowers are just starting to open. This photo shows two well developed plants one of which has flower buds on a short stem, the other has flowers showing their white petals but difficult to see (follow the flower stem up and you should find them!). These two plants are surrounded by just a few of the hundreds of tiny developing plants that cover the ground at the foot of the fence line along the north side of Waterloo Road.

I had not expected get out at all today but after gale force winds and torrential rain in the morning I was tempted out to add to my growing year list - both Marsh Marigold and Snipe should be available on the South Moors.

To avoid the mud of the Langbrook Stream path, and to have another look for Mistle Thrush in the Wade Court south field, I went via Wade Lane and while I did not see the Mistle Thrush I did add Pheasant to my list and noticed that four more Egrets had joined the singleton that I regularly see in the Wade Court north fields. I also found many Lords and Ladies (Arum lily) leaves were pushing up.

At the shore I turned east to look for the Blackthorn flowers which the Havant Wildlife Group had recorded on Sunday and found a substantial spray of flowers on a tree about two thirds of the way from Wade Lane to Pook Lane. On the shoreline here there had been a significant increase in Shelduck with more than 45 to be seen along with a big roost of Lapwing but sadly no Golden Plover.

In a Langstone village garden I noted my first flowering Snowdrops (but did not list them as wild flowers!) and after crossing the main road I noticed that the strong winds had blown the fallen leaves off the previously hidden Bee Orchid leaves by the footpath connecting the main road to Mill Lane where Sweet Violet flowers had also been revealed.

At the west end of Mill Lane with the tide low I decided to risk my life by getting into the muddy channel of the Langbrook Stream immediately below the footbridge in order to resolve the identity of the fungi which I have been calling Brick Caps as I had not been able (from the footpath) to see the stems of the fungi. From the stream bed I was able to collect a sample of the fungi and see that they did have the distinctive 'black velvet' stems of Velvet Shank (photos below)

On the open South Moor the wind was still difficult to walk against and the ground water level was high enough to force me to use the old footpath 'bridge' which was in regular winter use in the last century! I just managed to cross the 'stream' in the orchid field without getting my feet wet and so was able to add the Marsh Marigold flower and five Snipe to my lists before making a quick visit to Budds Farm Pools (nothing new there) and heading home up Southmoor Lane thinking that there would be no more to go on my notepad.

Before I had reached the Harts Farm Way roundabout I had the notepad out again to record a Blackbird in full but brief song (my first Blackbird song of each year is usually recorded in the gloaming after sunset but usually in February, not early January).

Back in Havant the best was yet to come as I remembered a plant which I had seen on Nov 30 growing on top of a brick wall forming one side of a narow alley running south from East Street just west of Town Hall Road. On a whim I decided to see if it was still flowering, which it was. As I had not identified it after the last sighting I collected a sample and brought it home where a close look and a check with Stace strongly suggested this was a species called Greater Herb Robert (Geranium rubescens) which is native to Madeira but has started to appear in Britain (not sure if it has been found in Hants). Below are photos which I will be sending to Martin Rand (BSBI recorder for South Hants) for his opinion.

When I set out at sunrise yesterday morning the drizzle was intermittent and there was some hope that the sun would break through but in fact heavy rain set in around midday and by the time I got to Nutbourne bay my binoculars were effectively useless, nevertheless they did show me enough to convince me that there were at least four Avocets present while Greenshank and Turnstone both identified themselves by call.

During the five hours that I was out I listed 48 species of bird and 50 of wild plants in flower (you can see the species names at the foot of my weekly summary for Week 52 of 2011) and here I will just pick out what I considered to be the highlights. Top of my list was the very first sight of a new Dog's Mercury plant with its male flowers found in Pook Lane at Warblington and not far away in the road verge of Church Lane was another first flower of Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia uvaria) - hardly a native wild flower but growing ( as they do on the track passing the Little and Great Deeps on Thorney Island ) in a place with no garden in sight and surviving there for years. Right at the start of my outing I noticed that the Hazel catkins on trees by the Billy Trail just south of the East St carpark had fully opened and when at Budds Farm pools I checked out the Goat Willow tree on which the 'Pussy Paw' catkins are in flower and while at Nutbourne I went a little out of my way to visit the Strawberry Tree at the west end of Farm Lane which had a good show of its white, bell shaped flowers. The western carpark at Broadmarsh had several flowers that I would not expect in January - White Melilot, Black Medick, Storksbill and Bur Chervil. Back in Havant at the end of my trip I made a short circuit to tick the new flowers on the Whitlow Grass in Waterloo Road, the Grey Alder catkins at the entrance to the Prince George Street car park and the American Willowherb by the East Street carpark on the Billy Line. One very early flower which I did not see on this trip (but had seen flowering, along with Marsh Marigold, at the South Moors on Dec 26) was Blackthorn which the Havant Wildlife Group spotted by the shore east of Langstone Pond between Wade and Pook Lanes - I hope the group also noticed the Cow Parsley flowering under the Warblington Farm barn at its corner where Church Lane turns into the carpark area.

Among the bird interest was a widespread 'dawn chorus' of Song Thrushes and at the Budds Farm pools the mild air had encouraged a pair of Gadwall to mate. At the mouth of the Langbrook stream I had to thank other birders already there for pointing me to a pair of Goldeneye in flight and while there my own ears led my eyes to a Green Sandpiper in flight high over the South Moors. At Warblington I could not see the Cattle Egret among the cattle but I soon found it with three Little Egrets in the next field (I needed my scope to pick it out by getting a glimpse of its bill which was hidden in its feathers most of the time as it worked on its morning toilet). After adding Black-tailed Godwit to my list at Nore Barn things went quiet until Nutbourne where Greenshank, Turnstone and Avocet ended my list.

Today, after dealing with three days washing up, I got the car out and drove to the north of Stansted Forest opposite Forestside church for a short walk in the Forest. Getting out of the car I found a mass of Rooks back at their nests in the church yard and heard Jackdaws among them - both were additions to yesterday's list as was the Nuthatch heard as soon as I entered the woodland. The large block of larch trees was devoid of birds but the mix of older trees beyond them came up trumps with a large tit flock which added both Long-tailed and Marsh Tit to my list (I thought I saw both Tree Creeper and a Gold or Firecrest in flight but never re-found them - this area holds memories for me of a Firecrest seen many winters back).

Walking back to the car I heard Coal Tit song and had a bonus sighting of a TV Star as seen on Countryfile - this was a Gloucester Bull surrounded by his cows and calves. A notice on the entrance to the field told me he is one of only 30 Bulls left to procreate his endangered species. For more about the species go to http://www.gloucestercattle.org.uk/ which tells me that the breed is the source of Gloucester Cheese - it also lists many more than 30 'males' currently alive though a fair number of them were born in 2011 and so perhaps do not yet qualify as 'Bulls'. Intrigued by the mention of the cheese I checked out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper's_Hill_Cheese-Rolling_and_Wake which describes the annual downhill race by people wanting to win the complete Double Gloucester cheese that is rolled down Cooper's Hill at speeds of up to 70 mph - all available local ambulances are busy on the day of the race which is never complete without many sprains and broken bones.

My latest weekly summary of reports is now available by clicking Weekly Summary here

After yesterday's feeling of depression caused by the prospect of strong wind and rain on New Year's Day I woke this morning to a radio forecast for the day which began by saying that it would be sunny with secondary mentions of wind and rain. That mood of optimism was strongly re-inforced as soon as I went into the garden and heard almost continuous Dunnock song with a backing chorus of Robin, Wren, Wood Pigeon and Collared Dove but the discovery that really brought a smile to my face came when walking along Watelooo Road and finding the first white flowers (not yet open) on half a dozen of the thousands of Common Whitlowgrass plants that line the bottom of the fenceline bordering the Morris Crocker carpark on the north side of the road (the plants were around the second fencepost starting from the west end of the fence).

Crossing the road and heading through the public carpark to Prince George St and Waitrose, quite a few of the Grey Alder catkins overhanging the exit from the carpark were also open, and earlier in my walk I am pretty sure that the complaining calls of a small group of finches meant that they were Siskin and not Goldfinch though I did not have my bins with me to confirm this.

I set out on my usual Monday walk to the South Moors under a dull sky with little expectation of any exciting finds but the orchid field at the South Moors gave me, in addition to four Snipe, newly flowering Marsh Marigolds, and the exit path from the Moors onto Southmoor Lane gave me both Blackthorn and Goat Willow flowers. The Blackthorn flowers were on a bush at the extreme east end of the straight 'new' path (in fact a little further east than the end of the path as I had deviated off it to check what turned out to be just Hogweed flowers) while the golden 'Pussypaws' where at the extreme west end just beyond the metal kissing gate. The fourth new flower came when back at the main road to Hayling with at least two catkins 'open' on the Hazel tree overhanging the bus stop in the layby close to the junction with Mill Lane. The number of Lesser Celandines flowering by the Lymbourne stream was still only two but I did find a new single flower in the ditch beside the Billy Trail just north of where it goes under the A27.

Bird interest, in additition to the Snipe, was provided by three Rock Pipits at widely separated points along the South Moors seawall (the tide had brought them close to the seawall where they were searching for food in the mass of washed up seaweed). Also of excitement to me was a single Mistle Thrush in the pony field north of Langstone pond (where I had also seen it on Dec 23 and hope to do so again on Jan 1) Another bit of late news came from a Portsmouth birder to whom I chatted at Langstone pond - talking about the Cattle Egret at Warblington he told me that he had seen one on Dec 23 in fields visible from Scant Road at Hambrook (around SU 70066) - there were lots of gulls there but no cattle so I think it unlikely the bird will still be there.

My last note from today's outing came as I was in the carpark on the Billy Trail immediately south of the East St bridge in Havant where, just before the slope up out of the carpark, I spotted a healthy plant of a pale flowered Willowherb growing in the Social Services building grounds - although I could not easily get close to it and so could not check the stigma I am close to certain that it was American Willowherb and so the fifth plant to add to my December flower list.

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With warm sunshine actually drying my washing in the garden I headed for the Fort Southwick area where the visibility was magnificent and my shortened route down the south face of the hill and then up to the area above the Paulsgrove chalkpit gave me a list of 25 wild plants in flower and, totally unexpected on the day of the winter solstice, a brief sight of a white butterfly flying some fifty metres from me and never seen closely enough to be sure of its identity though by its size it must have been either a Large White or a female Brimstone.

The flowers included Spear and Musk Thistle, Ploughman's Spikenard, Yellow-wort, Small Scabious and Burnet Saxifrage at the foot of the slope plus Butcher's Broom (with its tough 'leaves' apparently providing winter hibernation for a couple of Ladybirds), Wild Parsnip,Ox-eye Daisies, Tansy, Musk Mallow and Round-leaved Cranesbill at the top. Not included as flowering were several plants of Carline Thistle with their (now defunct) flowers still glowing yellow in the bright sun which also lit the slopes with many patches of red and gold from Cotoneaster berries and Gorse flowers.

A visit to Bedhampton yesterday added Hybrid Water Speedwell flowering in the outflow channel taking water from the springs into the Hermitage stream and at least ten Gadwall with Tufted Duck, Mallard and Little Grebe on Bedhampton mill pool. A significant rise in air temperature encouraged more birds to sing and I heard the first Song Thrush for a week along with Dunnock, Wren, Blue and Great Tit as well as Collared Dove and Woodpigeon. An unexpected sight at the main road end of the Billy Trail in Langstone was a Welsh Poppy flower and at the west end of Mill Lane both Wrinkled Peach and Brick Caps fungi were flourishing on a Willow Tree overhanging the Langbrook stream on the downstream side of the footbridge. I could not get to them to check the identity of the Brickcaps and from a distance the bright yellow and shiny, greasy look suggested Velvet Shank but I could see no hint of the blackish stems that species would have.

Back at home I had a clear white spore print from the fungi found on Budds Mound on Tuesday and concluded that the fungi concerned had been what Roger Philips lists as Lyophyllum loricatum (though that name seems to have dropped out of use since the book was written). Most of the fungi I had seen had dark coloured caps (like those of Lyophyllum decastes) though a couple of clusters had had the yellowish caps shown in Philips' photo and the gills of the specimen brought home had turned from white to yellowish straw colour after giving me the spore print (a feature which Philips mentions as significant)

A walk to the shops this morning found 22 wild plants in flower including the Yellow Flowered Strawberries in Juniper Square and Ivy still attracting a white tailed Bumble Bee. The Sweet Violets at St Faith's only had a couple of flowers that I could see but Nigella damascena (Love in a mist) was still flowering outside the multi-storey carpark and a Dunnock sang briefly as I added Ivy-leaved Toadflax to my list (also heard today in addition to the Robins were both Wood Pigeon and Collared Dove).

Next came a trip to Cosham giving me a sight of the Alexanders still flowering by the caravan park beside the London Road going down the slope of Portsdown (watching Countryfile on TV last night I learnt that its roots and leaves are both edible and very 'spicy' like Horse Radish). On the way home I stopped off at Budds Farm where a Little Grebe was still 'singing' among many Teal, Gadwall, Mallard, Shoveler, Pochard and Tufted Duck. I felt pretty confident that I had seen the Fudge Duck, especially by the sight of the white patch under its tail, which is more prominent than ususal forTufted Duck, but I had a very brief glimpse before the bird disappeared behind the westernmost island and when I moved to the west end for a better view I could not see the bird.

That disappointment was soon offset when I turned to look at the harbour with my scope - it gave me my first view of both Black-necked Grebe and Goldeneye for this winter and a possible sighting of a Common Scoter only identified by its black colour and jump diving.

While on Budds Mound I noticed many toadstools whose identity I could not identify so I brought a couple of samples home and will hopefully be able to name when they have given me a spore print. Easier to identify were Common Fumitory and Small Nettle, both still flowering. On another plant a single Striped Snail was in full view.

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On Monday (Dec 12) I cycled east to Prinsted and came home along the shore with my first stop being at the Thornham Marshes in the vain hope of seeing the Cattle Egret which was still there on the previous day (Dec 11) according to Lee Evans. What I did see at Thornham was a collection of sticks placed on top of one of the old 'landing light' poles in imitation of an Osprey nest to encourage the birds that spend several weeks here each year on their spring and autumn journeys to consider staying here for the breeding season - this is a Chichester Harbour Conservancy project. To the west of the landing lights a large raptor was seen perched on fence posts overlooking a reed filled ditch, occasionally moving to a different post to peer intently into the reeds in the hope of detecting prey (but not finding any while I was there). I wondered if this might be a Marsh Harrier but I could not see any lighter markings on the head or neck so I had to assume the bird was a Buzzard.

Coming back along Thornham Lane I was impressed by a large plant of Cow Parsley covered with many fresh flower umbels and as I left Emsworth Marina to head up Slipper Road I noticed a cluster of tall Prickly Lettuce plants with yellow flower petals showing on one despite the fact that it was after midday when the flowers of this species close (like those of Goatsbeard).

On Friday (Dec 16) I cycled to south Hayling with a round of Christmas Cards and before reaching Langstone I found the first Lesser Celandine flower open beside the Lymbourne Stream with the winter resident Grey Wagtail nearby - a little further south at least one flower head was open on Japanese Honeysuckle. On the Hayling Coastal Path I did not bother to look for the Pale Flax flowers which I had seen as late as Nov 23 but back at home I saw that they were still flowering at Durlston on this very day. More unexpected flowers were seen at south Hayling - Sweet William was in flower in a Grand Parade garden and several Lesser Celandines were still out in the ditch beside Bound Lane where I had seen them on Nov 11.

Today I did another round of Christmas card deliveries starting with Nik Knight in the Wade Court area, finding yet another Lesser Celandine flowering in his garden. Coming back up Wade Court Road I collected the rather attractive Honey Fungus specimens whose photos appear below, then on to Emsworth where cultivated Narcissi were flowering in Brian Fellows' garden. After my final stop in the Hollybank Lane area I continued up hill into the woods where I passed a couple of Clouded Agaric fungi, then what looked like a mustard yellow 'tennis ball' which had 'blown its top' - this must have been a Common Earth Ball which had 'puffed out' all its spores in response to heavy rain. Also in the woods Wavy Bitter-cress was still flowering. My final note was of one last flower seen on the Common Ramping Fumitory growing up the New Lane allotments fence.

One fascinating observation seen on the internet yesterday was Graeme Lyons find of an aphid species which exhibits some very unexpected aspects to its way of life. It is called the Large Willow Aphid (Tuberolachnus salignus) and is apparently fairly common though I have never heard of it before - it was found on Thursday by Graeme Lyons in cracks in the bark of a Willow Tree within 100 yards of the Woods Mill HQ of the Sussex Wildlife Trust where Graeme works and his photos can be seen at http://analternativenaturalhistoryofsussex.blogspot.com/ (Dec 15 entry headed "Check out this freaky aphid!"). Graeme points us to the Natural History Museum website page on this species ( http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/insects-spiders/common-bugs/aphid-watch/index.html ) and among the facts that you will learn from this are that this 5mm long mini-beast is the fastest runner in its class; that it is at its most active in snow and frost in January (when all other aphid species have disappeared, leaving only their eggs to over-winter); that no males of this species have ever been seen; they are found on the tree bark or on the ground moving from tree to tree but never on the leaves where you would expect to find aphids feeding on the juices to be found most easily in the soft parts of the tree; and finally that, while these creatures are relatively easy to find in the winter, none have ever been seen between March and July and no-one knows where they go in this period.

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